Mini Cheesecakes and Black Forest Cupcakes

Mini Cheesecakes

(2) 8 oz cream cheese (soft)

1/2 c. sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

Nilla Wafers

Add cupcake liners to cupcake pan. Place 1 Nilla wafer in each cupcake liner. Mix cream cheese until smooth, add sugar and vanilla, mix until incorporated. Add eggs and mix. Spoon mixture into each cupcake liner about 1/2 full. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes. Cool and refrigerate. Top with any type of berry pie filling, chocolate, carmel the possibilities are endless.

Black Forest Cupcakes

Devil's Food Cake (homemade or from a box)

Cherry Pie Filling

Cream Cheese or Whip Cream Icing

Chocolate Pudding (optional)

Prepare cupcakes with devil's food cake. Once cupcakes have cooled cut a circle in the top angling the point of the knife toward the center of the cupcake. Pull out the "cone" of cake you just cut and cut the point of the "cone" leaving only a "lid" of cupcake. Fill the center of the cupcake with cherry pie filling and chocolate pudding (a small portion of each) and put the "lid" of the cupcake back on. Frost the top of the cupcake with icing.

Pumpkin Roll

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 cup pumpkin puree
3 eggs
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup confectioners' sugar

DIRECTIONS Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch jelly roll pan or cookie sheet (I line it with parchment paper).

In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking soda, and pumpkin pie spice. Stir in pumpkin puree, eggs, and lemon juice. Pour mixture into prepared pan. Spread the mixture evenly. Bake at 375 degrees F for 15 minutes.

Lay a damp linen towel on the counter, sprinkle it with confectioner's sugar, and turn the cake onto the towel. Carefully roll the towel up (lengthwise) with the cake in it. Place the cake-in-towel on a cooling rack and let it cool for 20 minutes. (It is important to do this as soon as the cake comes out of the oven, if you wait too long it will cool and crack when you try to roll it.)

Make the icing: In a medium bowl, blend cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and sugar with a wooden spoon or electric mixer.

When the cake has cooled 20 minutes, unroll it and spread icing onto it (Be careful, you do not need to roll it tightly - you do not want to squeeze out all of the filing as you roll). Immediately re-roll (not in the towel this time), and wrap it with plastic wrap. Keep the cake refrigerated or freeze it for up to 2 weeks in aluminum foil. Cut the cake in slices just before serving.

This is a family favorite! It stores great in the fridge.

Cherry Bars

These are pretty and oh so yummy!
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 (21 ounce) cans cherry pie filling (I use 1 can)
GLAZE:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 tablespoons milk

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the extracts. Combine flour and salt; add to the creamed mixture. Mix just until combined. Spread 3 cups batter into a greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pan (I use two 8x8 pans). Spread with pie filling. Drop the remaining batter by teaspoonfuls over filling. (Be careful, this is a sticky dough.)

Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Combine the glaze ingredients; drizzle over bars.

P.S. My Mom doesn't like Cherry Pie or cherry pie filling and she really likes these, so give the cherry a try, but you can always swap out other canned pie filling if you so choose.