Low Carb Coconut Cheesecake

I have been dying for some dessert. I have been baking and whipping up all kinds of goodies for other people... things that I can't eat... well at least not more than a little nibble.

The hubs and I love us some cheesecake. So I decided to try a new spin on it and go with some delicious coconut! We bought some AWESOME unsweetened coconut flakes from my MOST FAVORITE local store here in Wichita, KS called the Nifty Nut House.  They have the most amazing nuts, candy, chocolate, trail mixes and more IN BULK for INSANELY cheap!  Jealous are you????  Don't be... they take orders.  Go to their website and check it out!  Here is the AMAZING unsweetened coconut flakes.  They are REALLY flakes and not little shreds like you get from the grocery store for triple the price!

SO.... do you want to make this!!!!

Low Carb Coconut Cheesecake

Crust:
1 1/4 cups finely chopped almonds
3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
4 tbsp melted butter
2 tbsp Splenda

Filling: 
16 oz cream cheese
2 large eggs
1/2 cup half and half
1 ts coconut extract
1 ts 100% pure vanilla
1 cup Splenda
1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

 Soften cream cheese by defrosting for 45 seconds.  Beat until smooth.

Add 1 egg, vanilla, coconut extract and Splenda and beat for 1 minute.

 Add final egg and beat again for 1 minute.  Set aside while you make the crust.

 

In a food processor, chop up the nuts! Melt the butter and mix into nuts with the Splenda.

Press into a 9" pie dish.  I like a thick crust, you can use less nuts if you want to.

Pour filling into the crust and bake for 30-35 minutes at 350.

Cheese cake will look like this when you put it in the oven.  And when you take it out will will be puffy and look like this:

 Let it cool on the counter for about 30 minutes, then put in the fridge until chilled.  It will sink back down and give you pieces of cheesecake that look like the piece above!!!


Servings: 8 slices
About 350 calories per slice
About 5.5 carbs per slice 

I think the next cheesecake I make will be PUMPKIN or BUTTERNUT SQUASH!!! 

Harvest Pumpkin Brownies

Check out this fabulous recipe HERE at Everyday Food Storage.



Here are mine right out of the oven. We will see if I can get a picture of them frosted and served before they get eaten!

I used butternut squash instead of pumpkin.

Next time I will try the bean purée instead of oil! Yay for food storage recipes.

Autumn Cookie Samwiches

LOOK at this CREATION...

My daughter calls it "Cookie Samwich"

Here's what you need:

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Molasses Gingerbread Cookies (recipe below)
1 tub of pudding or a scoop of ice cream or frosting

Take 2 cookies, pop on your favorite filling and smoosh the cookies together!  Voila! Cookie Samwiches.  

I love this pic.... the cookie monster is lurking!

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Molasses Gingerbread Cookies  (wow that's a mouth full and your mouth will be full after you make them.... or while making them in my case :)!!!)

2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, salted (if you use unsalted, add 1/2 ts salt to the recipe)
1/4 cup shortening
1/2 cup molasses
1 ts vanilla
1/2 cup pumpkin puree (or butternut)
2 ts baking soda
1 cup red wheat flour
2 1/2-3 cups white wheat flour (or all purpose white flour)
1 ts cinnamon
1 ts ginger
1/2 ts nutmeg
cinnamon sugar with a dash of ginger


1) Cream together butter, shortening and sugar.  
2) Add molasses and eggs and vanilla.  Then blend in pumpkin.
3) In a separate bowl sift flours, baking soda and spices.
4) Mix wet and dry mixtures together.

5) Place dough in the fridge to chill. (or not, but it makes it a little more difficult to roll in sugar)
6) Spoon out big globs of the chilled dough and roll in cinnamon sugar.
7) Bake at 375 for 10 minutes.  Cookies will puff up.  When you take them out of the oven smoosh them flat with the back of a spatula.  This recipe makes the best cookie for sandwiches, nice and thick!

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Spice Scones

I have been playing around with a scone recipe.  I like scones to be fluffy and moist, like a good biscuit, only sweet.  I hate HATE when they are dry and crumbly.  These are a quick and delicious treat.  It only takes about 10 minutes to prep and 15 minutes to cook.  I love making these if I am in a pinch and need a delicious and unique treat FAST!  When I went visiting teaching yesterday, I whipped up some of these and took each lady a jar of THIS YUMMY PUMPKIN BUTTER! Perfect topping for the perfect scone.... not that these scones even need topping.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Spice Scones

1 cup red wheat flour
1 1/4 cup white wheat flour
1 1/2 ts baking powder
1 1/2 ts pumpkin pie spice (or 1/2 ts cinnamon, 1/2 ts nutmeg, 1/4 ts allspice and 1/4 ts ginger)
1 stick of salted butter (if you have unsalted add 1/2 ts salt)
1/3 cup pumpkin or butternut squash puree
1/3 cup vanilla yogurt
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 ts vanilla

Mix both flours, baking powder and spices.

Cut butter into dry mixture.

In a separate bowl, mix pumpkin, yogurt, brown sugar and vanilla.

Add dry mix to the wet mix and mix just until combined.  Do not over mix.

