Bake or Break

Black Bottom Brownies

When we moved to New York just over a year ago, I was forced to whittle down my cookbook collection. Believe me, losing 3000 square feet of living space will make you whittle down a lot of things. I spent a lot of time and thought considering what books would make the cut. My collection is about 85% baking books. One of my favorite kinds of baking books is bakery cookbooks. To me, those are just the best. I'm pretty sure all of those made the cut. An old favorite of mine is The Sweet Melissa Baking Book. From that book, I share with you these brownies.

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Peanut Butter Cheesecake Minis

View a printable recipe or more photos It's been a while since I baked anything remotely related to cheesecake. That is certainly not due to any lack of cheesecake love on my part. It still ranks right on up there on my list of favorites. I happened upon this recipe and very quickly moved it near the top of my to-bake list. Cheesecake, peanut butter cups, and simplicity in one dessert? How could I not make these?

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Cookies and Cream Cheesecakes

View a printable recipe or more photos I’m not a huge fan of Oreos or, really, any kind of store-bought cookie. I have spoiled myself with the homemade variety. That being said, I am not the least bit hesitant to use store-bought cookies as an ingredient, like with these cheesecakes. The crust of these little treats is actually a whole Oreo, not crumbs. Leaving the cookie intact makes for a thick crust that gets nice and soft after they’ve baked and chilled. Topping off those Oreos is one of my favorite things – cheesecake. Of course, it wouldn’t meet the legal definition of a cookies and cream cheesecake without even more Oreos mixed into the cheesecake. I especially like the addition of sour cream to the cheesecake filling. It offsets all that sweet with just a little bit of tartness.

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Pecan and Salted Caramel Cheesecake

View a printable recipe or more photos Recently, I read somewhere that 2008 was a big year for salted caramel. I don't think I'm in any position to agree or disagree with that, but I will say that I had a little love affair with it myself. (Hello, salted caramel hot chocolate!) This cheesecake is a prime example of salted caramel at its finest. I actually found the recipe while looking for something else. Of course, once I found this I was immediately so smitten that whatever I was looking for was quickly forgotten.

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Chocolate Pecan Cheesecake Bars

View a printable recipe or more photos Some of you may have noticed that I've been absent of late from BoB. I have many excuses, but I won't get into all of that. The important thing is that I finally share with all of you some of the things I've been baking. First up are these amazingly delicious bars. Imagine a buttery pecan crust. Now, let's put some cheesecake on top of that. But not just any cheesecake - chocolate cheesecake. Sounds good, huh? Well, how about a pecan pie layer on top of that? I know!!!

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Cheesecake Brownies

View a printable recipe or more photos In my younger years, I was a big fan of those little cookie shops in the mall. While others went for the giant cookies and even those double doozies, I was much more likely to go for the cheesecake brownies. It's hard to say no to a combination of cheesecake and chocolate.

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