baking – Living, Loving, Laughing….

Jake from the Sunday Post asked us for delicious this week. I’ve been on a delicious binge most of my life, so ask me for a delicious post, and that is what you will get. I may not like to cook (or be good at it), but I wielded a baker’s mitt from an early age.

Baking, for me, is associated with many happy memories. Mostly, with my step-dad. It was something we enjoyed together. I would create fabulous desserts of the third-kind; brownies with fudge sauce, chocolate pudding pies, and lop-sided cakes. And he would be the first one to taste them. Brave, brave soul.

That is true fatherly love.

We shared many a good spoon together, and usually, a great relief that the kitchen didn’t burn down.

This past Christmas, I got to spend a lot of time with my mother-in-law helping her bake all her Christmas favorites. Truth is, I observed more than I actually baked, but I have baked this recipe myself. Most recently as a belated birthday surprise for my daughter’s boyfriend Brandon, who LOVES cheesecake (as do I Brandon…as do I).

The crust is Vanilla wafer cookies set in the bottom of the cupcake holder.

Then, you mix the sugar, cream cheese, vanilla, and eggs in a blender. For me, the hardest part is getting the SUPER HEAVY blender down from the upper cabinet. The easiest part is flicking a switch, and not using more elbow grease.

Next, you fill the cups with the delicious mixture (3/4th’s of the way).

Put them in the oven for a little warmth of the 350-degree variety.

After fifteen minutes, or so, they will come out looking like this. And really? THIS is just FINE for those that don’t like a fruit topping. Peel and enjoy, or add something else to the top. Let you imagination run wild.

Traditionally, we use cherry-filling.

I like the cherry. It gives the cheesecake a pop of color and a tasty punch of syrupy goodness.

And that is pretty much it.

Delicious!

My friends…I introduce you to……

THE BEST MINI-CHEESECAKE EVAH!

And no, this is not a secret family recipe, but if that makes it taste better (which would be hard to do), then maybe it could be (heh).

The recipe.

So, what do you think? Do you love cheesecake? Are you willing to try this recipe?

A new family tradition was born this past weekend in a very simple situational formula. Because if you take a nuclear family, split the Adam (and Eve), blend, divide, and add a little sugar and sprinkles. You would have our “new” family tradition.

Baking cookies with the ex-wife, all the girls, cousins, and some of the in-laws (or ex-in-laws depending on who you are) including mom-in-law fresh out of the hospital.

It started with a suggestion by Jason’s ex-wife; aka, the girls mom, to begin (try) a new family tradition at Christmas. A baking tradition. I was open to it.

Why?

Well, ~~the cookies of course~~ the kids of course.

Actually, the cousins are very close and it would be nice to gather and bake (or man the oven if you don’t bake-just sayin’) while everyone has fun doing their thing (like the oven) (or taking pictures). Hey, I am not a baker. I am a burner. I am shocked I was in charge of the oven. More shocked that I could work the ovens. Ahem. Only one parchment paper got singed in the making of these cookies. Heh.

The cookies – all three? four? five? dozen(s) – turned out YUM-a-licious. Thanks to the baking and rolling and stirring skills of others. My reward for loaning my kitchen and hosting the Olympic cookie baking event. COOKIES. Yeah!!

I missed a lot of stuff growing up when my mom and dad divorced; like baking cookies with cousins on my dad’s side. I, also, gained a lot by celebrating holidays with my sister and brother’s grandma and dad, who were not blood related to me, but accepted the new extended family (me and my brother from my mom’s second marriage) with open arms.

Maybe, I have taken the best and worst of divorce from my life as a child to help formulate this new branch of togetherness. I like “new” traditions. I like being open to change. To advance and grow as families just as the world changes, advances, and grows.

Blended. Mixed. Extended. Kindred. We are all in this together…..for life! I don’t think it ends at eighteen. These children graduate from college, marry, and have children of their own. It goes on and on. ~~Might as well make the best of it.~~ We can make the best of it.

The three dogs pre-party — Salem, Brownie, and Anna dressed and ready to par-tay.

Once every guest was greeted with raised paws and a nose in the proper place. The furry welcoming committee was sent out of the kitchen. Well, except for one fur friend who found a pretty sweet spot in Grandma’s wheelchair and did not MOVE for hours.

Meet Brownie, the cuddle buddy, renamed BrownieSue.

Roll, stir, and cut cookies ready for the oven — Syd and Aunt Tricia making magic happen.

cookies and more cookies — The makings of a great tradition

For the B&W fans — A little black & white editing fun.

Not so Nuclear Family — The New Nuclear Family of Today.

No crazies here — I never said NORMAL. Look closely there are issues. HA.

After the chaos of atom bomb sprinkle explosions and gel icing shots. The hazemat team cleared the kitchen. The dogs undressed (some of them). All was quiet. We had the remains of DOZENS of cookies, a grandma and her grand dog still on her lap. A four-year old with her extended/blended/kindred family pet.