Carrot Cheesecake Bars

  I love carrot cake.  There, I've said it.  I like to think to myself that it is somewhat healthy and I can therefore justify eating a lot of it.  I was recently looking through one my my cookbooks and found a recipe for carrot cheesecake.  It was bright orange.  I thought to myself,  "Why not put all the ingredients you would put into a carrot cake into a cheesecake?" So, if you love carrot cake AND cheesecake then this is for you.  I was pleasantly surprised how well it turned out and I love the moist bites of cheesecake with the pineapple and a hint of cinnamon.  And yes, it was even better the next day when I ate it for breakfast. 

Happy National Cheesecake Day!  Click here to see our other delicious cheesecake recipes here at Recipe Shoebox. 

Click here for printable recipe.

Post by: Jen


Ingredients:

(for a 9x9 pan):
1 c gingersnap cookie crumbs
1/4 c butter, melted
2 8 oz pkg cream cheese, softened
1/2 c sugar
3 Tbsp corn starch
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 c pureed carrots/baby food carrots (I used two jars)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
3/4 c crushed pineapple, drained well
1/2 c raisins, soaked

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Grease a 9x9 baking pan and line with parchment paper.  A note here: use a regular baking pan like a Pyrex pan.  I used my square spring form pan and because the cheesecake batter was quite liquidy, some of it oozed through the cracks.  So use a regular pan, and you won't have that problem!

Mix gingersnap cookie crumbs and melted butter together until all the crumbs are moistened.  You could also do this with graham cracker crumbs, but I like the added spice flavor of the gingersnap.

Press well and evenly into baking pan and bake for 10 minutes.  Remove and cool while preparing the cheesecake batter.  Increase oven to 350 degrees for the cheesecake.

Place the raisins into a cup and cover with water to let them soak and plump up.

In a mixing bowl blend the cream cheese, sugar, and corn starch.  After it is all smooth, blend in the eggs, one at a time.  Then add the spices and vanilla.  After it is all blended, then add the pureed carrots.  Mix well.

Drain the pineapple really well.  You don't want more added liquid.

Add the pineapple and soaked raisins (NOT the raisin water) to the mixture and stir until it's all evenly mixed.

Pour on top of baked crust and bake in oven for 35-45 minutes, or until center is mostly set.  Mine took 40 minutes. Sorry I don't have a picture when it came out. I apparently got distracted.  But it came out just fine!

Let cool completely on counter and then place in refrigerator for a couple hours.  Slice into bars and top with whipped cream.  Or you can top with cream cheese frosting if desired.

I imagine you could make this in a 13x9 pan just as easily.  Here are the amounts that I would change if you do use a bigger pan.

2 c gingersnap crumbs

1/3 c butter, melted

3 pkg cream cheese

3/4 c sugar

4 Tbsp corn starch

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp cinnamon (or a pinch more for taste)

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 1/2 c baby food carrots

1 c crushed pineapple, drained

3/4 c raisins, soaked

Cook the crust for 10 minutes.  But cook the cheesecake for 45-60 minutes.  

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Easter Cinnabunnies

With my son in the hospital for nearly three months now, I've been away from my kitchen for far too long.  Today was the first day of Spring Break for my kids, so while my husband was taking a turn at the hospital with our son, I decided it was high time to cook up some kitchen fun with the rest of the kids!   We found these cute little "Cinnabunnies" on Pinterest and couldn't wait to give them a try.  They were easy peasy and although our bunny ears ended up looking a little more mouse-like than bunny-like, these little cuties were still great fun to make and yummy too!  Next time we'll just make them with longer, floppier ears. 

Be sure to check out our other fun Easter kids' projects:   Edible Bird's Nests and Easter Bunny Buns!

PS  My son in in his third round of chemo and so far is responding well to treatment. 

 Recipe Source:  Betty Crocker . com

                                               Click here for printable recipe. 

Posted by Lara.


The ingredients (1 batch makes about 4  bunny rolls):


1 roll (12.4-oz) refrigerated cinnamon rolls with icing (8-pack)
Raisins/craisins (for eyes and noses)
Sliced almonds (for teeth)
Pastel sprinkles, optional

Directions: 

Place 4 cinnamon rolls onto greased cookie sheet.  
(Obviously we were making a double batch in the picture). 

Unroll the remaining four cinnamon rolls (we had to use a knife to cut along the lines to get them to unroll). 


Cut each unrolled cinnamon roll in half and form into bunny ears (next time I'll make the ears longer and more flopped to the side than we did in these pictures).  Place 2 dough ears onto each cinnamon roll, pinching the ear and the face together slightly to keep in place. 

Using 3 raisins/craisins place eyes and a nose onto each bunny face.  Finally add 2 sliced almonds for teeth. 

Bake in the oven as directed on package.   (my package said 400 degrees for 13-14 minutes). 

While still warm,  ice the ears with the enclosed icing container, then sprinkle with pastel colored sprinkles if desired.  

Makes 4 bunny rolls. 

Enjoy! 


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Edible Birds' Nests

Salty and sweet is one of my favorite flavor combinations and this cute little Easter/Spring treat was as tasty as it was cute!  My kids had a great time creating (and eating) their own little edible nests and I liked that they were easy enough that even a preschooler can make their own independently (other than melting the butterscotch chips).  Once they're set, they're pretty sturdy too, so they would be great for bringing treats into a classroom (to go with a bird unit or a lesson about seasons).  As you can see from the recipe, these are super flexible to make according to your own tastes.  Happy Spring!

