Cheesecake Squares
When I was younger, I didn't have many friends. Personally, I preferred to do my own thing. Give me a good book and some yummy food and I could keep myself entertained for hours. Rarely did I have friends over, but when I did, it was my friend Iman. Of course, she would be bring the whole family with her (because we all come in 6 packs). Of course she would also bring some sort of dessert with her. One night, she came over and brought a strawberry swirl cheesecake with her. Nur, meet Cheesecake, Cheesecake, meet Nur.
How had I not had cheesecake before? I mean my mom's favorite restaurant (by favorite, I mean the only one she'll go to) is The Cheesecake Factory. Their specialty is cheesecake, and yet I had never tried it before. This introduction was truly a pleasure. I took one bite, and I was hooked. This wasn't even a gourmet cheesecake, it was just a plain 'ole bakery one. At that moment I knew that I had to make a cheesecake. I just had to.
Of course, my motivated eager self got up the next morning and started the journey to a cheesecake. Forget the fact that I had never seen a cheesecake pan before. I had my mom buy me all the stuff and I got to work. That cheesecake. Oh. My. God. It was horrible. Yes, horrible. Everything worked out fine, but I baked the life out of it. It was not a cheesecake, it was a hard block of cheese. I actually waited until a toothpick came out clean. And if that wasn't enough, I let it cool in the oven. Because I hadn't already dried the life out of it. Let's just say, since that day I could not look at a cheesecake again. I had nightmares. I buried myself in a hole and refused to come out. Okay, so I am a little dramatic. I didn't do that. But, I also never attempted a cheesecake again. Until now. I am proud to say that I am proud of this cheesecake. This was truly an achievement, and I would like to share it with all of you.
This cheesecake is truly a masterpiece. The crust is beautifully sandy. The graham crackers are perfectly fine with a nice coating of smooth butter. You get the hint of honey from the graham crackers, and the perfect richness from the butter. The crust is so perfectly proportioned with the amount of cheese filling. The filling is smooth, creamy, and perfectly cheesy. The decadence of the pure vanilla cuts through the heaviness of the cream cheese. The slight amount of sugar balances with the sour cream to achieve the perfect amount of sweetness. Top these little squares with any topping you want, and you have a whole new flavor profile. These squares are the perfect canvas for creativity. You can not get enough of these. Cut them small. You won't feel as bad eating the whole tray. Trust me. I know.
Ingredients:
Graham Cracker Crust
2 heaping Cups Graham Cracker Crumbs
3 tbsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Cinnamon (Optional)
3/4 Cup Butter (Melted)
Cheesecake Filling
3 8-oz. Packages Cream Cheese (Softened)
1 Cup Sugar
3 tbsp Flour
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
3 Eggs (Slightly Beaten)
16 oz. Sour Cream
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line the bottom of a 13x9 pan with parchment paper. Don't skip this. You may be tempted not to, but this will make your life easy. Do it.
Combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, cinnamon, and butter in a bowl. Mix until everything is evenly coated, and press into the bottom of the lined pan. Bake for 12-15 minutes, while you prepare the filling.
To prepare the filling, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the sour cream, vanilla, sugar, and flour. Mix well. Stir in the eggs. Don't over mix you batter. The crust should be ready by now. Take it out, and evenly pour the filling on top of it. Bake for about 40 minutes. Now here is what you need to do. Make sure that the cheesecake is till jiggly when you take it out. The cheesecake should also NOT be browned at all. As the cheesecake sets, the jiggle will go away. It's like Jello. Use your best judgment, but these 40 minutes should be just about perfect for this consistency. Start checking on it at the 34 minute mark and you should be okay. You can do this. I promise.
Once it's ready, cool it completely at room temperature. After that, wrap it up and put it in the fridge overnight. When you're ready to slice it, just pull it out using the wax paper as handles (I told you not to skip this step). It should come out cleanly. Slice it up and top it. Or you can just leave it plain. Now, eat it. Because, that's what I did. To all of it.
