Pi Day 2023 – Creole Cream Cheese Chocolate Chess Pie

Classic chess pie pairs a traditional buttery pie crust with a sweet, custardy filling. Michelle and I had a great version at High Hat Cafe that used Creole Cream Cheese. Country Roads Magazine posted the High Hat Cafe’s recipe a few years ago and we used that as the stepping off point for our pie.

I picked up the Creole Cream Cheese at Dorignac’s Food Center but you can make your own (recipe here) if you aren’t in the area. As chocolate makes everything better, we added a little cocoa powder both for flavor and to cut the sweet a bit.

The end result is a creamy chocolate pie with a slight tang. Delicious!

Creole Cream Cheese Chocolate Chess Pie

16 ounces Creole cream cheese at room temperature
4 eggs
1 3/4 cups sugar
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa (I use Hershey’s Special Dark), sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
pinch of salt
1 frozen deep dish or 10″ pie crust
 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Prick the bottom of the pie crust with a fork and par-bake the pie crust for 15 minutes.

Drop oven temperature to 300 degrees F.

Whip eggs, sugar, vanilla extract, butter and salt in stand mixer until well incorporated. Add in the Creole cream cheese and cocoa powder and mix until smooth. Pour into the pre-baked pie crust. Bake the pie for 60 minutes, rotating halfway through, until set in the middle. Let cool before serving.

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Lemon Cream Tarts

I love lemon curd but wanted to do something a little different than my standard lemon pie. I used as a stepping off point a copy of the Tartine Bakery’s Lemon Cream recipe that I clipped from a newspaper almost 20 years ago.

Because there is so much whisking involved to get the lemon cream, I cheated on the pie crust. Instead of making my own, I used frozen tart shells from Dutch Ann. To pre-bake the pie shells: thaw and prick bottom and sides of shells with a fork and bake at 350 degrees F, 12 to 14 minutes.

Pure lemon flavor. I ended up eating what didn’t get baked into tarts with a spoon. It makes a delicious lemon pudding on its own.

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons lemon juice
3 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
3/4 cup sugar
1 pinch salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened

8 tartlet shells (I used Dutch Ann Frozen Tart Shells), pre-baked

Combine the lemon juice, whole eggs, yolk, sugar, and salt in the top of a double boiler set over low heat and prepare to stir for a while. Try not to leave the egg yolks and sugar for more than a moment or two without stirring; the sugar will cook the yolks. Whisk until the mixture becomes very thick and registers 180 degrees F on a thermometer. This will take at least 15 minutes. It is thick enough when the whisk leaves a trail through the curd.

Remove the bowl from over the water and let cool for about 5 minutes, stirring from time to time to release the heat.

Meanwhile, cut butter into 1-tablespoon pieces. When the cream is ready, pour it into a blender. With the blender running, add the butter 1 tablespoon at a time, blending after each addition until incorporated before adding the next piece. The cream will be pale yellow and opaque and quite thick.

Pour the lemon cream into the pre-baked pie shells and bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees F.

Store any remaining lemon cream in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Butterscotch Pull Apart Bread

I couldn’t find any of the frozen bread dough that I use to make Overnight Monkey Bread when out grocery shopping last week. Instead, I tried using King’s Hawaiian Sweet bread and box of Jell-O Cook and Serve Butterscotch Pudding (plus butter and brown sugar).

The pudding gives it a rich, caramel flavor and the bread was perfect – sweet, soft interiors and crunchy outsides.

Ooey gooey goodness and perfect for a Christmas morning! The four of us (Mom, Dad, Michelle and I) devoured the whole thing!

12 King’s Hawaiian Sweet Rolls
½ cup melted butter, divided
½ cup brown sugar
1 (3.5 ounce) package Jell-O Cook and Serve Butterscotch Pudding
½ cup chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Generously butter a large casserole dish.

