Tammy's Cinnamon Rolls

I got this recipe from my friend Tammy Dunlap, and everybody enjoyed it on Christmas day and the day after and the day after that.

It makes about 3 dozen large rolls.

For rolls:

12 c. flour

4 T. yeast

2 T. salt

1.4-1/2 c. sugar

5 c. hot water

1 c. oil

For filling:

cinnamon--1-2 T. per 1/3 dough

brown sugar--about 3/4 c. per 1/3 dough

butter--about 1 stick melted per 1/3 of the dough

nuts optional

For frosting:

2 cubes cream cheese

lb. powdered sugar

3-4 T. orange juice

1 t. vanilla

For rolls:

Combine 6 c. flour, yeast, salt, and sugar. Add water and oil. Slowly add up to about 6 more cups of flour until smooth.

Let rise, kneading every 10 minutes for 1 hour.

Take 1/3 of the dough and roll out to the size of a cookie sheet. Spread cinnamon mixture on it and roll it up stretching the dough as you roll. Cut into about 1-2 inch rolls using dental floss and place on greased cookie sheet with sides so that the mixture does not drip off the edge. I also scrape the mixture that has oozed out of it and pour it on top of the rolls once placed in the pan. (Here you can put them in the fridge overnight and let rise 60 minutes instead of 30 the next morning.) Let rise 30 minutes and bake for 15 minutes at 400 degrees.

Make frosting once the rolls are in the oven and pour over warm rolls.

Enjoy!

Sweet and Spicy Slow Cooker Chicken

This recipe is simple and delicious and comes straight from Mel's kitchen cafe. We warm up some corn tortillas and add beans, sour cream, cilantro, and lettuce to make taco's and taco salad. It's got just the right heat for kids so add a little more if you like it hot. In this weather I'll take anything hot I can get!

Sweet and Spicy Slow Cooker Chicken

*Note: leaving the tomatoes undrained makes for a fairly juicy chicken mixture. If you don't want the finished shredded chicken mixture to be quite as liquidy, slightly drain the tomatoes before using them. Also, I nearly always double or triple this recipe because it freezes so well.

*Serves 4

1 pound (about 2) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 (14-ounce) can petite or regular diced tomatoes, undrained
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (add more if you like extra heat - with this amount it is mild enough for my kids to eat it up but spicy enough to help offset the sweetness)

Place the chicken in the bottom of the slow cooker. In a small bowl, combine the tomatoes, brown sugar and red pepper flakes. Pour over the chicken. Cover the slow cooker and cook on high for 4-6 hours or on low for 8-9 hours. Remove the chicken to a cutting board and shred with two forks. Return to the slow cooker and mix the chicken with the juices from the tomato/brown sugar sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve in flour tortillas with toppings of choice: lettuce, sour cream, cheese, avocados, etc.

*Freezable Meal: I freeze the leftovers in a freezer-safe container and let thaw in the refrigerator overnight before serving the next day. I reheat over medium-low heat in a saucepan on the stove.

Recipe Source: melskitchencafe.com

Lenora's Famous Rolls

I already had these recipes typed up... and what can I say, I like to blog so don't feel like you have to, just enjoy :) These rolls are like gold at my family get togethers, they are perfect for leftover turkey sandwiches, and absolutely heavenly when they're warm with raspberry jam...

Grandmother’s Rolls

(Fairy Rolls)

½ c butter

½ c. shortening ( I use all butter)

1 ½ cups hot water

¾ c sugar

2 eggs

6 c. flour

1 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. instant yeast

Pour hot water over soft butter and shortening in mixing bowl. Let cool a bit. Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and instant yeast. (Otherwise dissolve regular yeast in the warm, not hot, water). Add sugar and eggs to wet mixture and mix with paddle. (Add dissolved yeast). Add 1 cup dry ingredients and mix with paddle. Then switch to dough hook and the rest of the dry ingredients. Knead until smooth soft dough forms. Turn up the speed for the last couple of minutes. Cover and put in fridge over night or let rise on counter for 1.5 hours until doubled. Punch down if dough has not been refrigerated and let rise one more time (about an hour, also: this rise is not completely necessary if you’re in a hurry). Roll out to ¼” thick on lightly floured surface. Brush butter on edge of dough and fold over. Cut half circles with a drinking glass. (simply put, shape them like parker house rolls) Place on greased cookie sheet. Brush tops with butter and let rise for 1 hour, probably 2 if dough is cold, above hot oven. Bake at 400˚/425˚ for 12-20 minutes. Brush with more butter if desired!!

