When I started out on my self-appointed task to make homemade versions of some popular Girl Scout cookies, I didn’t have any problem picking out Do-Si-Dos, Samoas and Tagalongs as my top choices. But I thought it might be fun to throw in a recipe that used Girl Scout cookies, too, and this is that recipe. I opted to use the ever-popular Thin Mints - crispy, chocolate dipped mint chocolate wafers - as a crumb crust to compliment a vanilla cheesecake.

Because the cookies are chocolate-covered, the idea of an unbaked crust appealed to me as it guaranteed that I wouldn’t end up with chocolate running all over the floor of my oven. No-bake cheesecakes, however, have never been a favorite of mine because there seem to be so many ways to screw them up. They should be easy to make because you don’t need to worry about over cooking or fussing with a water bath, as you do with some baked cheesecakes, but I’ve had too many that are extremely fluffy (Cool Whip/marshmallow-type consistency) or far too dense (straight cream cheese, perhaps cut with a little lemon zest). This in mind, I decided to see if I could find a nice middle ground that would taste like a nice, creamy cheesecake while still showcasing my mint chocolate crust.

I used a mixture of cream cheese and whipping cream as the base for the cheesecake - the cheese for flavor and texture and the cream for lightness. Held together with a bit of gelatine (or gelatin, if you prefer), the cake turned out beautifully: easy to make and satisfying to eat. It is light and creamy, yet not “airy” at all. It’s quite a bit lighter than most baked cheesecakes, though in this case it really seems to let the mint chocolate flavor of the crust stand out. In fact, the whole dessert reminds me a little bit of mint chocolate chip ice cream, flavor-wise.

Now, if you don’t have a box of Girl Scout Thin Mints or you don’t want to make them yourself, Keebler makes a cookie called Grasshoppers that are identical to Thin Mints. Same texture, same shape, same nutritional stats, same taste - and they’re usually really inexpensive when they’re on sale.

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Most of the people I know enjoy cheesecake and, if I had to guess, I would say that you probably know a lot of fans of the rich and creamydessert, too. But full-sized cheesecakes can be difficult to make. Water baths are often required to achieve the perfect texture and if you’re pressed for time, you can’t just wait around for a cheesecake to bake, cool and then chill in the fridge before you get your fix. This is where cheesecake bars come in. They deliver a creamy texture, great cheesecake flavor and take far less time than a regular cheesecake. As an added bonus, they also travel well and can easily be sliced, tucked away without fear of smushing them and eaten without requiring a fork and knife (although you are more than welcome to use them when eating the bars).

This recipe is a favorite of mine and I have used it many times. The crust dough comes together very quickly and the filling is poured in while the crust is still hot from the oven, so there is no time spent waiting around for things to cool and an entire batch can be made from start to finish in about an hour. An additional bonus is that the recipe is open to lots of flavor variations, so there is a lot that can be done with the basic recipe.

For the vanilla flavoring, I scraped the seeds from a vanilla bean into my cheesecake batter, and used vanilla sugar in the crust to further boost the flavor. Vanilla sugar is a wonderful ingredient to have on hand to add a final - and flavorful - touch to muffins, cookies, etc., but you can easily use plain sugar instead, or use plain sugar and add in a teaspoon of vanilla extract. You can also use vanilla extract, vanilla paste or a similar product as a substitution for the vanilla bean in the cheesecake mixture, although I would recommend using something that contains specks of vanilla bean (as vanilla paste and some vanilla extracts do) to get the vanilla bean “look” in your final product.

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When I got a bottle of the new Bailey’s with a hint of Caramel Irish Cream Liqueur, I knew that I wanted to bake something with it even before I tasted it. I had two reasons for this. First, I don’t often have a full bottle of Bailey’s sitting around, so it seemed to provide ample resources for creativity. Second, while I like the taste of Irish cream, I’m not that interested in having more than a few sips at a time. The creaminess of the liqueur is just too rich for me on its own, even over ice, in large doses.

That being said, the Bailey’s Caramel doesn’t really taste like your typical Irish cream at all. Without sharing a drink with you (would that I could!), I’ll simply say that it tastes very similar to a caramel macchiato from Starbucks, albeit an alcoholic one. Caramel is such a versatile flavor that I couldn’t initially decide what to do with it. Brownies came to mind, but somehow I ended up deciding to start with cheesecake.

I have made plain cheesecake bars using my Baker’s Edge pan before and they turned out so beautifully that there was no doubt in my mind I would have to use it again. I still think that the unusual design of the pan makes it perfect for anything that is likely to end up with overcooked edges and an undercooked center when baked in a normal pan, like cheesecake bars and brownies, in addition to whatever else you want to put in it.

These bars turned out beautifully. I used quite a bit of Bailey’s, so they are rather “grown up” and probably won’t be a big hit with the kids, but they should be a big hit with the adults, especially if you like Bailey’s to begin with. The cheesecake is creamy, with notes of caramel and Irish cream and the chocolaty crust provides a wonderful, shortbread-like contrast in texture. They’re easy enough to make on a weeknight, fancy enough to serve at a dinner party and taste fantastic. What more could you want?

