Vanilla Cheesecake Bars with Blueberry Sauce

Anne, one of my most favorite bloggers From My Sweet Heart inspired me to write this post.  (She just doesn’t know it yet.)  All it took was one look at her Vanilla Bean Cheesecake with Strawberries and I knew that I needed to make something cheesecakey too.  With a shortage of time and baking supplies I decided to make these Vanilla Cheesecake Bars to hold me over until I get around to making Anne’s delicious recipe which I’ve filed away for future use. 

Typically, I make individual mini cheesecakes but this time I made the recipe into bars.  

*Please note –  if you opt to make bars instead mini’s you will bake them in a 9”x13” foil lined pan. Spray the foil with non-stick cooking spray and bake the bars for about 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes clean when inserted in the center.  The foil helps you lift the baked bars out of the pan for easy cutting.

And for this delicious Blueberry Sauce?  The recipe can be found below.

Blueberry Sauce

Makes about 1 1/2 cups

3/4 c. of blueberries, crushed

1 c. of whole blueberries

3/4 c. water

1/2 c. granulated sugar

2 tbsp. cornstarch

1/4 tsp. butter

1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

2 drops of blue food coloring (optional)

In a large saucepan, add crushed berries, water, sugar, and cornstarch.  Mix ingredients using a whip until cornstarch is completely dissolved.  On medium heat, bring mixture to a boil and stir constantly until it thickens.  Add in whole berries and remove from stove top.  Stir in butter, vanilla extract, and food coloring. 

Keep in the fridge until ready to use. Re-warm in microwave if desired.

Oh, and I almost forgot, this topping is also great on ice cream too!

What is your favorite flavor of cheesecake?  And what is your favorite topping? 

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Triple Chocolate Brownies

Sometimes you just have to overdose on chocolate.  And I’ve found that one of the best ways to do that is with these Triple Chocolate Brownies.

This brownie recipe comes from my cookbook, In the sweet of it.

Triple Chocolate Brownies

1/2 c. butter, melted

1 c. granulated sugar

2 eggs, warmed to room temperature

1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tbsp. baking cocoa

3/4 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease 8”x8” square glass baking pan.

In large bowl, add butter, sugar, eggs, and melted chocolate; stir thoroughly.  Add baking powder, salt, cocoa, and flour.  Mix all ingredients together until blended.  Fold in chocolate chips.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the middle of the brownies.  Remove from oven and cool thoroughly before cutting.  

These brownies are chewy on this inside with a light crusty top.  Many times I will use a double Dutch cocoa when I make these, but I did not do that for this particular batch.

Do you have a recipe that you are drawn to when you need a chocolate overdose?

Cinnamon Rolls, or Kanelbulle

Did you know cinnamon buns (kanelbulle) originated in Sweden?  The Swedish even celebrate cinnamon roll day on October 4th.  Since I missed that celebration I’m proclaiming today, March 16th, cinnamon roll day in our house.

Hey, any excuse to make cinnamon rolls works for me.  How about you?

Honestly, I didn’t know this until I did a little research before writing this post.  I love knowing where foods originate from, or at least see who claims its origin first.

I’m thinking Sweden would be a  pretty good place to visit.   I love Swedish meatballs, cinnamon rolls, and Smörgåsbords.

I made these rolls as a project I’ve been (secretly) working on.  See below!

If you could visit another country, other than the one you live in, where would you want to go?  If you’re a traveler, where is your favorite travel destination?

The recipe for these cinnamon rolls is featured in my recently released cookbook;  In the sweet of it.  The e-book version is very affordable.  It offers 90 pages of my favorite recipes and full-page photos to drool over, all for the low price of $4.99!