Peanut Butter Lover's Rice Krispie Treats

Did you know that November is Peanut Butter Lover's Month?  A whole month dedicated to us PB Lovers?!  How much better can you get?  Maybe a PB and Chocolate Lover's month?  Who knows, that may exist.  There are so many food "holidays" that I have no idea about.  I couldn't let this month go by and not share at least one amazing Peanut Butter recipe.  I got this recipe from Kim over at Liv Life, and it is truly amazing!  You combine so many great things into one little bar.  You have Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats, Peanut Butter Fudge, Rice Krispie Treats, Mini Peanut Butter Cups, and finally a layer of chocolate....Pure Heaven!!  They are a little labor intensive, but so worth it!  AND Ablsolutely NO Baking!!!  Probably not what you will bring to Thanksgiving dinner, but these would be awesome on Friday after you get back from Black Friday shopping, and are eating that leftover turkey sandwich!  Or maybe even the sugar you need to get up early enough to get all the great deals!




Do you go Black Friday Shopping?  What do you shop for?

Peanut Butter Lover's Rice Krispie Treats
From Liv Life
Printable Recipe

1st Layer

3 cups Rice Krispies

1/2 bag miniature marshmallows
2 Tbls  butter

1/3 cup creamy peanut butter 

2nd Layer 

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2  cups powdered sugar

 

1 container Mini Peanut Butter cups

3rd Layer

3 cups Rice Krispies

1/2 bag miniature marshmallows

2 Tbls butter

4th Layer

1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 bag chocolate chips

Spray a 13x9 pan with cooking spray.

 

In a microwave safe bowl, melt the marshmallows, butter, and peanut butter together.  Add Rice Krispies, stirring well to evenly coat. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.  Set aside.  

In a large microwave safe bowl combine the butter and peanut butter.  Cover with plastic wrap.  Microwave for 2 minutes on high. Stir and microwave on high for 2 more minutes.  Be careful when you remove from the microwave, it is very hot.  Add the vanilla and powdered sugar and stir to combine.  Spread over the 1st layer.  Sprinkle the mini peanut butter cups over the fudge, lightly pressing down.  Put in the fridge for about 1 hour to cool. 

After fudge is a little bit firm, make the second layer of Rice Krispie Treats. 

In a microwave safe bowl, melt the marshmallows and butter together.  Add Rice Krispies, stirring well to evenly coat.  Lightly press the cereal together and spread onto of the fudge layer.   

For the chocolate layer, melt the peanut butter and chocolate in the microwave, stirring ever 45 seconds.  Once melted, pour over the Rice Krispie treats.  Gently shake the pan to evenly distribute the melted chocolate mixture.

Place back in the fridge for about 30 minutes for the chocolate to harden.  Cut and serve once fully cooled. 

 

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars

My kitchen is unpacked!!  I have been spoiled with a large kitchen for the last 5 years.  The kitchen in our rental is a very nice kitchen, but it is much smaller than my old one.  I was only able to unpack about 1/2 of my stuff (I have way too much stuff).  It is really nice that we have an unfinished basement to store everything in.  I attempted baking for the first time at high altitude this weekend.  The results weren't perfect, but they were not nearly as bad as I feared.  Stay tuned for some yummy recipes once I get the hang of it!

Thank you to Kita (Pass the Sushi), Liz (That Skinny Chick Can Bake), and Kelly (Eat Yourself Skinny) for filling in for me last week.  You all did a wonderful job, and I appreciate your help!




These bars are one of the last things I made in my old kitchen.  My husband and I were both going to meet friends for lunch, and I had a few things to use in my pantry so I made these bars.  Unfortunately my husband forgot his plate of treats on the counter.  Rami, this is what you missed out on!  Shannon on the other hand received her plate of goodies!  I received an email from her later that night asking if I posted this recipe yet, because they were TO DIE FOR!!!  Well here it is!  This would make a great alternative to Pumpkin Pie this week!


Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars
From Bake at 350
Printable Recipe

2 cups Flour
1 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
3/4 tsp Ginger
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
1/8 tsp Allspice
1/8 tsp Cloves
1 tsp Baking Soda
3/4 tsp  Salt
1 cup Butter, softened
1 1/4 cup Sugar
1 Egg
2 tsp Vanilla
1 cup Pumpkin Puree
1 bag Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare a 13x9 pan.

Mix together the flour, spices, baking soda and salt. (You could use 2 tsp pumpkin pie instead of all the spices if you had it).

Cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Add in the egg & vanilla. Beat in the pumpkin puree.  (It will look chunky and gross, but don't worry, that is what it is supposed to look like).

Add the in the flour mixture, and stir until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Spread the batter into your pan. Bake for about 35-40 minutes.   A toothpick will come out mostly clean.  Cool completely in pan before cutting.

Pumpkin Pie Cups with Eat Yourself Skinny

The movers finally delivered our stuff!!  I spent the ENTIRE day unpacking, and it really doesn't look like I did very much.  We did manage to clear out the garage so we can park both cars in there, that is huge!  My Kitchen Aid is unpacked and all set up :)  Everything else is still a complete mess.  I think it will take at least a week to get everything set up. 