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Even though there are many kinds of cheesecake in the world - ricotta cheesecake, vegan cheesecake, marbled cheesecake - the one that springs to mind at the first mention of the word is not the light, airy version that is a delight on a hot summer day, but the velvety, ultra-indulgent, creamy cheesecake. This would be that kind of cheesecake.

The recipe comes from one of the cookbooks of a favorite food blogger of mine, David Lebovitz’s Ripe for Dessert. The book is all about fruit and fruit desserts, with recipes from the fairly basic, like Apple and Quince Tarte Tatin, to the more unusual, such as Mango Napoleons with Lime Custard and Coconut Flatties. Of course, the cheesecake itself has no fruit in it. David meant for it to be served with mixed berrries, which I omitted out of sheer laziness. By all means, feel free to slice up some berries of your choice for serving.

The cheesecake has a secret ingredient that contributes to its texture: mascarpone. The use of mascarpone makes the cheecake a little lighter and a little silkier than one you would get if you used all cream cheese. The technique used to bake the cake is a little unusual, as well. It is cooked in a water bath and then, after the appropriate amount of time, the oven is turned off and the cheesecake continues to “cook” for another 30 minutes. This slow cooking means that the cheesecake stays smoother than most and seems just barely done when it comes out of the oven. It sets up more as it cools.

I decided that a thicker crust than originall called for would complement the creamy cake best, so I doubled the small amount David called for. You can halve the crust recipe below, but since I love crust, I can’t really imagine that you would want any less. Use the best graham crackers or cookies you can find. Gingersnaps would work well here, but cookies with too much cinnamon might be overpowering.

This is really a fantastic cheesecake, especially if you like your cheesecakes to be rich. It has a fairly mild flavor and a slightly yellow color due to the number of eggs used. This cheesecake must be served cold or it might just melt itself right off your fork. It does seem a bit lighter once it has warmed up, however, so the very best option might be to slice the cake cold and let the individual slices warm up for a few minutes before serving.

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What do you do when you already have a really good cheesecake recipe, but want to make another one? Sometimes, it is hard to justify trying a new recipe when the one you have is excellent because it is taking a risk on something new when you already have a sure thing going. The best solution is to make a variation on the recipe, which will give you a similar product, but get you there in a new and different way. For example, I wanted to make a cheesecake, but I didn’t want to use the same recipe again (even though it is fantastic). I made ricotta cheesecake instead.

Ricotta cheesecake is rich, but light at the same time due to the ever-so-slight texture that the cheese gives the cake. Of course, it’s not “light” in the sense that it is low in fat or calories, but you’ll certainly never mistake it for the super smooth and super dense New York-style cake. This cake has a hint of lemon, which is tasty and almost refreshing in the chilled cake.

I prefer it this way, but I won’t say that it’s necessarily better.

I used the recipe from Joy of Baking because it incorporated both cream cheese and ricotta, giving the cake a good flavor profile. The cheesecake whips together in minutes and, though it does bake in a waterbath, it is easy to tell when it is done because you want it to brown slightly on the top. As it bakes, the cake will puff up a lot, almost twice the size that it will be after it cools. After it deflates, there will be small wrinkles around the outer edge of the cake, giving it a distinctive and appealing look.

I omitted a crust because I noticed that many ricotta cheesecake recipes leave it out. While I crust would have been fine, I do think that the texture of the cheesecake was subtle and might have been lost with on the tongue with the crisp, crumbliness of a crust. It still would have tasted good, though.

One final word of advice: don’t eat cheesecake at the end of a meal. You won’t be able to finish a piece, but you will want to and will probably just end up feeling guilty that you wasted it. And even if you stuff yourself, you won’t feel good enough to actually enjoy the flavor. Instead, have a piece with your coffee in the afternoon, when you’re really able to savor it.

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A while back, I saw a picture of some luscious looking cream cheese cookies at dessert comes first. Shortly thereafter, I received an e-mail request for cheesecake cookies. I knew I had to try.

Cream cheese in used in many cookie recipes to enrich and soften a butter dough, but the flavor is subtle and often blends in with the butter. If you are told that there is cream cheese in the dough, you might taste it, but otherwise it is not an obvious flavor. This was the biggest challenge to overcome, since too much butter would overwhelm the cream cheese. I settled for an equal amount of butter and cream cheese. I needed enough flour to give the cookies a nice, stable texture and used an egg to bind everything together.

I have experimented a bit and this is the best version I have come up with so far. They are soft, chewy and definately remind me of cheesecake, though perhaps cheesecake crossed with a sugar cookie. I did not include any vanilla because I didn’t want to mask the relatively delicate flavors, though a little bit surely wouldn’t hurt. Don’t over bake them or they will firm up and loose that soft cheesecakey texture.

These cookies keep very well, so you can store them in an airtight container for several days.

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