If you want to check out a super cute chocolate version go check out Mandy's at Learn, Laugh, Cook ( a great place for recipes with a healthy twist)! 

Click here for printable recipe. 

The ingredients:

1 bag stick pretzels  (or chow mein noodles or Corn Chex {for gluten free treats})
1 bag (12-ounces) butterscotch chips (or chocolate chips)
Wax paper
1 bag small robin eggs (or jelly beans)
Peeps (optional) 

Directions for a fun kid activity:  Give each child a small bowl and about 2/3 cup unbroken pretzels.  Have them break pretzels into pieces about 1-inch in length (no need to be exact).   Set aside. 

In a small microwaveable bowl, microwave the butterscotch chips on high for 2 minutes, stopping the microwave every 30 seconds to give them a quick stir, until they are melted and smooth.  

Immediately add a couple of spoonfuls of melted butterscotch chips to each batch of pretzels.

  Stir pretzels and melted chips together, adding more pretzels or melted chips if necessary. 

Immediately have each child pour out their pretzel/melted chip concoction onto wax paper and have them form it into a nest shape, by making them heaped slightly with a rounded shape and a little depression in the middle where their eggs will go. 

Working quickly before the melted butterscotch chips have set, add the robin eggs (or jelly beans). 

I personally thought they looked perfectly cute with just the eggs, but my kids really wanted to add the Peeps on top. 

If using the Peeps, dip the bottom into the melted chips and place over eggs.

  Allow to set for 15-20 minutes or until hardened. 

Pick up and enjoy! 

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Easter Bunny Buns (a cute Easter treat)

My ten-year-old discovered the recipe for these cute little bunny rolls in a children’s magazine that our church publishes.  She literally was jumping and down with excitement about them and insisted that I make them for the blog as soon as possible.  My six-year-old chimed in that I would probably be the first person on my Facebook to make them.  After I stopped giggling at my kids’ remarkably effective tactics at getting me to make a fun recipe, I decided to go ahead and give them a try.   

Not too surprisingly, these were quite a hit….with the kids and the adults!  I loved the subtle orange flavoring of these rolls and  the glaze added just a touch of sweetness that made them all the more fun for the kids, but without overpowering them with too much sugar.  It was only on a whim that I decided to try to make the faces using a container of ice cream sprinkles, but since those rolls were the first ones that got gobbled up by my little ones, I definitely think that they’re worth the trouble to add ( on at least a few of them)!    

These cute little bunny buns (or should I call them “rabbit rolls”?) have just become a fun new Easter tradition at our house!
Recipe Source:  Friend Magazine

Click here for printable recipe.

Posted by Lara. 

The ingredients:

BUNNY BUNS:

1 Tbs. active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1 cup milk
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup orange juice (I just used the juice from the oranges that I zested for the peel)
2 Tbs. grated orange peel (it took about 2 small/medium oranges)
5-1/2 cups flour ( I used half white, half white whole wheat)
Ice cream sprinkles (optional for making faces)

GLAZE:
2 cups powdered sugar
2 Tbs. hot water
2 Tbs. orange juice (or 2 more tablespoons hot water for a plain glaze)
1 tsp. butter

Directions:  In a medium sized bowl, combine the yeast and the warm water.  Set aside.  In another bowl, heat milk in microwave for about 1 minute 20 seconds or so.  Milk should be hot, but not boiling.  Blend hot milk with sugar, oil, and salt. (NOTE:  Before adding the next ingredients, make sure your milk mixture is  warm to the touch, but not too hot to leave your finger in for a few seconds (110-120 degrees is perfect)).   Then add eggs, yeast with water, orange juice, and orange peel.  Add flour a few cups at a time to make a soft dough.  Knead for 5-10 minutes ( I let my Kitchen-Aid do the hard work for me).  Place dough in a lightly greased bowl, turning once to grease surface.  Cover bowl and place in a warm place.  Allow the dough to rise for 1-2 hours, or until double in size.  Punch dough down and let stand for 10 minutes.

On a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a long rectangle 1/2-inch thick.  Cut dough into strips 1/2-inch wide and 14-inches long.  

Roll the dough to make rounded snake shapes.  Reserve 1-2 of the strips to cut into pieces about 1/2-inch long and roll into small balls (for the tails). 


Place one long piece of dough on a greased cookie sheet.  Place one end of the strip over the other to make a loop; bring the end that is underneath up and cross it over the other end.  Place a ball of dough on top of the bottom loop (to be the tail). 

(NOTE:  If you would like to make faces, now is the time.  Make an egg wash with one egg white and one tablespoon of warm water.   Brush over the tops of the bunny buns.   Using a combination of sprinkles, raisins, or whatever,  make a little face at the base of the "ears".  Proceed as directed.)

Cover bunnies and allow to rise in a warm place for 45-60 minutes, until nearly double in size.  Bake at 375 degrees for 12-15 minutes.  

(You can see that we made most of our bunny buns without faces.  They’re not quite as cute, but they were much easier to make and the kids loved them anyway!)

For the glaze, stir powdered sugar, water, orange juice, and butter together.  Frost bunnies with the glaze while still warm.  Makes about 20 bunny buns.  

Enjoy!

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