Bake or Break

Dulce de Leche Cheesecake Bars

Recently, I was asked which I would be more willing to give up forever - cheese or chocolate? My first instinct was cheese, but then I thought to ask if cream cheese would be included. I have to tell you, cream cheese would be a pretty tough thing to give up, even for a short time. The most cream cheese for your baking money is, of course, cheesecake. In the case of this dessert, we're talking cheesecake bars. You still get the awesomeness of cheesecake, but in a slightly simpler form.

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Cream Cheese Shortbread-Dulce de Leche Sandwich Cookies

Have you ever found a cookie recipe that sounds so good that you decide on the spot not only to make them immediately, but to double the recipe? That's the position I found myself in when I found this recipe from One Girl Cookies. Here's the breakdown. The cookies are a soft, light, chewy shortbread packed with nuts and flavored with our good friend cream cheese. While the original recipe lists walnuts, I opted for pecans. (Insert your shocked comments here.) If we just stopped there, I would be as happy as could be. These little cookies are so flavorful to have such a short list of ingredients.

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Mexican Chocolate Cupcakes with Dulce de Leche Frosting

To me, dulce de leche is one of the great inventions of the food world. It takes the idea of caramel and moves it into the territory of the amazing. I haven't done a lot of baking with it, but I think I more than make up for that with this frosting. I’ve combined the amazing with another favorite, cream cheese, to make a simple to make, creamy, caramel-y frosting.

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Dulce de Leche Bars

Here we go again with bars. I know, I know. I just can't seem to help it. In defense of bars, they're easy to make. They make enough for a crowd. And, they're usually pleasing to that crowd. The flavor of these bars is a bit different than my usual bar recipes. Dulce de leche is definitely underused in my kitchen. I love its caramel-like, smooth flavor.

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Dulce de Leche Crispies

View more photos here This year, I subscribed to Food & Wine magazine in an effort to feel more like an adult. So far, I’ve just flipped through the temptation-filled pages and drooled over various recipes. In a recent issue, however, I stumbled upon this recipe for “grown-up” Rice Krispies treats. Knowing Quinn’s penchant for [...]

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