It is finally here...my favorite time of the entire year! There is just something about the months of November and December that can instantly put you in a great mood. But I have a total confession about November in general. My absolute favorite day is the day after Thanksgiving for two simple reasons. 1. This is typically where I get most, if not all, of my Christmas shopping done in one day with the most amazing deals imaginable available at my fingertips...or, at the end of a very long line, rather ;) and 2. This marks the day that it is completely acceptable to start watching Elf (aka the best Christmas movie ever filmed) and listening to an endless supply of Christmas music. I must admit, I tend to overdo it with the whole watching Elf all month long thing (would you consider every day excessive??? ...kidding, sort of).
Well, this weekend marked the start of this joyous occasion, and to kick start it I had a few friends over for Elf and dessert. My friend Max had asked me before about making cheesecake so I decided to try out a new recipe that I had found on another blog (Picky Palate) that looked delightful! I changed the quantities slightly to my liking but the method is the same. She had originally made them using a muffin top pan. However, since I didn't have one, I decided to make them a bit bigger and in mini pie tins. They are quite simple to make and definitely worth the wait!
Snickers Caramel Cheesecake:
Yield: 6 Individual Cheesecakes (or 12 if using the muffin top pan)
3 Snickers Bars
2 Cups Graham Cracker Crumbs
2 Tablespoons Granulated Sugar
6 Tablespoons Melted Butter
2 (8oz.) packages softened cream cheese
1 Cup Granulated Sugar
2 Eggs
1 Tablespoon Pure Vanilla
3 Tablespoons Caramel Sauce
Method:
Preheat Oven to 350 degrees F
Place chopped Snickers Bars into a bowl and set aside
Grind up graham crackers until they become thin crumbs. (I used a regular blender on the crumb option)
Combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter until all of the crumbs are moistened by the butter. Add more if necessary
Add a couple (heaping) spoonfuls of the crust mixture into each pie tin and press down and up the sides until evenly spread
Bake for 5-6 minutes or until just browned. Remove from oven.
With a mixer, beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth and creamy (One thing that I learned at school is to make sure there are NO lumps before going to the next step. Once the eggs are added, you can no longer remove lumps, so mix as long as necessary)
Add in eggs, fully incorporating the first egg before adding the second one.
Add vanilla and mix until well combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
Mix in caramel sauce until well combined.
Pour cheesecake mixture into crusts until almost full. I was able to distribute all of the mix among the 6 pie tins.
Top evenly with chopped Snickers pieces.
Bake for 55-60 minutes. (I suggest checking it periodically during the baking process, however, in case your oven bakes at a different speed than mine). Remove and let cool completely.
Once cool, top with caramel sauce and ENJOY! Perhaps with some wine like we did =) My friend Jake brought the "Pinot Evil" wine. Pretty clever if you ask me.
<3
