Sweet Treats for Valentine's Day

Chocolate Dipped Oreos

I found this cute idea from Your Homebased Mom. Very simple and thank goodness she went through all the trial and error for me :) I bought the generic brand or Oreos and should have gone for the "real" deal (double stuffed too). It would have been a lot easier to stand the cookies up once they had been dipped. Cookies are dipped in melted Almond Bark and adorned with sprinkles. Hannah passed these out to her class on Sunday.

This mini cheesecake idea came from Skip to my Lou. The recipe & pan is from King Arthur's Flour and the recipe is called Caramel Chocolate Seduction. I only added the caramel topping to my cheesecakes, because no one else wanted it. Crazy people!

Caramel Chocolate Seduction

Crust
2/3 cup chocolate cookie crumbs
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
heaping 3/4 cup chopped semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, or chocolate chips, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg

Chocolate Glaze
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons corn syrup, light or dark
pinch of salt
heaping cup chopped semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, or chocolate chips

Topping
3 ounces caramel, from a block, or 8 to 10 unwrapped candies
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1/2 cup toasted walnuts

Find a pan that makes 12 individual (1 1/2" to 2") round or heart-shaped cakes; a pan that makes small muffins (not mini muffins) would work. There's no need to grease the pan. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

To make the crust: Mix all of the crust ingredients, and place a tablespoon of crumbs in each cup of the pan, pressing into the bottom and about 1/4" up the sides. Bake for 10 minutes, remove from the oven, and cool slightly. Reduce the oven temperature to 275°F.

To make the filling: Beat the cream cheese until soft and fluffy. Mix in the sweetened condensed milk. Stir in the melted chocolate, vanilla, and egg. Use about 2 heaping tablespoons to fill each cup about 3/4 full. Bake for 35 minutes, until the cheesecake is set around the edges-a small spot in the middle should still look soft. Remove from the oven and cool slowly to room temperature.

To make the glaze: Place the glaze ingredients in a small saucepan over low heat, or put the ingredients in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave at low power. Heat, stirring often, until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth. Cool, stirring occasionally, for 10 to 15 minutes, so that the glaze thickens slightly but is still pourable. Pour about 1 tablespoon of chocolate glaze onto each cheesecake. Tilt pan to cover completely. Chill cheesecakes before removing from pan.

To make the topping: Place caramel and cream in a small saucepan and warm over low heat, or put the ingredients in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave at low power. Stir frequently, until melted and smooth. You can adjust the consistency by adding more cream to thin the sauce, or by chilling slightly to thicken. Just before serving, drizzle cheesecakes with melted caramel and sprinkle with toasted nuts. Yield: 12 mini cheesecakes.

I wrapped a few up and brought them to church for the Primary Presidency. Hopefully they loved them as much as I did!