This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group®, Sara Lee®, and Hershey’s® but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #SweetTreatDessert https://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV
Cheesecake, I’m afraid, is my Achilles heel.
I think this contributes to my general ambivalence towards it. Trying something repeatedly and getting less than perfect results (or in my mind, FAILURE), tends to create a sharp decline in my interest in something.
Thank God I turned out to be good at cooking- although thinking about it, I’d probably have a LOT more free time.
Cheesecake is just so…fickle. Its a fickle beast. Room temperature ingredients, baking in a water bath, baking low and slow, leaving it in a cracked oven for 3 hours, don’t overmix the ingredients- good Lord, you’d think I was trying to diffuse a bomb here. No matter what I do, or how careful I am, I always end up with a big crack running across the top, a whole lot of bad attitude, and a cake that has about 8 lbs of cream cheese in it that I’ll MAYBE eat one slice of.
So I’ve taken a break from trying. You know what, frankly, Sara Lee® makes a damn good cheesecake, it’s in the freezer ready to go, and it’s not cracked. Sounds like a winner to me.
I’m so in love with fall apples- they are so completely packed with flavor, so crisp, so juicy; in fact, carmel apples are my absolute favorite fall treat. I ran across some beautiful apples at Publix, and I thought it would be delicious to dress up a New York Style Cheesecake with all the flavors of a caramel apple- made super easy by using Hershey’s® Caramel Syrup. Since I try to have at least one homemade component to everything I make, I quickly candied some pecans and dusted them with cinnamon sugar so they would sparkle. If your grocery store carries candied nuts, you’re one step of the game.
Bonus- Receive a FREE 17-24oz Hershey’s® Syrup when you buy any ONE (1) Sara Lee® Frozen Dessert item now thru 10/09/15 while supplies last. So you know, no excuses.
Candied Cinnamon Sugar Pecans
Ingredients
- 3 cups whole pecans
- 4 T butter
- 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 T brown sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Stir together the sugar, 2 T brown sugar and cinnamon in a wide bowl.
- Add the pecans to a large skillet set over medium heat. Toast until fragrant (being sure not to let them burn), stirring frequently, approximately 5 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.
- Add the butter to the pan and melt. Sprinkle in the brown sugar, whisk in and let the mixture come to a bubble and thicken. Return the pecans back to the pan and toss quickly to coat.
- Use a slotted spoon to remove the pecans from the pan and move them to the bowl of cinnamon sugar. Toss the pecans with the sugar to coat, then remove to a parchment lined tray to cool. Break apart when cool, if necessary.
Caramel Apple Cheesecake
Ingredients
- 1 Sara Lee New York Style Cheesecake thawed
- 1/2 cup Hershey’s Caramel Syrup
- 2 apples cut into 1/4” thick slices
- 2 T butter
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp cloves
- 1 cup candied pecans
Instructions
- In a small saute pan over medium heat, melt the butter.
- Add the apple slices, cinnamon and cloves, toss until evenly combined. Saute for 3-4 minutes, until apples just begin to soften. Remove from heat.
- Place the cheesecake on a serving plate. Pour approximately 1/3 cup of the Hershey’s syrup on top of the cake and spread to the edges.
- Arrange the apples on top of the caramel, then drizzle with the remaining caramel.
- Top with the candied pecans and serve.
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