Tag Archives: cheesecake

Celebrating National Pumpkin Cheesecake Day, Oct. 21

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Fall is here and it is virtually impossible to avoid seeing pumpkins everywhere. Vendors along the side of the road are busy selling big orange and even white carving pumpkins (which you should NEVER eat). Baking pumpkins (like the one pictured to the right) are abundant at local farmers’ markets.

It’s funny how nostalgic something as simple as a pumpkin can be as people are reminded of Halloween and various other childhood memories. The smell of Pumpkin Pie Spice causes me to reminisce of Thanksgivings and Christmases from yesteryear.

I love pumpkin anything – except pumpkin pie. (I know, call me crazy!) This Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake recipe is a great alternative to pie, especially for those cheesecake fans out there. Add a dollop of whipped cream to the top and you’re all set for a delicious treat.

PS. Since they’ve created a national holiday to celebrate National Pumpkin Cheesecake Day, it has to be worth a try!

Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake

Ingredients

  • 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crust
  • 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 cup homemade whipped cream

Directions
Preheat oven to 325º.

  1. In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Blend in eggs one at a time.
  2. Remove 1 cup of batter and spread into bottom of crust; set aside.
  3. Add pumpkin, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg to the remaining batter and stir gently until well blended. Carefully spread over the batter in the crust.
  4. Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until center is almost set. Don’t worry if there are a couple of cracks; when you refrigerate it they will close up.
  5. Allow to cool, then refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight.
  6. Garnish with whipped topping before serving

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If you’d rather watch your calories this season, Meg Benson of Clermont, Iowa, shares this Cooking Light recipe with only 256 calories per serving and less than 10 grams of fat. She says this cheesecake is also good with a graham cracker crust and recommends going heavy on the spices!

COOK’S TIP: Meg says it took almost 2 hours for the cheesecake to bake in her oven. She also notes that she bakes cheesecakes in a water bath and then lets them sit in the oven for an hour or so after turning off the oven off.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Ingredients

Crust:

  • 56 reduced-fat vanilla wafers (about 8 ounces)
  • 1 tablespoon butter or stick margarine, melted
  • Cooking spray

Filling:

  • 3 (8-ounce) blocks fat-free cream cheese, softened
  • 2 (8-ounce) blocks 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • Dash of allspice
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400°.

  • To prepare crust, place wafers in a food processor; pulse 2 to 3 times or until finely ground. Add butter; pulse 10 times or until mixture resembles coarse meal. Firmly press mixture into bottom of a 9-inch springform pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 8 minutes; cool on a wire rack.
  • Reduce oven temperature to 325°.
  • To prepare filling, beat cheeses with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Add the granulated sugar and next 8 ingredients (granulated sugar through vanilla), beating well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add pumpkin; beat well.
  • Pour cheese mixture into prepared crust; bake at 325° for 1 1/2 hours or until almost set. (Cheesecake is done when the center barely moves when pan is touched.) Remove cheesecake from oven; run a knife around outside edge. Cool to room temperature; cover and chill at least 8 hours.

From Cheese Curds to Cheesecake, Hats off to Hansen Dairy in Hudson

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In support of June Dairy Month, today’s blog post will feature an Iowa family whose entrepreneurial spirit allows seven families to be supported by a 150 milk cows. 

Earlier this month I had the pleasure of touring Hansen’s Dairy Farm near Hudson, Iowa, as part of the Ag-Urban Leadership Initiative. I’ve shared some photos below, so you can take your own “virtual tour” of their operation. (Note the calf with a perfect heart-shape on her forehead… How could you help but love her? There’s also a photo of Hansen’s milk truck and even a wallaby!) The Hansen logo (at right) is of a wallaby with a Holstein calf in her pouch. The Hansen’s have several New Zealand wallabies that help attract people to the farm.

The Ag-Urban Leadership Initiative, sponsored by the Iowa Soybean Association, fosters collaboration between ag and urban leaders to provide sustainable solutions for the state and her communities. A large part of the program involves educational tours and discussions with Iowa business owners such as Jay and Jeanne Hansen.

The Hansen farm has been in the family since Jay’s ancestors emigrated from Germany in 1861, and J&J’s dairy herd originated in 1953. When all four of their sons desired to return to home and farm, the family needed to find a way to produce more revenue without a large expansion. After extensive research, they decided to process their own milk. A creamery was constructed in November 2002, and in February 2004, their first gallon of non-homogenized whole milk was produced.

Today the Hansens run a farm-fresh milk route and have expanded their product offering to include: whole milk, 1% milk, Skim milk, Chocolate 1% milk, butter, heavy cream, cheese curds, hard ice cream, soft-serve ice cream, ice cream pies, ice cream cakes, egg nog (seasonal) and ground beef.

Hansen’s Dairy Outlet in Cedar Falls sells butter, cottage cheese, sour cream, European-style yogurt, cheese baskets plus Holstein beef, cheese curds and soft serve ice cream. The family also operates Moo Roo retail store in Waterloo. The name combines their cows with their logo. (Wallabies, or miniature kangaroos, came to live on their farm after son Blake Hansen traveled to New Zealand.)

“Farm Fresh Dairy” has become a point of differentiation for the Hansen family. Their mission is “to deliver the best quality farm-fresh dairy products from our family to yours.”

Those of us who operate family-owned businesses can certainly appreciate the time, energy and passion that goes into producing products that we’re proud put our name on. In honor of the Hansens – and all of the Midwest’s hardworking dairy families – I’m posting one of my favorite cheesecake recipes today.

Mini Cherry Cheesecake

1 c. vanilla wafer crumbs (or graham cracker crumbs)

3 T. butter

1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened

1 ½ tsp. vanilla

2 tsp. lemon juice

1/3 c. sugar

1 egg

Topping:

1 pound pitted, canned or frozen tart red cherries

½ c. sugar

2 T. cornstarch

Red food coloring (optional)

NOTE: I’ve simplified the topping by merely replacing it with canned cherry pie filling.

In a bowl, combine crumbs and butter. Press gently into the bottom of 12 paper-lined muffin cups. In a mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, vanilla, lemon juice, sugar and egg; beat until smooth. Spoon into crusts. Bake at 375% for 12-15 minutes until set. Cool completely. Drain cherries, reserving ½ c. juice in a saucepan; discard remaining juice. To guide, add cherries, sugar and cornstarch and food coloring. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally; boil for 1 minute. Cool; spoon over cheesecake. Chill for at least 2 hours. Yield: 12 servings.

NOTE: I’ve used the mini muffin tins and adjusted the baking time to 6-9 minutes.