Oven Temperature: 325 Degrees
Prep. Time: 20 Minutes
Cook Time: 40 Minutes
Total Time: 1 Hour
I LOVE cheesecake. As a kid, I always thought it was gross. I mean, come on, who puts cheese in cake? Us Arabs eat cheese for breakfast. But as you all know, I am super easy going when it comes to trying new food. That's how I came to love cheesecake.When I was younger, I didn't have many friends. Personally, I preferred to do my own thing. Give me a good book and some yummy food and I could keep myself entertained for hours. Rarely did I have friends over, but when I did, it was my friend Iman. Of course, she would be bring the whole family with her (because we all come in 6 packs). Of course she would also bring some sort of dessert with her. One night, she came over and brought a strawberry swirl cheesecake with her. Nur, meet Cheesecake, Cheesecake, meet Nur.
How had I not had cheesecake before? I mean my mom's favorite restaurant (by favorite, I mean the only one she'll go to) is The Cheesecake Factory. Their specialty is cheesecake, and yet I had never tried it before. This introduction was truly a pleasure. I took one bite, and I was hooked. This wasn't even a gourmet cheesecake, it was just a plain 'ole bakery one. At that moment I knew that I had to make a cheesecake. I just had to.
Of course, my motivated eager self got up the next morning and started the journey to a cheesecake. Forget the fact that I had never seen a cheesecake pan before. I had my mom buy me all the stuff and I got to work. That cheesecake. Oh. My. God. It was horrible. Yes, horrible. Everything worked out fine, but I baked the life out of it. It was not a cheesecake, it was a hard block of cheese. I actually waited until a toothpick came out clean. And if that wasn't enough, I let it cool in the oven. Because I hadn't already dried the life out of it. Let's just say, since that day I could not look at a cheesecake again. I had nightmares. I buried myself in a hole and refused to come out. Okay, so I am a little dramatic. I didn't do that. But, I also never attempted a cheesecake again. Until now. I am proud to say that I am proud of this cheesecake. This was truly an achievement, and I would like to share it with all of you.
This cheesecake is truly a masterpiece. The crust is beautifully sandy. The graham crackers are perfectly fine with a nice coating of smooth butter. You get the hint of honey from the graham crackers, and the perfect richness from the butter. The crust is so perfectly proportioned with the amount of cheese filling. The filling is smooth, creamy, and perfectly cheesy. The decadence of the pure vanilla cuts through the heaviness of the cream cheese. The slight amount of sugar balances with the sour cream to achieve the perfect amount of sweetness. Top these little squares with any topping you want, and you have a whole new flavor profile. These squares are the perfect canvas for creativity. You can not get enough of these. Cut them small. You won't feel as bad eating the whole tray. Trust me. I know.
Ingredients:
Graham Cracker Crust
2 heaping Cups Graham Cracker Crumbs
3 tbsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Cinnamon (Optional)
3/4 Cup Butter (Melted)
Cheesecake Filling
3 8-oz. Packages Cream Cheese (Softened)
1 Cup Sugar
3 tbsp Flour
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
3 Eggs (Slightly Beaten)
16 oz. Sour Cream
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line the bottom of a 13x9 pan with parchment paper. Don't skip this. You may be tempted not to, but this will make your life easy. Do it.
Combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, cinnamon, and butter in a bowl. Mix until everything is evenly coated, and press into the bottom of the lined pan. Bake for 12-15 minutes, while you prepare the filling.
To prepare the filling, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the sour cream, vanilla, sugar, and flour. Mix well. Stir in the eggs. Don't over mix you batter. The crust should be ready by now. Take it out, and evenly pour the filling on top of it. Bake for about 40 minutes. Now here is what you need to do. Make sure that the cheesecake is till jiggly when you take it out. The cheesecake should also NOT be browned at all. As the cheesecake sets, the jiggle will go away. It's like Jello. Use your best judgment, but these 40 minutes should be just about perfect for this consistency. Start checking on it at the 34 minute mark and you should be okay. You can do this. I promise.
Once it's ready, cool it completely at room temperature. After that, wrap it up and put it in the fridge overnight. When you're ready to slice it, just pull it out using the wax paper as handles (I told you not to skip this step). It should come out cleanly. Slice it up and top it. Or you can just leave it plain. Now, eat it. Because, that's what I did. To all of it.
2 comments:
pretty nice blog, following :)
Glad to hear that!
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