Episode 2 Eggs are Bi and versatile!

Next to butter I think my favorite ingredient is eggs. Eggs are a cornucopia of versatility and one of the few ingredients that makes an appearance easily at breakfast, lunch, dinner, and even that midnight snack. This post while not about eggs is all about one of my newest favorite things to make.

Savannah Cheesecake Cookies…

I wish I could take the credit for these but they are the product of the southern goddess, The Lady Paula Dean. I was downtown one day and decided to stop by the library and see what books they had on baking and of course an hour later I was straining my back carrying home a load of books. One book in particular was “The Lady & Sons Just Desserts: More Than 120 Sweet Temptations from Savannah's Favorite Restaurant “

Now I am gonna be honest, one of my very first dishes I ever attempted was a cheesecake. I was scared and sweating and 12 different kinds of nervous. I had heard all kinds of horror stories about cheesecakes gone wrong and since this was for someone’s birthday I didn’t want to mess up. After driving myself into a frenzy however I discovered that this was not calculus but simple chemistry (a subject I really enjoyed in high School).

Anyway I am getting way off subject. While the cheesecake was simple these cookies are even more so.

You start with the crust. You need a 9x14 pan. Something with sides cause the cookies (which are actually squares) are going to bake up. You mix in a large bowl 1Cup of Flour (all purpose), ¼ cup of brown sugar. Now it is probably better to use an actual ¼ measuring cup instead of the big Pyrex glass measuring cup we all have in the kitchen. I tell you this because you want to pack that brown sugar in that cup. Brown sugar gets a little what I call “”airy” so you have to use your fingers to push it down and make sure it is packed in that cup. Next you add one stick of BUTTER!!!!!!!!!

Now I am gonna be honest with you. I don’t have any electrical or mechanical aids in the kitchen. Everything I stir. Chop, blend, mix, and fold is done by hand and elbow grease. So I will usually throw my butter into a cup and microwave it for about 30 seconds. It’s good and gooey if not downright liquid. Last you need 1 cup of chopped pecans…now you could use walnuts (I have tried both) but I think I enjoyed the pecans better. You mix this gooey sweet smelling concoction together until you can’t see anymore flour. Then using your fingers (yes you can taste them after) press that dough down into the pan until the bottom is covered. Don’t worry if it is uneven cause this dough is going to mold itself to whatever you put it in. then you shove it into a 350o oven for 12-15 minutes.

Now hear is a non secret about me. I HATE washing dishes, but I have found that if I wash while I bake it goes by a lot quicker. Plus if you are baking more than one thing you will need some of this stuff again. So wash the bowl and spoon, knife, and measuring cup. It should only take about 5 minutes. Give the bowl a good swipe with a paper towel and prepare to make the cookie filling.

When making this dish try to get the standard cooking cream cheese squares (ignore that fat free writing it was the only pic of the size package I was talking about). The recipe calls for 16oz which would be two packs. I have found that the store usually has some kind of two for or three for sale on these things. So get a few and make French toast one morning (I guess French toast is next). Again you don’t have to do this but when using your own hand power I find nuking the cream cheese for about 30-45 seconds helps break it down and beats it into submission. Next you add the sugar. Now normally I don’t care what order you add ingredients but this is important. Sugar will help liquefy that cream cheese. I don’t know why (see that’s why you need schoolin) but a few turns of the spoon and it is free and easy. Next you add 3 eggs, now I normally open my eggs into a small bowl instead of putting them right in the mixture. It helps when you need to pick some shell out; c’mon you know you get some shell when you break eggs sometimes! No? Just me?? Ok well that is what I do. After the eggs but before the stir add 1 teaspoon of Vanilla or Almond extract, though I guess if you decided to use walnuts instead of almonds you may want to use that vanilla after all. Stir all that yummy goodness together. Those eggs and that cream cheese will do a thing together, not a big thing just a smooth mixing thing, in fact it will all look like vanilla pudding.

Then you just wait for the crust to come out. What 12 minutes was up already??? My how time flies! Ok let the crust cool for a minute. No really just a minute. Now pour that sugary smelling, vanilla looking batter right on the crust (see why you need something with sides) and shove it back in that 350o oven for another 20 minutes.

Yes clean!!!!!!!!!

Ok 20 minutes are up….looks good don’t it? What, it still looks a little loosey goosey? Yeah I would not move it around to much or turn it upside down or anything. In fact, why don’t you set it aside for about 20 minutes to let it cool down then shove it in the fridge for a couple of hours, let’s just make it an even 3. Now if you put it in the fridge right away the pan might burn a shelf and the top of the cookies will probably crack. It won’t affect the taste; it’s just not as pretty.

3 hours later take a knife and start cutting squares. If you want to be real fancy you can place a small berry of some kind on top of it. But trust me; she is tasty enough by herself.

I have made these about 4-5 times now and they ALWAYS go over well.

Oh yes I wants to mention that I don’t normally grease my pan on this one. The butter in the crust and the fats from the cream cheese will normally keep everything from sticking.