WELL, officially moved into the new apartment but have only had the time to bake a couple of times. But, for those interested, I made something extra special this time in addition to the normal, new cookie recipe...that's right, CHEESECAKE...Now, naturally, I am not a big fan. I am more of a cookie person myself, so the idea of making a cheesecake had never really crossed my mind.
Here's how it came about, me and my friend Greg were Stumbling on the internet when we came across a random, but freakin' delicious-looking recipe for cheesecake...this was no ordinary cheesecake though...it was Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake. So, not only was this a perfect opportunity to put something on the blog that all the cookie-eating readers could relate to, it also provided a chance to push my baking skills to their limits, and try something that I had never tried baking before. So, we raced to the store on a whim, and I say raced because I had a deadline. I was supposed to be meeting with my cousins within a couple of hours, so I had to get everything going so that all I had to do when I got back was start baking (which of course takes longer for cheesecake than cookies).
We got to the store, got Graham crackers, stuff for a basic chocolate chip cookie recipe (because yes, we were going all out for this cheesecake, homemade cookie dough within the homemade cheesecake....no pre-made stuff....sorry Toll-House, not cuttin' it quality-wise), and the rest of the stuff for cheesecake (A LOT OF CREAM CHEESE...no wonder why I wasn't such a big fan). I got back and started mixing all the stuff...two bowls going, one for cookie dough, the other for cheesecake....BUT WHAT?? The cousins (Stephen, Kristina, Aunt Helaine and Uncle Jimmy...HI!! ) were arriving at the cliffs (to see the marine-layer blocked sunset where I was supposed to meet them) a little earlier than anticipated. It was a race against the clock to get the stuff mixed together and get to them on time.
Realizing that it was not gonna work, I asked Greg if he could finish making the cookie dough so that I could come back and mix and bake the rest of it. Thankfully, he did, and I was on my way to visit my cousins. Of course, it happened to be traffic-ey on Genesee and I ended up getting there a little late anyways, but we walked out to the cliffs, almost got stuck out there, went to eat pizza (at Luigi's the pizza place previously mentioned on the blog), HAD A GREAT TIME CATCHING UP, and then went our own ways so that I could get to finishing the cake and eventually studying. THANKS AGAIN FOR DINNER!!!
I raced home, mixed the two things together, putting a little bit more cookie dough than they really called for because that's just what I do, then put the batter into the pan containing the graham cracker crust I had managed to make before leaving. BAKED IT. Then, if I remember correctly, it came out of the oven, and I, not being a cheesecake person, wanted to try it fresh because that's what you do with things out of the oven...eat them. But no, everyone told me to chill it, so I threw it in the freezer because I wanted to try some before I went to bed. We eventually got it out and tried it. Now, as you can probably tell by the picture, it was not cooked to completion. Now, we had followed directions and everything, but I may have taken it out prematurely because our oven tends to overcook things and since I can't see inside the cheesecake, I took it out when the crust looked overly done. Anyway, still very delicious, and within two days the whole thing was gone...NOT GOOD for the body, all that fat compiled on fat, but it sure was good. I would have to rate the cake, though not completely cooked, still an 8/10.
Another cookie that I had thrown together in this time was the Highland Cookie. I had made them specifically because I knew my cousins were coming and since they had shown interest in the blog, I felt like I should give them a taste of it when the time came. I believe Anthony chose the recipe from the book, likely because it was one of the few that we still had all the ingredients for, and I made them. Nothing special, except that it lacked vanilla extract or something like that and contrastingly had great vanilla taste. So, there they are, simple, quick, and delicious. Another success (despite their looking burnt in the picture, they were actually quite the opposite, chewy and moist). I think Uncle Jimmy liked them A LOT lol. Rating: 7.5/10
