Lauren's Latest Valentines Day Recipes

Dear Friends,

I recently discovered this great blog, called Lauren's Latest, formerly GoLoKitchen. She posts great recipes for the holidays, get togethers and events. I would like to share two awesome recipes that sound delicious for Valentine's Day. I look forward to trying them myself at some point. I love sweets, and I especially love these. One is a heart shaped brownie cheesecake and another is a mini Red Velvet Oreo cheesecake topped with Nutella! How divine is that?! I thought, all my favorite desserts all in one! It sounds irresistible and the pictures definitely prove that!

Below are the two recipes, bon appetit!


Nutella Topped Red Velvet Oreo Cheesecakes

 

Ingredients 

12 Chocolate Oreos
1-8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
red food coloring
1/2 cup Nutella

A picture of your ingredients

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Line cupcake pan with paper liners and place 1 Oreo in the bottom. Set aside.
In large bowl, whip cream cheese and sugar together until combined. Stir in cocoa, vanilla, egg and red food coloring until smooth and desired color. Spoon batter over Oreos so cups are filled 2/3 way full approximately.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until set completely. Cool to room temperature and place in refrigerator until ready to serve. For serving, remove paper cupcake liner and place on platter. Microwave Nutella in heat-proof bowl to thin out and make more spreadable. Spoon over cheesecakes and spread to cover the top completely.


Heart Shaped Brownie Cheesecake Truffles

How cute?!

Ingredients

1 box brownie mix
eggs, water, oil {for the brownie mix}
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
chocolate candy coating or chocolate wafers {I ended up using about 20 oz. of candy coating}
sprinkles, for decoration

Directions

Make brownies according to package directions. Let cool completely. Cut off any hard edges and crumble into a large bowl. Stir in cream cheese until combined–there should be no large chunks of cream cheese anywhere; mostly uniform in color. Using a 1-inch heart shaped cookie cutter, press brownie mixture into shape and then gently push completely through to form. Continue this process until all hearts are formed. Place in refrigerator until ready to coat in chocolate.
Over a double boiler or in the microwave, melt candy coating or chocolate. Place one heart shaped brownie into the chocolate and spoon more chocolate over top to coat completely. Remove with fork, tapping off any excess. Place on wax paper or cooling rack to drip. Top with sprinkles, nuts or any other desired toppings. Store in refrigerator until ready to serve.
Makes 48 truffles. 

For more recipes, visit laurenslatest.com. Pictures courtesy of her website.

Red Velvet Cheesecake

I found this yummy recipe featured on Recipe Girl.  I first tried Red Velvet Cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory, it has been my favorite cheesecake flavor ever since, along with Adam's Peanut Butter Cup Fudge Ripple, Cookie Dough & Chocolate Mousse.  I was searching for recipes, and I found this one to be the best and most appropriate because it was the easiest to understand for all levels of experience.

RED VELVET CHEESECAKE

CRUST:

17 regular-sized Oreo cookies, crushed finely (or 1½ cups chocolate graham cracker crumbs)
¼ cup butter, melted
1 Tbs granulated sugar
CHEESECAKE:
Three 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
1½ cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 Tbs unsweetened cocoa
1 cup sour cream
½ cup buttermilk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp distilled white vinegar
Two 1-ounce bottles red food coloring
FROSTING:
One 3-ounce package cream cheese, softened
¼ cup butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla extract
fresh mint sprigs, for garnish
heavy duty foil

1. Prepare crust: Stir together Oreo crumbs, melted butter, and 1 Tbsp. granulated sugar; press mixture into bottom of 9-inch springform pan.
2. Preheat oven to 325°F. Prepare water bath: Fill large roasting pan (big enough for springform pan to fit into) with about 1 inch of water. Place in oven and allow to preheat along with the oven.
3. Prepare filling: Beat cream cheese and sugar at medium-low speed with an electric mixer for 1 minute. Add eggs and remaining cheesecake ingredients, mixing on low speed just until fully combined. Pour batter into prepared crust.
4. Take out two sheets of heavy duty foil and layer them on top of one another. Place springform pan on top of the foil and wrap the foil gently around the pan and up the sides. Make sure that there are no tears or holes and that the foil comes all the way up around all sides of the cake. Carefully place the foil-protected pan into the water bath in the preheated oven.
5. Bake for 10 minutes; reduce heat to 300°F. Bake for an additional 75 minutes or until the center is firm. Turn oven off. Let cheesecake stand in oven for 30 minutes. Remove cheesecake from oven. Carefully remove cheesecake from water bath and place on wire rack. Run a thin knife around the outer edge of the cheesecake. Cool on rack for a couple of hours, until the cheesecake becomes close to room temperature. Cover and chill for at least 8 hours (or overnight). Remove sides of springform pan.
6. Prepare frosting: Beat cream cheese and butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Gradually add powdered sugar and vanilla, beating until smooth. Spread evenly on top of cheesecake. Garnish, if desired.

Cooking Tips

*You may choose to bake the cheesecake instead with no water bath. Bake at 325 for 10 minutes; reduce heat to 300 and bake for an additional 75 minutes. Let cheesecake stand in oven 30 minutes. Remove from oven; cool in pan on wire rack for 30 minutes. (Baking without a water bath – you run the risk of cracking the top of the cheesecake).

*Some readers have indicated that there is far too much frosting for this recipe. I personally like a lot of frosting, so you can see a thick layer of frosting in the photograph. If you’re not big on frosting, you can leave it off entirely or cut the frosting recipe in half.