I don't have time to post the recipe right now, but I'm going to bring Pumpkin Trifle and I was thinking Banana Cream Pie (unless someone else likes to make that).

Twice Baked Sweet Potato Souffle

Twice Baked Sweet Potato Souffle

Ingredients:

6 small-medium sweet potatoes

3 oz. Cream Cheese, cubed

4 Tbsp. milk

1/4 cup brown sugar or honey

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. nutmeg

3/c cup nuts (walnuts or pecans), chopped

3 tbsp brown sugar

2 tbsp butter

Instructions:

Heat oven to 425˚.

Cut potatoes lengthwise in half; place, cut-sides down, in foil-lined pan. Bake 30-35 minutes or until tender.

Scoop out centers of potatoes into bowl. Add cream cheese, milk, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg to potatoes; until blended.

Spoon potato mixture into a 9x9 lightly greased dish, top with nuts, sprinkle remaining brown sugar, and dot butter around the top. Bake at 375˚ for 15-20 min. or until potatoes are heated through, top is crispy, and nuts are toasted.

**photo found here

Hey All

We are getting excited for Thanksgiving next week! We will miss you Germany Deans! I was wondering if we could all post what we are bringing so there won't be any overlap--especially with the desserts b/c Jacob said that almost everyone is bringing a dessert. You can post the recipe if you want or not. I know I want everyone's recipes, and then we won't have to ask and then forget to send them :) Also, Rebekah mentioned that it would be fun for us to do some kind of Crafting day while we are together... any ideas on that? I have an activity that would be fun to do with some of the older kids. Pilgrim Hat and Turkey place favors. They are super easy and cheap to make.

Butternut Squash

We had dinner at MCL the other week (any flashbacks to Grandma and Grandpa?), and I had the most delicious butternut squash, which I was successfully able to reproduce at home (Ouch! I just pulled a muscle patting myself on the back:).

Here it goes. I sliced the squash in half and seeded it. Place face down in a microwavable dish, then add 1/2 to 1 cup water. Cook on high for 12-15 minutes. Let it sit until it is cool enough to handle. Peel and cube, then saute in olive oil. Season with sea salt and pepper. It is delicious!

Pumpkin Blondies

I love baking in the fall! My absolute favorite spice is nutmeg. I actually named my dog Nutmeg when I was a kid. Poor Nutmeg, she was a bad, bad dog. My brothers wanted a dog so bad and they were determined to take care of her, crazies and all. She would drag them up and down the streets Literally, Cody and Dylan were riding on their tummies as she ran. She never stopped barking, and she clamored every single visitor that came into the backyard to the ground. She got sent to live in Idaho on my Aunt and Uncles' farm. Anyway, I still love nutmeg (the spice). Normally I make a huge batch of pumpkin chocolate chips at the first sign of fall. This year I decided to try something different. Pumpkin Blondies. They will definitely be reappearing next year. They will not, not, not be made again this year however, since I could not keep my hands off of them. So mix it up a little. Make these for a change, they're good. I promise. :)

PUMPKIN BLONDIES

Slightly adapted from Sugarcrafter

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 ¼ tsp cinnamon

¾ tsp nutmeg

¾ tsp cloves

1 ½ sticks of butter

1 ½ cups brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 ½ cups pumpkin

1 cup white chocolate chips

½ cup coconut

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9 x 9″ baking pan. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar together until fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla, and then mix in the pumpkin.

Gradually add the dry ingredients, mixing until well-combined. Stir in the chips and coconut using a spoon.

Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan.

Bake 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out (mostly) clean.

Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and let cool completely before cutting. (Makes flavors more robust)

*photo from sugarcrafter. I didn't get any pics before the missionaries dug in.

Corn Chowder

It's fall, and I'm craving warm soups. Jared and I liked this corn chowder I made.