Cut each roll into 4 pieces. Place in a large bowl. Pour ¼ cup melted butter over the dough. Toss to coat. Add the chopped nuts and then put the buttered bread into the prepared pan. Sprinkle ½ cup brown sugar evenly over the rolls and butter. Sprinkle the dry pudding mix over the brown sugar. Top with the remaining ¼ cup melted butter.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the top is golden brown. If the pudding is still a little dry after 20 minutes, stir and return to the oven for 10 minutes. Let cool five minutes in the pan before running a knife around the edge to loosen. Invert over a bowl and serve.

Chocolate Pecan Brittle

Peanut brittle is good and all but, if you feel like kicking things up a notch make pecan brittle instead. To make that even better, add some cocoa and you’ve got a treat that will knock your socks off.

I make my brittle with cane syrup, not corn syrup, as my sweetie reacts to the high fructose in corn syrup. The Steen’s website has a recipe for mixed nut brittle that I used as a jumping off point.

1 tablespoon butter
1 cup Steen’s Cane Syrup
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa (I used Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa)
1 cup toasted pecans
Flake salt

Butter a baking sheet and set aside.

Sift together cocoa and baking soda to remove any lumps. Set aside. Chop pecans – you want tiny pieces, small pieces, medium pieces and even some whole pecans to make sure every bite has nutty goodness. Set aside.

In a large heavy pot, melt the butter. Add syrup and sugar. Stir to blend well over medium heat. Continue to stir once it begins to boil to keep it from overflowing the pot. When the mixture reaches 270 degrees on a candy thermometer (soft crack stage), remove from heat. Quickly stir in cocoa mix and nuts until cocoa is incorporated.

Pour the mixture evenly onto the prepared baking sheet, spreading the nuts quickly and evenly with a silicone spatula. Sprinkle with flake salt. Allow the mixture to cool completely. Surface will be shiny. Break into pieces and store in an airtight container.

Chocolate Chip Cinnamon Brunette Bars

I don’t normally make blondies as I love the chocolate of brownies. However, I’m at the point in my cycle where I don’t need a lot of chocolate to satisfy my cravings. The one cup of morsels hit the spot beautifully. Because this recipe has dark brown sugar and a lot of cinnamon it makes them dark enough to fall into a class all to themselves so I’m going to call them brunettes.

To increase the moisture, I added a tablespoon of pure cane syrup. Steen’s is dark and luscious. If you don’t have access to that, molasses can be substituted. I used a high quality Vietnamese cinnamon from Penzeys and I used a Mexican vanilla extract to up the cinnamon flavor just a little more.

Diamonds aren’t a girls best friend – these bars are! Rich and flavorful, they satisfy both the sweet and chocolate cravings.

½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon Steen’s Cane Syrup or molasses
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup bittersweet chocolate morsels

Butter an 8×8 baking pan.

Melt the butter and brown sugar together in a double boiler. Remove from heat and stir in the cane syrup or molasses. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Once the butter brown sugar mixture has cooled, combine it into the flour mixture. Beat in eggs one at a time. Add in vanilla extract and stir just until incorporated. Fold in bittersweet morsels.

Pour into prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out mostly clean. Remove from oven and let cool 10 minutes.

Optional topping: Melt a tablespoon of butter and brush the top of the brunettes after they’ve been cooling for ten minutes. Sprinkle over 3 tablespoons of cinnamon sugar. Allow to finish cooling before slicing.

Pecan Pie Kahlúa Cheesecake

We decided not to make a traditional pecan pie for Thanksgiving. Instead, Michelle made her wonderful Greek yogurt cheesecake with some Kahlúa coffee liqueur. While that was absolutely delicious, we topped it with a pecan pie topping (that I’ve used before on brownies) which also had Kahlua in it.

We reduced the sugar (none in the crust and down in both the cheesecake and topping and eliminated the corn syrup) so I’m hoping my diabetic sister and pre-diabetic brother-in-law will have eaten enough protein to be able to have a generous slice. Otherwise, more for me!

Pretty and so very good!

