.Candy Corn Cheesecake.

.Ingredients.
15 graham crackers, crushed
2 tablespoons butter, melted
4 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
1 1/2 cups white sugar
3/4 cup milk
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup all-purpose flour


.Instructions.
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9 inch springform pan.

2.In a medium bowl, mix graham cracker crumbs with melted butter. Press onto bottom of springform pan. Place insert on top of unbaked crust.

3.In a large bowl, mix cream cheese with sugar until smooth. Blend in milk, and then mix in the eggs one at a time, mixing just enough to incorporate. Mix in sour cream, vanilla and flour until smooth.

For the candy corn effect:
Pour some untinted cheesecake batter into the middle section of the insert, to about 1/4-inch from the top of the divider. Tint the remainder of the batter yellow~I used a mixture of Wilton Lemon Yellow & Golden Yellow(as Wilton suggested, and I had them on hand). Pour the yellow batter into the outer section of the insert. Tint the remainder of the yellow batter orange, by adding Orange coloring to it. There's no problem with the yellow becoming orange.
Carefully lift the divider straight up, out of the cheesecake.

Before baking, I put heavy-duty aluminum foil around the bottom/sides of the pan by setting the foil on the counter, placing the cheesecake on it, and wrapping the foil up and around the sides of the pan) and placed it gently in a water bath (I filled a roasting pan with about an inch of HOT water, put it in the oven and then placed the cheesecake pan in it).

4.Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour. Turn the oven off, and let cake cool in oven with the door closed for 5 to 6 hours(I only left it in the oven for only an hour since I had used a water bath); this prevents cracking. Chill in refrigerator until serving.

5. Cut into wedges to look like candy corn:)


(Source: Munchin Munchies)


Enjoy!

.Spider Web Pumpkin Cheesecake.

This makes 16 servings.


.Ingredients.
18 OREO Cookies, finely crushed (about 1-1/2 cups)
2 Tbsp. butter or margarine, melted
3 pkg. (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin
1 Tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
3 eggs
1 cup BREAKSTONE'S or KNUDSEN Sour Cream
1 square BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate
1 tsp. butter or margarine


.Instructions.
1. PREHEAT oven to 350°F if using a silver 9-inch springform pan (or 325°F if using a dark 9-inch nonstick springform pan). Mix cookie crumbs and 2 Tbsp. butter; press firmly onto bottom of pan. Set aside.

2. BEAT cream cheese and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice; mix well. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing on low speed after each addition just until blended. Pour over crust.

3. BAKE 50 to 55 min. or until center is almost set; cool slightly. Carefully spread sour cream over top of cheesecake. Run knife or metal spatula around rim of pan to loosen cake; cool before removing rim of pan.

4. PLACE chocolate and 1 tsp. butter in small microwaveable bowl. Microwave on MEDIUM (50%) 30 sec.; stir until chocolate is completely melted. Drizzle over cheesecake in spiral pattern. Starting at center of cheesecake, pull a toothpick through lines from center of cheesecake to outside edge of cheesecake to resemble a spider's web. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight. Store leftover cheesecake in refrigerator.


.Tips.
* For easy drizzling, pour melted chocolate into small plastic bag. Snip off a small piece from one of the bottom corners of the bag. Gently squeeze bag to drizzle chocolate over cheesecake as directed.



(Source: Kraft Foods)


Enjoy!

.Scrumptious Apple-Pecan Cheesecake.

.Ingredients.
1 cup HONEY MAID Graham Cracker Crumbs
3/4 cup finely chopped PLANTERS Pecans, divided
3 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon, divided
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine, melted
2 pkg. (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1/3 cup sugar
4 cups thin peeled apple slices


.Instructions.
1. PREHEAT oven to 325°F if using a silver 9-inch springform pan (or to 300°F if using a dark nonstick 9-inch springform pan). Mix crumbs, 1/2 cup of the pecans, 3 Tbsp. sugar, 1/2 tsp. of the cinnamon and butter; press firmly onto bottom of pan. Bake 10 minutes.

2. BEAT cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating on low speed after each addition just until blended. Pour over crust. Mix 1/3 cup sugar and remaining 1/2 tsp. cinnamon in large bowl. Add apples; toss to coat. Spoon over cream cheese layer; sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup pecans.

3. BAKE 1 hour and 10 minutes to 1 hour and 15 minutes or until center is almost set. Run knife or metal spatula around rim of pan to loosen cake; cool before removing rim of pan. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight. Store leftover cheesecake in refrigerator.