3/4 C. water, divided

1 small onion

1/2 C. Chopped red bell pepper

1 can cream-style corn

16 oz. frozen corn

1 C. chopped, boiled potato (could use hash browns)

1 C. chopped, boiled carrots

1 can (12 oz.) Evaporated milk

3 Chicken bouillon cubes

1 T. fresh basil

3-5 strips fried bacon, chopped

*can use 8 oz. frozen peeled, cooked shrimp

Bring 1/4 C. water to boil in large saucepan. Add onion and bell pepper. Cook until tender. Add remaining water, corn, evaporated milk, bouillon, potatoes, carrots, and bacon. Bring to a boil. Reduce to low. Cook 15 minutes, stirring frequently. If you want shrimp, add now and cook for 3 minutes. Sprinkle with basil.

Peanut Sauce

I received a gift last week. Another gadget for my little kitchen. A pretty brown package showed up on my doorstep and this is what was inside. For little ole me. Well Luci thought it was for her. Thanks Jacob!
So, I couldn't wait to try it out. This is what we made that night. If you've ever had peanut sauce at a thai restaurant you probably fell in love. Well, I did. The sauce in this dish mixed with the veggies and noodles was awesome. Do you remember the scene in Ratatouille where they mix the cheese and the strawberry and fireworks go off in the background?? That's what it was like while we ate this dish.

Thai Peanut Noodles

What You’ll Need:

3 cloves garlic

½ c peanut butter

1/2 c soy sauce

2 Tbsp rice vinegar (or whatever you have)

3 Tbsp brown sugar

¼ tsp red pepper flakes

¼ c olive oil

½ Tbsp sesame seed oil (optional)

¾-1 lb. angel hair pasta (or whatever you have)

½ green onions chopped

a bunch of cilantro

½ bell pepper julienned (a fancy word for thinly sliced)

a bunch of green beans

The Process:

Boil a medium sized pot of water. Boil green beans until al dente. Take green beans out, slice, and set aside. Cook pasta in the boiling water until al dente. In the meantime, throw garlic, peanut butter, soy sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, red pepper flakes, olive oil, and sesame seed oil in a food processor or blender and pulse until smooth.

Toss with pasta, peppers, onions, and green beans. Garnish with lots of cilantro!

Better than U No What Apple Dumplings ;)

Okay, you gotta try these! Jacob and I made them for Dad's birthday. They are what I call, totally a cheater dessert, but that makes them even better! Seriously I couldn't stop thinking about them for days. And the smell while they're in the oven is almost better than eating them. Dad said they were as good as he remembers his Mom making them :) I meant to get a picture of the 9x13 that we completely finished in less than 12 hours. Yeah. Do you believe me yet? Are you writing down the ingredients on your shopping list?...

Apple Dumplings
Recipe and photo from pioneerwoman.com
For in detail instructions click on the link.

Ingredients

• 2 whole Granny Smith Apples
• 2 cans (8 Oz. Cans) Crescent Rolls
• 2 sticks Butter
• 1-½ cup Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• Cinnamon, To Taste
• 1 can (12 Oz.) Mountain Dew Soda

Preparation Instructions

Peel and core apples. Cut each apple into 8 slices each. Roll each apple slice in a crescent roll. Place in a 9 x 13 buttered pan.

Melt butter, then add sugar and barely stir. Add vanilla, stir, and pour entire mixture over apples. Pour Mountain Dew around the edges of the pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Serve with ice cream, and spoon some of the sweet sauces from the pan over the top.

WARNING: Prepare this dish at your own risk. It is beyond imaginable.

Monster Cookies

12 eggs

1 lb oleo

2 lbs brown sugar

3 lbs peanut butter

3 T vanilla

18 c oatmeal

3 tsp light karo

8 tsp soda

4 c white sugar

1 lb m & m's

1 lb choc. chips

Mix in a large bowl with hands. Make cookies about the size of a hamburger patty. Place only about 3 on a cookie sheet at a time. They don't call them Monster cookies for nothing! Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes.

***I only make half of the recipe at a time because it is just too much to deal with otherwise. Half the recipe makes about 2 dozen large cookies. These are hugely popular at bake sales we've had for scouts--probably due to their large size more than anything!!

Jared was also sorely disappointed I hadn't introduced him to these cookies much sooner than 13 years into our marriage!