Pecan Pie Cheesecake

Crust:

10 tablespoons melted butter
3 cups graham cracker crumbs

Filling:

4 packages of cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
5 large eggs
1 cup Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons Kahlúa Coffee Liqueur

Topping:

2 ¼ cups whole pecans
9 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or Kahlua Coffee Liqueur)

In a food processor, mix together butter and graham cracker crumbs for the crust. Press into a 10 inch springform pan, coming a little up the sides. Bake 10 minutes in a 350 degree F oven.

Lower oven temperature to 200 degrees F.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, whip the cream cheese until smooth. Add the sugar and whip together until fluffy. Add in the eggs, one at a time. Mix in the Greek yogurt, vanilla extract and Kahlua Coffee Liqueur .

Pour into pan and tap against the counter to bring up any bubbles.

Bake for 2 ½ hours. If it still jiggles, cook for 30 minutes more. Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake in the oven with door cracked open for fifteen minutes. Remove from oven and run a knife around the edge, about an inch deep to loosen. Leave on the counter to cool for thirty minutes to an hour. Cover with aluminum foil and place in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours or overnight before topping.

Make the pecan pie topping:

Coarsely chop about 1 cup of the toasted pecans. Leave the remaining ½ cup whole.

Place butter, brown sugar and salt in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook, whisking frequently, until the butter is completely melted and the mixture is completely smooth and bubbling all over, about 10 minutes. Whisk in ½ cup heavy cream until completely combined and bubbling again.

Remove from the heat and stir in the chopped and whole pecans and vanilla extract (or liqueur, if using). Set aside to cool to room temperature, 30 to 45 minutes.

Unmold the cheesecake from the springform pan and pour over the pecan pie topping. Refrigerate until ready to slice and serve.

It was so beautiful and tasted so good plain, I had to post a picture of that, too.

Yummy!

Double Chocolate Chip Brownies

I was craving chocolate and went with my old stand-by brownies that I use a hand mixer and mix in the double boiler. Not a lot of mess and comes together very quickly so you can get to eating!

Darkly chocolatey and with a dense, fudgy texture.

2 cups (12-oz. package) Bittersweet Chocolate Morsels, divided
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, cut into pieces
3 large eggs
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup chopped nuts (I went with pecans I had lightly toasted)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 13 x 9-inch baking pan.

Melt 1 cup morsels and the stick of butter in large, heavy-duty saucepan or a double-boiler over low heat; stir until smooth. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly. Mix in eggs. Stir in flour, sugar, vanilla extract and baking soda. Stir in remaining morsels and nuts. Spread into prepared baking pan.

Bake for 18 to 22 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out slightly sticky. Cool completely in pan on wire rack before slicing and consuming.

Triple Chocolate Pudding Cupcakes

Its that time of the month when all my thoughts turn toward chocolate and I had a cupcake recipe I wanted to try. The last time I made it, I used instant chocolate pudding mix. I find that the instant (vs cook and serve) pudding doesn’t have as much flavor and, since Michelle makes an awesome Cook and Serve Chocolate Pudding Mix, I used a half cup of that instead.

The resulting cupcakes are a little denser than those made with the instant but the chocolate flavor was amazing.

I did a mint chocolate frosting to use the bag of Bailey’s Irish Cream Baking Chips I had gotten at Easter and never used. As the frosting only called for half a bag, I put the other half in the cupcakes along with ½ cup of bittersweet chocolate chips.

Super delicious with just a hint of hint. The mint and bittersweet baking chips give an extra umph of chocolate, making these incredibly satisfying.

Cupcakes
1 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 package chocolate pudding mix (½ cup)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 ½ cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup milk
12 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips (2 cups)

Mint Chocolate Frosting

½ cup butter, softened
3 tablespoons peppermint schnapps (I used Leroux)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 cups powdered sugar
½ cup cocoa powder
2 tablespoons milk
1 cup Bailey’s mint baking chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two 12 cup muffin tins with cupcake liners.

In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pudding mix.

In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar for 1-2 minutes or until pale and creamy. Add the eggs and vanilla, mix until smooth.

