Recipes

No bake cheesecake

-Crust

1-1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, melted

-Filling

2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 cups heavy whipping cream

-Topping

2 cups sliced fresh strawberries
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 cup fresh raspberries
2 tablespoons sugar

-Tools you’ll need

Springform pan
Hand mixer
Spatulas

Step one:

To prepare the crust, mix together the graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Gently stir in the melted butter and mix until combined. Press the mixture onto the bottom and 1-inch up the sides of an ungreased 9-inch springform pan. Refrigerate the crust for 30 minutes or until firm to the touch.

Step two:

For the filling, beat together the cream cheese, sugar and lemon juice in a large bowl until smooth. Gradually add the cream, then continue beating until stiff peaks form.

Step three:

Transfer the mixture to the prepared crust, then refrigerate the cheesecake, covered, for 8 hours or overnight.

Step four: About half an hour before you plan to serve the cheesecake, remove it from the fridge. Then, gently toss the berries with sugar and let stand for 15-30 minutes. You want to give the berry juices a little bit of time to release.

Step five: To serve, start by removing the cheesecake from the pan. Use a knife to loosen the sides of the cheesecake from the springform, then release the latch and remove the rim. Slice into pieces and serve cheesecake with topping.

Sanjana

Meringue Snowmen

Do you need the perfect winter snack? I do! Below is the recipe for this amazing winter treat!

Ingredients

3 egg whites
½ teaspoon vanilla or 1/4 tsp. almond extract or peppermint extract*
¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
⅛ teaspoon salt
¾ cup sugar
Orange jimmies (optional)
Melted chocolate (optional)

This person used M&M’s to make their creations

Preheat your oven to 200°F. Then Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl beat egg whites, vanilla, cream (If you do not have cream you can use tartar), and salt. Next set your mixer so it is on the medium setting. Then turn it on until soft peaks form, the tips should curl. Gradually add sugar, about 1 Tbsp every time. While adding the sugar, put your mixer onto the high setting and beat the mixture until stiff peaks form, the tips should stand straight.
Carefully use a spoon and put the meringue into a disposable pastry bag. (Make sure it is fitted with a large round tip.) Pipe meringue into snowmen shapes and make them about 1 1/4 inches tall. Make sure you pipe 2 or 3 balls that are larger at the bottom and smaller ones at the top. If you feel it is necessary, put an orange jimmy on each snowman for a nose. Dip a small spoon in hot water and lightly make the snowmen’s heads round.
Bake the meringue for 1 hour (until the meringues are set but not fully firm.) Turn the oven off and let meringue cookies stay in the oven for about 30 minutes. This will allow the meringue cookies to fully cool and not crack. Carefully remove the cookies from the oven. Then cool them on wire racks. If you wish, add a spoon of melted chocolate into a pastry bag and snip a very small hole in one of the corners. You can pipe tiny dots for eyes and tiny circles for buttons and twig-like arms along the sides. You can also be creative and add your own designs to the treat. Below is a picture of this yummy treat and different ways you can mix the recipe up!

Gia Patel

Hot Chocolate Bombs

Recipe

Step 1 - Chop 24 ounces of good quality semi-sweet chocolate as finely as you can with a knife.

Step 2 - Place the chocolate in the microwave and heat for 30 seconds. NO MORE. Then stir with a spatula, moving the chocolate from the outside edges, to the center to evenly heat it.

Step 3 - Place the chocolate back into the microwave and heat for 15 seconds and stir like we did in the first step. Take the temp of your chocolate to make sure it's not above 90ºF

Step 4 - Repeat this process 2-5 more times until the chocolate is almost melted. Never heat more than 15 seconds and do not let your chocolate get above 90ºF. Once almost melted, just continue stirring until the chocolate is fully melted from the residual heat from the bowl

Step 5 - Pour some chocolate onto some parchment paper and pop it into the fridge for 5 minutes. Take it out and observe it. Does it look shiny? Does it snap in half loudly when you break it? Then it's tempered and ready to go in your molds.

Molding (Acrylic Mold)

Step 1 - Clean your mold. Use some paper towel to thoroughly polish the insides of your molds so that they are nice and shiny. Any amount of residue will cause a blemish on your chocolate. This is true for silicone molds and acrylic molds.

Step 2 - Paint a thin layer of chocolate using a paintbrush on the inside of the mold. Place into the fridge for 5 minutes to set.

Step 3 - Apply a second coat of chocolate, paying special attention to the edges to build them up a bit so the molds have a strong edge. Place the chocolate mold into the fridge to set up for five minutes.

Step 4- Pour the excess chocolate out of the mold back into the bowl or onto the table to be scraped up later. I use the edges of my bench scraper to tap the side so that the chocolate all comes out.

Step 5 - Scrape the excess chocolate off the top of the mold.

Step 6 - Place the mold face down onto some parchment paper until it's almost set but still soft. About 5 minutes. This allows the excess chocolate to pool onto the parchment paper to build up the rim of the chocolate.

Step 7 - Scrape the top of the mold again to make the chocolate spheres have a very clean edge.

Step 8 - Place the chocolate mold into the freezer for 5 minutes (don't forget about them!)

Step 9 - If the chocolate was tempered properly, you will see that the chocolate has pulled away from the mold and is not sticking. You might have one or two spots that are sticking but if they are small, it will be ok.

Step 10 - In one swift move, turn the mold upside down onto the table with a bit of force to get the chocolates to all come out.

Assembling

Step 1 - Set your first half into a small bowl or use the back of your silicone mold to hold it. Fill the chocolate about ¾ of the way with your favorite hot chocolate mix and marshmallows.

Step 2 - Pipe some melted chocolate onto the top of the sphere.

Step 3 - Place the second half of the chocolate sphere on top and press gently together to seal.

Step 4 - Use a gloved finger to clean off the excess chocolate to make a seamless look or simply roll the bomb in spirals to finish the look.

Step 5- Heat milk and place the bomb inside. Mix well!

Leslie Yoon

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