Cajun Shrimp Alfredo

This Alfredo sauce is a cinch! It's delicious and light too. You could really put anything on top of the pasta...blackened grilled chicken, sauteed onions and tomatoes, serve the pasta as a side dish...etc.

Guiltless Alfredo Sauce and Cajun Shrimp
Slightly adapted from ourbestbites.com

Ingredients:

2 C low-fat milk
1/3 C (3 oz) low fat cream cheese
2 T flour
1 t salt
1 T butter
3 garlic cloves
1 C grated Parmesan cheese
pinch of nutmeg

frozen cooked shrimp
cajun seasoning
1 tbsp. canola oil

For Sauce:

Toss milk, cream cheese, flour, salt, and nutmeg in a blender. Blend until smooth. Warm the butter in the pan over medium high heat. Add the garlic and sautee for about 30 seconds, just until fragrant. Add the milk mixture and stir constantly for about 3-4 minutes until it comes to a simmer. Now stir for a few minutes more. It will thicken as it cooks. Take the sauce off the heat and add the parmesan cheese. The sauce will thicken even more as it sits off the heat. So, don't cook it for too long.

For Shrimp:

Thaw the shrimp under running cold water. Coat in cajun seasoning, and sautee in warm oil. Place on top of the pasta and sprinkle parsley if desired.

Oh yeah, don't forget to make the pasta too :)

Karlie...

Hey I was wondering if you could post that broccoli salad recipe of yours...Mmm. Please?

Strawberry Oatmeal Breakfast Shake

Who knew there could be so many ways to eat oatmeal. I love oatmeal, but it's been hard for me to get it down on these hot muggy mornings. I got this idea (and the pretty picture) from allrecipes and used what I had to make a deliciously cold, smooth, and sweet treat. I promise you're kids will never know that there are oats in there. And there you have it, the perfect breakfast food hidden in a shake in seconds! Try it!

Strawberry Oatmeal Breakfast Shake
Makes about 2 servings

Blend these ingredients in the order listed:

1/2 c plain or vanilla yogurt
2/3 c milk or water
1 banana
1/2 c. + raw oats
10-14 frozen strawberries
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp honey (if desired)

Shepherd's Pie

I had never even heard of Shepherd's Pie before I married into the Dean family. I will be honest, it wasn't something I wanted to make very often. I'm not really a big fan of ground hamburger as the main component of any meal. That's just me. I know lot's of people like it, especially my husband. Since Jacob happens to love Shepherd's pie I attempted to turn an old favorite into a new favorite for the whole family, with a few additions of my own. It was a hit! So, I've been making it this way since that day in 2007. Not that much different...but really, really good.

Shepherd's Pie Re-vamped
Feeds 6

4-5 medium sized potatoes
1 tbsp butter
about 1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
salt to taste
1lb ground turkey
1 small yellow or white onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp canola oil
1 can stewed tomatoes, cut into smaller pieces
1/4 cup ketchup
2 beef bullion cubes
2 Tbsp flour
1/4 c water
1/4-1/2 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2-1 tsp black pepper
a few shakes of seasoned salt or to taste (we use Johnny's)
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
frozen vegetables of your choice, I prefer green beans, carrots, and sometimes peas
1/2 cup cheese, I use whatever I have

Pressure cook, boil, or bake your potatoes until they are soft enough to mash. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large saucepan. Add onion and cook over medium heat until soft, add garlic and cook for about 1 minute. Add ground turkey and brown. Sprinkle flour over the browned meat. Add bouillon cubes and water, tomatoes, and ketchup, white and black pepper, oregano, seasoned salt, and worcestershire sauce. Bring it all to a simmer. Add more water or spices until desired sauciness and flavor are reached. Mash or whip the potatoes with a mixer (we like them whipped) with the butter, milk, pepper, garlic powder, and salt. Add more milk and butter to taste. Pour turkey mixture into a square or round pan. Spread frozen veggies over turkey. Smooth potatoes over veggies, and sprinkle cheese. Bake in oven at 350 degrees until bubbly and cheese is melted. This will only take about 15-30 minutes if your pie is still warm from the stove. You can also refrigerate the pie unbaked for up to 2 days and then bake with foil on top for about an hour. Take foil off for the last 10 minutes.