Add half of the cocoa mixture to the butter mixture and combine. Pour in milk and mix until incorporated. Add the other half of the cocoa mixture and beat until combined and smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the chocolate chips to the batter and mix in by hand.

Fill each cup about 2/3 full with batter. I used a ¼ cup measuring cup to portion out the batter.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Carefully remove cupcakes from the oven. Let cool in the muffin tin for about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

While the cupcakes are cooling, beat butter, schnapps, vanilla and salt at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy.

Gradually add powdered sugar alternately with milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating at low speed until blended and smooth after each addition. Beat cocoa and, once that is combined, stir in mint baking chips.

If frosting stiffens up too much before using, add in another teaspoon of milk and stir to loosen it back up.

Flourless Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

It was Michelle’s birthday on Saturday and she requested a flourless chocolate cake. I decided to try doing cupcakes instead and they came out pretty well. Dense, dark and very, very chocolate!

Most of the baking bars for chocolate come in 4 ounces. After you’ve gotten the 5 ounces needed for melting, break the remaining bar into small chunks to go into the cupcakes at the end of baking.

I usually buy a pint of cream and whip the other cup with a teaspoon of creme de menthe liquor or Grand Marnier (or vanilla, if you’d rather). I put that on half the cupcakes and powdered sugar on the rest.

Served warm, the extra chocolate is like delicious molten lava. As the cupcakes cool, the chocolate chips and chunks are intense chewy nuggets of goodness.

5 ounces bittersweet chocolate
1 stick unsalted butter
1 cup heavy cream
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 ⅓ cups sugar
½ cup plain Greek yogurt or sour cream (I use Fage)
½ cup cornstarch
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup bittersweet chocolate morsels

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

Line a cupcake pan with paper liners.

Break 5 ounces of chocolate and put the pieces into a bowl.

Combine the butter and cream in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. When the cream mixture comes to a simmer, pour it over the chocolate and let stand 1 minute. Stir gently to mix the melting chocolate into the cream. Set aside to cool slightly.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, yogurt or sourcream, cornstarch, cinnamon, and salt just until the sugar has dissolved. Stir in chocolate morsels. Pour the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and fold together until combined. (Mixing too much will prevent the eggs from rising in the oven.)

Place about 1/4 cup of the batter into each mold, it should come about 3/4 of the way up the sides. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Do not over bake. Immediately while hot, add a chunk of the remaining chocolate in the center of each, by gently pushing it through the top of the cupcake in the center. Cool the pan on a rack for 10 minutes and then unmold them. Dust with powdered sugar and serve warm.

Amaretto Cheesecake

Michelle has once again outdone herself with making a cheesecake for my birthday. I happened upon a package of Amaretto cookies and thought they would make a terrific crust. I brought the idea to her and she did the rest.

So good! Rich and creamy and very flavorful. I couldn’t get my parent’s to stop eating on it, until I shoved it in the freezer!

2 ½ cups ground amaretto cookies (about 1 and half 7.5 ounce packages)
6 tablespoons butter, melted
4 – 8 ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 ¼ cup sugar
5 large eggs
1 cup Greek yogurt (we used 2 % Fage plain)
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
½ cup amaretto liqueur (we used di Amore Amaretto)

Preheat oven to 200 degrees F.

In a food processor, mix together butter and ground cookies for the crust. Press into a 10 inch springform pan, coming a little up the sides.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together cream cheese and sugar. Add in the eggs, one at a time. Mix in the Greek yogurt, vanilla extract and liqueur.

Pour into pan and tap against the counter to bring up any bubbles.

Bake for 2 ½ hours. If it still jiggles, cook for 30 minutes more.

Remove from oven and bring oven temperature up to 500 degrees F. Brown top, about 10-15 minutes.

Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake in the oven with door cracked open for thirty minutes. Remove from oven and run a knife around the edge, about an inch deep to loosen. Leave on the counter to cool for thirty minutes. Cover with aluminum foil and place in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours before slicing.