.Tips.
* For best results, use firm apples, such as Granny Smith or McIntosh.


(Source: Kraft Foods)


Enjoy!

.PHILADELPHIA® 3-STEP® Apple Cinnamon Cheesecake.

.Ingredients.
2 pkg. (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1 HONEY MAID Graham Pie Crust
2 medium tart apples, peeled, cored and cut into thin wedges
1 Tbsp. water
2 Tbsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon


.Instructions.
1. PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Beat cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar and vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs; mix just until blended. Pour into crust.

2. BAKE 50 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool. Refrigerate at least 3 hours or overnight.

3. MIX apples and water in medium saucepan; cook 4 minutes or until apples are tender, stirring frequently. Add 2 Tbsp. sugar and the cinnamon; mix lightly. Serve spooned over cheesecake. Store leftover cheesecake and apple mixture, separately, in refrigerator.


.Tips.
* Shortcut: Prepare as directed, substituting 1 cup canned apple pie filling for the cooked homemade apple topping.
* Food Facts: The following apple varieties are tart in flavor and suitable for cooking - Granny Smith, Winesap, Pippin and Cortland.


(Source: Kraft Foods)


Enjoy!

.Howling Full-Moon Cheesecake.

This makes 16 servings.


.Ingredients.
28 Halloween OREO Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, divided
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
2 pkg. (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
3 cups cold milk, divided
2 pkg. (4-serving size each) JELL-O Vanilla Flavor Instant Pudding
1-1/2 cups thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping
Yellow food coloring
4 cinnamon red hot candies
decorating gel


.Instructions.
1. CRUSH 26 of the cookies; mix with butter. Press firmly onto bottom and 1 inch up side of 9-inch springform pan.

2. BEAT cream cheese in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until creamy. Gradually add 1 cup of the milk, beating until well blended after each addition. Add remaining 2 cups milk to dry pudding mixes in separate bowl. Beat with wire whisk 2 min. or until well blended. Add to cream cheese mixture; mix well. Gently stir in whipped topping and 2 drops food coloring. Pour into crust; smooth top with spatula. Add a few additional drops of food coloring to top of cheesecake; spread lightly to create a shimmering full moon effect.

3. CUT remaining 2 cookies in half to resemble bats' wings. Add candies for the eyes, securing candies to cookies with decorating gel. Place "bats" on top of cheesecake. Refrigerate at least 4 hours. Run small knife or spatula around rim of pan to loosen cake. Remove rim of pan. Store in refrigerator.



.Tips.
* Jazz It Up, for added flair, sprinkle orange-colored sugar around edge of cheesecake just before serving.



(Source: Kraft Foods)


Enjoy!

.Batty Cheesecake.

.Ingredients.
2 packages (5.25 ounce each) Pepperidge Farm® Brussels® Cookies (30 cookies)
2 tablespoons butter, melted
4 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 container (8 ounces) sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
4 squares (1 ounce each) semi-sweet chocolate, melted
Food coloring


.Instructions.
1. Heat the oven to 325°F.

2. Place 15 cookies and butter into a food processor. Cover and process until crumbs form. Press the crumb mixture into the bottom of a 9-inch round springform pan.

3. Beat the cream cheese and sugar in a medium bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until the mixture is smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the sour cream, vanilla extract and flour.

4. Reserve 5 cookies to make Bat Cookies. Crush the remaining cookies in a resealable plastic bag with a rolling pin.

5. Spoon 3 cups cheese mixture into a medium bowl. Stir in the chocolate and crushed cookies.

6. Tint the remaining cheese mixture orange with the food coloring.

7. Spoon both batters alternately into the pan. Gently pull a knife through the batter to swirl.

8. Bake for 50 minutes or until set.

9. Let the cheesecake cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. Cover and refrigerate for 3 hours.

.Bat Cookies.
1. Cut each reserved cookie in half.

2. Place 2 cookie halves side-by-side, with the cut edge facing you, on a wax paper-lined baking sheet.

3. Place 2 squares (1 ounce each) semi-sweet chocolate into a resealable plastic bag. Seal the bag.

4. Microwave on MEDIUM for 30 seconds. Stir. Repeat until the chocolate is melted and smooth.

5. Cut off one corner of the bag. Squeeze the chocolate in the middle of each cookie pair to join.

6. Add 2 mini chocolate-coated candies for “eyes”. Let stand until set.

7. Decorate the cake with the Bat Cookies.


(Source: Campbell's Kitchen)


Enjoy!