Danielle's devilishly good brownies

Enoch as well as the rest of the gang thought these brownies were sooooo good! Maybe they were just excited that they weren't filled with too much salt because of my April Fool's prank!

Deep Dark Chocolate Brownies

These are the best homemade brownies I have yet to make. This could possibly have something to do with my intense craving for, well food, since I've been nursing Elijah.

Luci loves anything with chocolate. She was helping me and I turned away for a minute to look at the recipe, and there she was slathered in chocolate goo.

Deep, Dark Chocolate Brownies

Recipe adapted from melskitchencafe.blogspot.com

2 sticks (8 oz) butter
10 oz good-quality semisweet chocolate
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
5 large eggs
1/3 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup all-purpose flour

2/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips *optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 13×9 inch metal pan with foil and spray foil with cooking spray. Alternatively, you may use parchment. These are pretty sticky at first!

Melt butter and chocolate in a 3-qt heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring, until smooth. Add 1 cup of the sugar to the hot chocolate mixture. Remove from heat and let cool to lukewarm.

Whisk in remaining 1 cup sugar and vanilla. Whisk in eggs 1 at a time until mixture is glossy and smooth. Whisk in salt and cocoa powder, then add flour and stir until it disappears (do not overbeat). Stir in chocoate chips.

Spread in pan and bake until a pick inserted in center comes out with crumbs, 25 to 35 minutes. Cool to room temperature then chill for an hour or more. Lift from pan, place on a cutting board, cut into squares.

Makes 1 13×9 inch pan (yield depends on how big you cut your brownies, but they are rich, so small is fine.

Roasted Tomato and Black Bean Soup

I'm not a huge soup fan, but this was really good! I found it in Reader's Digest.

7 med. tomatoes, quartered

1 lg. onion, large pieces

3 garlic cloves

2 T. olive oil

1 t. salt

1/2 t. pepper

5 c. chicken broth

2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed

1 1/2 t. cumin

1 t. chili powder

1/4 t. hot pepper sauce (I substituted 3-4 slices of jalapenos and a dash of cayenne pepper)

1/4 c. sour cream

1/4 c. chopped cilantro

Toss tomatoes, onion, garlic, oil, 1/2 t. salt and 1/4 t. pepper. Place on baking sheet and roast until garlic has softened, onion edges are brown, and tomatoes collapsed (about 35-40 minutes) stirring once after 20 minutes. Transfer to 4 qt. pan. Add broth, beans, cumin, chili powder, and remaining salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and simmer 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Then blend until smooth with a blender. (I have a hand blender that I could just stick in the pan or else you have to transfer it to a regular blender.) Stir in hot sauce. Garnish with cilantro and sour cream. Guten Appetit!

Professional Pizza by Daniella

Friday night is pizza night, and this weekend I decided to try a new recipe for pizza crust. I love my quick and easy one, but this one was amazing! And still, not very hard, especially if you have a bread maker. Jacob couldn't stop talking about how good this pizza turned out. He wants me to enter it into some kind of recipe contest, specifically the pear and Gorgonzola pizza. :) Cute husband of mine. Luci wasn't a big fan this time...but she's had strep throat, and she's on some pretty strong anti-biotics. I really can't wait for spring time so that she will hopefully stop getting sick! She is getting tubes on February 10th, which we are hopeful will make a difference. Anyway, here is the recipe...

Crust
Makes one medium pizza (I doubled it)

3/4 c water
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. dry milk powder
2 1/4 c flour
1 tsp active dry yeast (I always use SAF)
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)

Add ingredients to bread machine (usually wet first, yeast last) and put on dough cycle.
**If you don't have a bread maker either dissolve the yeast in a 1/4 cup of the water (hot from the tap) or just throw the SAF yeast in with your dry ingredients. Then mix in the rest of your water, oil, and lemon juice into your dry ingredients and knead or beat in mixer until dough is smooth and elastic. Dough should be slightly sticky but not enough to stick onto your fingers. Add more or less to ensure correct consistency. Make sure your water is hot from the tap if you aren't using a bread maker.
After dough has risen to double in size roll out on a floured surface to be about 1/2 inch thick. Transfer to a greased pan with cornmeal on the bottom. Let rise for 30 more minutes for a chewier crust. Then top with your favorite traditional toppings, or try these... (Bake in a 500 degree oven, on a pizza stone if you have one, for 12-15 minutes depending on how thick your crust is.)