Flour the counter and plop out the dough.  Shape into 2 flat circles about 3/4 inch thick each. Cut each circle into wedges like you would cut a pie.  A pizza cutter works great for this.

Bake at 425 for 13-15 minutes.

Low Carb No Bake Cookies

I am soooooo trying these when I get off this phase of my diet. No bakes ROCK. We will try them and come up with the best recipe.... If this one needs adjustment!


http://www.lowcarbfriends.com/bbs/lowcarb-recipe-help-suggestions/612008-no-bake-chocolate-cookies-easy-pic-incl.html


- Sheena

Honey Bunches of Oats Cookies

Sorry I have been blog slacking. During the summer it is harder to bake.... Too hot to turn the oven on! But I was dying to eat some cookies before I start my DIET!

This recipe was inspired by the fact that tomorrow is pay day, thus the house is a little low on food. We had lots of Honey Bunches of Oats, but no milk. So I thought why not turn my favorite cereal into a cookie!!!





1 stick butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 ts vanilla
1 ts baking powder
3/4 cup wheat flour
1 1/2 cups of crushed Honey Bunches of Oats (take about 3 cups of cereal for this)

Preheat oven to 350. Cream sugars and butter, then add egg and vanilla. Mix. Add flour, baking powder and mix well. Then add crushed cereal and mix well. Spoon onto greased cookie sheet and bake 10 minutes!

Makes about 24 cookies.

Source: variation of THIS recipe. Had to make it whole wheat you know!!! :) And I didn't have any chocolate chips.... but they sure would be yummy in these!

Happy Baking!

Whole Wheat Snickerdoodles

Because these are whole wheat, I think they should be deemed A HEALTH FOOD!  Mmmmm so good.  I adapted a recipe from Heavenly Homemaker.

Whole Wheat Snickerdoodles
Snickerdoodles




1/2 cup butter, softened NOT melted

1 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

cinnamon sugar  (make with about 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1 TBSP cinnamon)



Mix together butter and brown sugar. Add egg, vanilla, baking soda and cream of tartar.  Mix well. Stir in flour. Cover bowl and chill dough in refrigerator for one hour. Roll dough into one inch balls. Roll balls in the cinnamon sugar mixture. Place balls about two inches apart on a greased (or parchment papered) cookie sheet. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes or until the cookies are golden brown.

Source: Adapted from Heavenly Homemaker

Goody Basket: Christmas Delights

It is that time again!  The wonderful Christmas season... a time to celebrate Christ's birth by sharing time with family, friends and strangers.  To spread Christmas Spirit, my family goes caroling and gives out goody baskets.  This week's cooking endeavor? You guessed it, fill the goody baskets with GOODIES!!!

Let's start with a new favorite of mine:

Christmas Delights

1 package Oreos (or store brand cookie sandwiches, NOT double stuffed)
1 brick cream cheese
1 cup nuts (almonds, walnuts, or pecans), chopped
1 package of white chocolate almond bark

Directions:

1) soften cream cheese

2) chop up cookies using a food processer/chopper or by putting them into a ziplock bag and crushing them.

3) Mix together the cookie crumbs, nuts and cream cream and beat together until it forms a stiff batter.

4) Refridgerate batter it get it extra stiff. About 30 minutes.

5) Roll into 1-2 inch balls, while melting the white chocolate/vanilla bark in the microwave.  I microwave the bark on high for 30 seconds at a time and stir in between to make sure it all gets melted and doesn't burn. 

6) Throw about 8 balls into the bowl of melted chocolate and roll around to completely coat. 

7) Using a fork, get the balls out and place on waxed paper, or on a grease cookie sheet and place in refridgerator to harden.

8) Eat and ENJOY!!!

No Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Squares

I got this recipe from my dear brother-in-law, who passed away recently. These were his specialty! Here's to you Derek!!!

No Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Squares

1/2 c butter or margerine
2 c powdered sugar
1 1/2 c graham cracker crumbs
1 c peanut butter (creamy or chunky)
1 package chocolate chips

1) Line 9x13 baking dish with foil, make sure foil extends up the sides of the dish.

2) Melt butter in large microwave bowl for 45 seconds on HIGH.

3) Add sugar, cracker crumbs, and peanut butter to the melted butter and mix well.

4) Spread the mix into the foil lined pan.

5) Melt the bag of chocolate chips in a microwave bowl on HIGH for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds.

6) Cool chocolate slightly then spread over the peanut butter mix in the pan.

7) Cut partially thru the dessert to make 48 squares. Don't forget this step or you will never get the squares cut decently.

8) Refridgerate for atleast 1 hour or until set.

9) Lift dessert from pan using the foil as handles.

10) Cut al the way thru dessert into squares.

Variation: Double everything but the chocolate for extra thick and yummy squares! That is how Derek always made them.

Derek used to make this for EVERY single family party. This Thanksgiving was a hard one and we really missed him and missed his wonderful peanut butter squares. He was a fabulous cooking and a great husband, daddy and friend. We REALLY miss him. Derek, if you are reading this.... until we meet again! I will expecting some of these squares when I get up there buddy!!! Love you.