Thanks.

Happy almost Thanksgiving! In honor of the holiday, I thought I would take a step back from the craziness of life to think about everything I am thankful for.  Life can be so stressful.  Most people, including myself, take so many of the important things for granted on a daily basis and get stressed about the little things.  Thanksgiving is the perfect time to give thanks for the pieces that are going right!  Here is my list.  What are you thankful for?

• My health and the health of my loved ones
• Having a job in a tough economy
• The ability to blog about my passion
• Glee because it makes me smile
• The ability to laugh so hard I can’t stand up
• Wonderful readers who leave comments that truly make my day
• Leggings- three cheers for elastic waist pants!
• Perfect chocolate desserts
• Books that are so good you can’t put them down but don’t want to finish
• Dinner parties with too much food
• Living in an incredible city
• The first sip of coffee each morning
• Windows Live Writer 
• Peanut butter
• Memories of the days before Blackberries
• NY bagels
• Finding a world of bloggers who love food as much as I do
• Ice cream in brownie or pie form; oh who am I kidding, really ice cream in any form
• And most of all, special people in my life like these*

My husband that I’ve been with now for seven years

My family and best parents in the world

My best friends who all live too far away from me

My grandmother, husband and sister – the people I love also love each other!

 

My aunt and her perfect puppy, Cole

 

New family

 

*Even if you aren’t in these pictures, if you are my friend or family member, you still mean the world to me

I’ll be back week with more recipes from my Thanksgiving with Friends!

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Pumpkin Chocolate Cheesecake Bars

Crispy gingersnap crust, rich chocolate cheesecake layer and a light pumpkin cheesecake filling, i.e. a delicious dessert just in time for Thanksgiving

I may have served eight (yes, 8) varieties of pick-up desserts at my Thanksgiving with Friends, but these Pumpkin Chocolate Cheesecake Bars won me over as the number one pick for the evening.  That wasn’t easy because all of the desserts were decadent and delicious.  Maybe it was the combination of two of my favorite flavors, pumpkin and chocolate.  Maybe it was the surprising spice from the gingersnap cookie crust.  Maybe it was the lovely creamy texture with a perfect thin crispy crust in one bite.  Maybe it was the balance of richness and lightness that allows you to eat not just one, but four two.  Frankly, it doesn’t matter.  These are delicious and if you like the sound of any of that, you must make them.

I saw Sharon’s recipe on the Curvy Carrot about a month ago and new right away I had to make it myself.  There were a couple of modifications, but the recipe is largely based on hers.  Just like she said, they were easy but a little time consuming.  Definitely worth every minute, though!

The first thing you will need to do is make the crust

Grind up about 25 gingersnaps in a food processor until fine

Set cookie crumbs aside

Melt 4 tablespoons of butter in the microwave

Pour butter over cookie crumbs

Add 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar

Mix until well combined

Pour mixture into a 9×13 pan lined with tin foil and cooking spray

Spread mixture evenly and set aside

Now make your cheesecake filling

Make sure your cream cheese is softened at room temperature

Whip it well in your mixer until creamy and lumps are gone

Then add granulated sugar

Combine well until light and creamy

Beat in eggs, one at a time

Mix in 2 tablespoons of flour

Now add your pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla and salt

Beat until your mixture is thick and creamy

Now, separate 1 1/2 cups of the pumpkin cheesecake filling and set aside in a large bowl

Measure out 6 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate

Melt with butter over low heat

Mixture will get very thick

Add chocolate to pumpkin filling that you set aside

Stir thoroughly

Pour chocolate batter over crust and bake for 15 minutes

Pour remaining pumpkin cheesecake filling on top

Bake for 35-45 minutes or until edges begin to separate from foil and middle bounces slightly when touched

 

 

Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight

Remove cheesecake from pan and cut into small bars

Pumpkin Chocolate Cheesecake Bars

Adapted from The Curvy Carrot

Makes 36 small bars

Ingredients:

Crust:

1 1/4 cups of gingersnap cookie crumbs (about 25 cookies)

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

Filling:

2 8-ounce packages light cream cheese softened at room temperature

1 3/4 cup granulated sugar

3 large eggs

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon vanilla

pinch of salt

6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees

Line a 13×9 pan with tin foil and spray with cooking spray, set aside

To make the crust, grind up about 25 gingersnaps in a food processor until fine; set cookie crumbs aside

Melt 4 tablespoons of butter in the microwave and pour over cookie crumbs

Add 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar and mix until well combined

Pour mixture into a 9×13 pan lined with tin foil and cooking spray; spread evenly using fingers to push down crust mixture and set aside

To make your cheesecake filling, whip cream cheese in mixer until creamy and lumps are gone

Add granulated sugar and combine on medium-high speed well until light and creamy

Beat in eggs, one at a time, on medium speed

Mix in flour on medium speed

Add your pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla and salt and beat until your mixture is thick and creamy

Now, separate 1 1/2 cups of the pumpkin cheesecake filling and set aside in a large bowl

Melt chocolate chips and butter in a small saucepan over low heat; mixture will get very thick

Add chocolate to the pumpkin filling that you set aside and stir thoroughly

Pour chocolate batter over crust and bake for 15 minutes

Remove from oven and pour remaining pumpkin cheesecake filling on top

Bake for 35-45 minutes or until edges begin to separate from foil and middle bounces slightly when touched

Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight

Remove cheesecake from pan and cut into small bars

Notes:

I used light cream cheese because I wanted a final product that wasn’t overly rich, but regular cream cheese would work as well

I actually meant to sprinkle additional gingersnap cookie crumbs on top of the pumpkin filling before baking but forgot! I think it would add a nice touch of spice to that layer

When cutting the bars, I recommend cleaning your knife with a paper towel between slices to keep from contaminating the layers with one another

What desserts are you making for Thanksgiving?

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5 Years of

Turkey

Lots of desserts

Wine

More meat

Delicious side dishes

Too many desserts

Friends

Tradition

Much too many desserts

More food than one could imagine out of a NYC kitchen

More people than you’d usually fit in a 1-bedroom apartment

5 Years of Thanksgiving with Friends

Five years ago, in what started out as a “dinner club” with two other couples, Matt and I hosted our first mock Thanksgiving dinner with friends.  Four friends came to Matt’s apartment at the time for a turkey, sweet potato casserole, and some other dishes that aren’t memorable enough to stand out in my mind.  It was a fun night and such a success that in the years that followed, our intimate dinner party of six has turned into an annual event with almost twenty friends.  It gives us an opportunity to be in the kitchen together, share an evening with many of our closest friends, and show them how thankful we are for them through delicious food.

This year’s dinner was so much fun and full of many tasty traditional and non-traditional Thanksgiving dishes: Turkey, Brisket, Turkey Meatloaf, Salad, String Bean Casserole, Sweet Potato Casserole, Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Parmesan, Stuffing, Cranberry Sauce and Pumpkin Bread/Muffins

And of course, as you surely already know, lots of desserts

Cookie sandwiches: Red Velvet Cookie Sandwiches with White Chocolate Buttercream, Chocolate Chip Cookies with Mocha Ganache and Chewy Chocolate Cookies with Peanut Butter Filling

Pumpkin Chocolate Cheesecake bars

Cookie Dough Topped Brownies

Gooey Caramel Butter Bars

Chocolate Chunk Almond Butter Bars

Brownies with White Chocolate Buttercream and Mocha Ganache

I am excited about the recipes I have to share from the dinner party over the next few weeks!  There are definitely some new desserts that I know I’ll be making again

What is your favorite Thanksgiving-related tradition?

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