Bailey's Chocolate Cheesecake Mousse

Well, it was requested for me to share the recipe for the dessert I made for my little family's New Year's Day meal. I was looking for a rich dessert that was easy to make, but still rich and decadent. This fit the bill! It took very little time to put together, but looked like I had spent quite a bit of time on it! The texture was a cross between a mousse and a cheesecake, the flavor rich with Bailey's, chocolate, and cheesecake. And best of all, it's a no-bake dessert! Here is the recipe...

Bailey's Chocolate Cheesecake Mousse

4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
5 tablespoons Bailey's Irish Cream
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate, chopped (semi-sweet chocolate morsels may be used too)
1 Tablespoon butter
1 cup heavy cream, whipped to firm peaks

Melt Chocolate, butter, and 1 tablespoon Bailey's over a double boiler. Set aside. Combine the cream cheese and sugar, beat to combine. Slowly add in 4 tablespoons of Bailey's and stir until smooth and creamy.
Slowly combine the chocolate mixture with the cream cheese mixture - it will thicken quickly! Stir in 1/4 of the whipped cream, then fold in the remaining until combined. Spoon into serving dishes and top with chocolate curls (use a vegetable peeler on the side of a chocolate bar). Makes 6 servings.

Enjoy!

Bailey's Chocolate Cheesecake Mousse

I wish you all a joyous 2012, and I look forward to sharing more tips, recipes and fun with all of my readers!

Red Hot Cinnamon Candy Popcorn

I thought some of you might enjoy this... It's very festive for the holidays! Though it's not my recipe, I did alter it slightly...

In case any of your are interested, I thought I would share a favorite recipe of mine... I didn't make this up, it's out of a cookbook, but it's a fun change from your normal caramel corn!
Red Hot Cinnamon Candy Popcorn
8 quarts popped popcorn
12 oz package red cinnamon candies
+ enough sugar to fill up a 2 cup measure
1 cup butter
1/2 cup corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Spread Popcorn onto a lightly buttered roasting pan; bake at 250 degrees while preparing syrup. Pour cinnamon candies into a 2 cup measure, then fill remainging space to the top with sugar. Place in a heavy saucepan and add butter and corn syrup. Bring to a boil and boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and carefully stir in baking soda. Pour over popcorn and stir to coat. Bake in a 250 degree oven for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Break apart and store in an airtight container.
I hope you all enjoy! I love this recipe!

Turkey and Apple Cranberry Sauce

I love the holidays and the delicious food that comes with them! While my Thanksgiving was a little late, it was still wonderful! I took the time to brine my little 9lb turkey and what a difference it made!  Even though I misjudged time and overcooked the turkey, it was still moist and flavorful. I made the brine the day before I cooked the turkey and allowed it to marinate overnight, about 12 hours. Here is my recipe…

Turkey Brine 

¾ gallon water

1 cup apple cider

1 ¼ cup salt (canning and pickling salt is perfect)

¼ cup brown sugar

½ cup white vinegar

1 tablespoon peppercorns

1 tablespoon allspice berries

2 tablespoons pickling spice

10 fresh sage leaves

2 quarts ice

Heat the salt and sugar with ½ gallon of water. Add cider, vinegar, spices, remaining water and ice to food safe bucket or other large vessel. Once sugar and salt are dissolved, add to bucket with remaining ingredients. Add turkey and weigh down with a plate to keep turkey submerged. You may need a gallon freezer bag or other container to set on the plate to help weigh it down. Brine about 12 hours for a small bird, or up to 24 for a large bird. Remove bird from brine at least a couple of hours before cooking and rinse thoroughly. Refrigerate uncovered until cooking time – this will help dry out the skin so it can crisp up during roasting. You may add herbs or other spices to give the skin flavor… I used thyme, sage, pepper, and butter. Be sure to pat the skin dry before rubbing with spices.


The turkey is never complete without the cranberry sauce on the side! While canned cranberries have their place, I much prefer fresh made cranberry sauce! Here is my recipe for my Apple Cranberry Sauce.

Apple Cranberry Sauce

1 12oz bag fresh cranberries

1 ½ cups peeled and diced apple (about the same size of cranberries)

1 ¼ – 1 ½ cup sugar – to taste

1 cinnamon stick

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan, but start with only 1 cup of sugar. You can always add more later! Heat over medium low heat until apples are tender and cranberries have burst. Sauce will be fairly thick. Taste for sweetness, then add additional as necessary. I used about 1 1/3 cups sugar with mine batch. Stir to dissolve additional sugar, and then cool. Serve chilled or at room temperature. No thickening is necessary, as both the apples and the cranberries contain pectin that will naturally thicken the sauce!

Cranberries, apples, sugar, and aromatic spices

This cranberry sauce if so versatile! The apples absorb the colors from the cranberries and make this sauce so elegant. I love using leftovers in different ways and this cranberry sauce recipe is great in many things! Think cheesecakes, trifles, on sandwiches, pureed and used in cocktails… so many uses!

Finished Apple Cranberry Sauce

I hope you enjoy these recipes! And, thank you all for supporting me in this blogging endeavor!