Garlic Crazy Bread Style
Spread olive oil over the dough, sprinkle fresh Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, and sea salt. Dip in warm marinara sauce.

Pear and Gorgonzola Style
Sounds fancy, but so delicious and easy!
Caramelize 1 small onion. (saute in oil over medium high heat until browned and still slightly crunchy) Spread olive oil over dough, sprinkle mozzarella, and parmesan cheese, sliced pears, caramelized onions, Gorgonzola, or Blue cheese, ground pepper, sea salt, and drizzle some honey on top. Amazing.

And here's a cute picture of dad being a professional Pa Paw! Thanks Mom and Dad for all you do! It was fun to hang out with the cousins last weekend:)

Crustless Quiche

My oven is back in commission. Did I mention that? Jacob fixed it for me when all of his finals were done! I have been a baking machine since then. Baked oatmeal, coffee cake, German chocolate cake cupcakes, pizza, cornbread, mexican cornbread, etc... Thank you Jacob for figuring it out, so that I didn't have to take Jody's advice and go pioneer style with a dutch oven out in the snow :) I made this for a friends birthday brunch this morning. It was delish, and everyone wanted the recipe. So, here it is :)


Crustless Roasted Potato, Onion, and Garlic Quiche

Do Ahead:
The night before, or morning of if you're having this for dinner, roast your potatoes, onion, and garlic. You can use the potato wedges for dinner too! We couldn't stop eating them last night. They will make your whole house smell good...

2 cups potatoes (I used plain Russet, but red or gold would be yummy)
1 medium onion
3 cloves garlic
olive oil
season salt
pepper

5 Eggs
1/2 cup plain yogurt or sour cream (heaping)
Parmesan cheese
Mozzarella cheese
Fresh veggies you have on hand: I used spinach, and red peppers
Dry parsley, and basil

Coat potato wedges, onion wedges, and whole garlic in olive oil. Pour onto a tin foil lined sheet pan. Season with salt and pepper. Roast in 400 degree oven for 30-45 min. Or until soft in the middle and crisp on the outside.

Lightly coat a 9 inch pie plate with cooking spray or butter. Layer potatoes, cheese, spinach, peppers. Beat eggs and yogurt and pour on top. Make sure you move the eggs around to cover everything else. Sprinkle with a little more cheese. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes.

Volare's Heath toffee cheesecake

Made for Jared's birthday cake!!

Crust:

3 1/2 cups ground Oreos

1 stick butter, melted

Filling:

3 lbs. cream cheese, softened

1 stick butter, softened

6 eggs

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 t. vanilla

1 t. lemon juice

1 1/2 cups sour cream

3/4 cup heavy cream

2 1/2 cups crushed Heath toffee pieces

Crust:

Combine butter and crushed Oreos. Press into bottom and up 2/3 the side of 10 x 3 inch springform pan.

Filling:

Beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add eggs one at a time. Gradually beat in sugar, vanilla, lemon juice, sour cream and heavy cream. Fold in about 1 1/2 cups of toffee pieces. Pour onto crust all the way to the top and top with 1 cup toffee pieces. (You can pour excess filling into a graham cracker crust and bake until just set.)

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Double wrap springform pan in foil and place in a water bath filled halfway up the side. Bake in the water bath for 30 minutes, then lower oven temperature to 300 degrees and bake for 30 more minutes. Then reduce oven temperature to 250 degrees and bake for the final 25 minutes. Turn off the oven and let the cheesecake set in the oven for 30 minutes.

(It will look wobbly like jell-o and it's actually done! I tend to overcook cheesecake until it doesn't look like this--but don't!!)

While the cake is warm take your finger and pull the edge of the cheesecake away from the pan. Remove it from the water bath and refrigerate overnight.

Use knife to separate cheesecake from the side of the pan. Remove springform. Serves 12-15 and that's no joke!! (A 1 inch piece will fill you up--it sits heavy in the stomach but is soooo good!)

ENJOY!!!!!