Mrs.Cookie Cutters

As my passion grew for baking, and experimenting with different recipes, I started collecting cookie cutters. My favorite stores are Marshall's, Ross, Burlington and T.J. Max, where I find great cookbooks and baking items such as many different cookie cutters. I look for and buy all sizes, shapes, and designs. Usually every holiday, there's new cutters to look for. Currently, I have Valentines day, Halloween, and Christmas themes. I use my cutters for sugar cookie recipes. One day I was surfing the home decor isles of Ross, and found this huge gingerbread cookie cutter, I immediately secured it in my shopping kart. The best way to find either the same, different or even the matching piece to an already existing item is to go to all the same stores in different areas, close by. You would find me at almost all the locations closes to me, searching for cutters, dishes for display, and much more. Right now, I am on the search for some vintage cutters, I hope to find a great collection of vintage cutters. You can collect these cookie cutters and others like I have on My Amazon Shopping .

Luxurious Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake

2 Cream Cheese pkgs (8 oz.)
Sour Cream (16 oz.)
1 Cup Sugar
2 Eggs
3/4 Graham Cracker Crumbs
1/3 Chopped Walnuts or Pecans (optional)
1 Cup of Cherries (dried)
1 Teaspoon of Mint Extract (optional)
2 Tbsps of Flour
3 Tbsps of Butter (melted)
3 Tbsps of Sugar
Chocolate Fudge cake mix (plus required ingredients)

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line two deep pans with foil or parchment paper, with ends extended over pans.
2. Mix graham crumbs, 3 tbsps of sugar, and 3 tbsps of butter well.
3. Pack firmly into the bottom of pans and bake for about 10 minutes.
4. Cream cream cheese and sour cream, then add 1 cup of sugar and eggs. Then add flour, mint extract, walnuts or pecans, cherries and blend well.
5. Mix together the chocolate cake mix and its ingredients, then pour half (or even less then half)of the cake mix into one of the pans, and the other half in the other pan, (which has the baked graham crumbs). Eye ball it, because the chocolate cake has a tendency to run over.
6. Pour the cheesecake batter over the chocolate fudge cake batter of both pans.
7. Bake for 1 to an hour and a half, until center is set. Cool completely, lift cheesecake out with foil or parchment handles and serve.

* Not recommended for people on diets!

This was a very rich chocolate-cheesecake I created for Christmas and it was wonderful. You get the best of both worlds, its like ice cream and cake. Prep time might be an hour, but give it a try and enjoy.

Breakfast with Sophie!

My mom was a nurse, and she took care of a sweet but tough little old lady name sophie. Her name may sound soft, but she was far from it. But, from time to time I would visit and help out. My real interest in baking came from visiting sophie, (because I was more of a cook since I was 10 years old, rather then baking).

I got the idea that it would be nice to bake something for her.. she loved sweets and trying new things. So I first began with breakfast, where I baked Almond stuffed Pastry Pretzels. It was in the shape of a pretzel and lightly stuffed with a mixture of sugar, almonds, and almond paste. As they were baking the house filled with a sweet aroma, and she could not wait. She enjoyed it, for the next couple of mornings.

Then I made semi sweet cinnamon buns, with her heath in mind and for christmas I made cookies. Sophie really enjoyed the treats, and she wanted to help so bad sometimes. It was more of a treat to see her face when she started to smell different things baking.