Since I have yet to cook much in the last week, today I bring you Kelly from Eat Yourself Skinny.  Kelly has a great site offering tasty healthy recipes.  Plus gorgeous pictures! Make sure you go visit her and tell her I said Hi!

Hello there lovely readers of Dinners, Dishes and Desserts!  I’m Kelly from Eat Yourself Skinny and I’m super excited to be guest posting today!  I absolutely adore Erin {as I’m sure you all do as well!} so when she asked me to share a recipe on her blog while she was moving this week, I was completely thrilled!

There is just something about Fall that makes me LOVE this season more than any other.  Maybe it’s the cute scarves and boots we get to get all bundled up in or the pretty foliage that starts to poke its way out once the summer heat has faded away, but either way my favorite part about Fall would have to be the abundance of pumpkin recipes!  Whether I’m starting my morning off with a pumpkin spiced latte from Starbucks or enjoying a delicious pumpkin muffin for breakfast, this Fall favorite can add flare to any old recipe.  So of course I just had to do something fun and festive for Erin!

I chose to make delicious Pumpkin Pie Cups which are perfect healthy alternatives to your typical slice of indulgent pumpkin pie.  Best part is you can have one whole bowl for only 172 calories and ZERO grams of fat!

Yes I said zero.

Doesn’t get much better than that and I promise you they taste delicious.  I loved the slight crunch the cornflakes added to this dish and the combination of pumpkin, cinnamon and nutmeg was amazing!  Make these for guests at your next dinner party or throw this together when you want to indulge in something sweet without having the unnecessary calories.  It’s so quick and easy! 

Note to self however, when taking pictures…make sure to strategically place the spoons so you can’t see yourself AND your camera in them.  FAIL.  Oh well!  Hope you enjoy these treats as much as I did!

Pumpkin Pie Cups

______________________________

Servings: 4

Serving Size: 1 dish 

Calories: 172

Fat: 0 g

Carbs: 37 g 

Fiber: 1 g

Protein: 6 g

Old Points: 3.2 pts

Points+: 4 pts

______________________________

Here are your ingredients:

Recipe adapted from Taste of Home cookbook

1/4 cup coarsely crushed cornflakes

1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp packed brown sugar, divided

1 tsp. ground cinnamon, divided

1/4 tsp. + 1/8 tsp. ground ginger, divided

3/4 cup fat-free milk

3/4 cup solid-pack pumpkin

2 Tbsp corn syrup

1 tsp. cornstarch

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/3 cup cholesterol-free egg substitute

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  For topping, combine cornflakes, 1 Tbsp brown sugar, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon and 1/8 tsp. ginger in a small bowl.  Mix well and set aside.

For filling, heat milk in small saucepan over medium heat.  Do not boil.  Combine pumpkin, remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar, corn syrup, cornstarch, remaining 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 1/4 tsp. ginger and nutmeg in large bowl.

Stir hot milk into pumpkin mixture.  Add egg substitute and whisk until smooth.  Pour into four 6 oz. oven proof custard cups or ramekins.  Sprinkle evenly with topping.  Place cups in a baking pan and carefully add hot water to about 3/4-inch depth. 

Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.  Enjoy!

Thanks again for inviting me to guest post Erin!  If you’d like to see more skinny recipes or just want to stop over and say hi, check out my blog any time!

XOXO

Banana Cream Pie with That Skinny Chick Can Bake

We made it to Colorado!  It was so nice to know that the long drive was just one way this time. Unfortunately our stuff did not arrive as planned.  The driver who was going to drive the truck out "is no longer with the company".  So now, today is the day everything should arrive.  Not sure how much longer I can live without furniture, and almost no kitchen supplies. 

Today I am bringing you another great blogger!  Liz from That Skinny Chick Can Bake was one of the first people I met when I started blogging.  She makes the most amazing desserts, but then also is an excellent cook.  I have made numerous recipes of hers, and they are always delicious!

So....I give you Liz



I was delighted when Erin asked me to guest post for her this week.  I met sweet Erin when she was just a fledgling blogger...but she didn't seem like a newbie to me back then. Her talent was obvious from day one.  So I wanted to make a special dessert to be featured...and one of my hubby's favorite pies came to mind...banana cream.

I turned to a Cook's Illustrated recipe for inspiration.  That magazine rarely steers me wrong.  Their vanilla custard is just incredible...in fact, I spent so much time scraping samples from the bottom of the saucepan, that I hardly wanted dinner.  Sliced bananas are sandwich between two layers of the creamy custard, then the pie is topped with a cloud of sweetened whipped cream. Hubby, Bill, took one bite and declared it amazing. I think you will agree.

Erin, I hope you're getting settled in your new home, and I know we're all looking forward to the fabulous dishes you will be cooking up in your new kitchen.



Banana Cream Pie...adapted from The Best Recipe

1 baked and cooled pastry shell (I used Martha Stewart's Páte Brisée)

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
5 egg yolks, beaten slightly
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup cream
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon cognac
1 teaspoon vanilla

2 bananas, peeled and sliced just before placing over filling.

1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Whisk together sugar, cornstarch and salt in a medium saucepan.  Add yolks and whisk to combine.  Slowly add milk and cream, whisking till combined.  Add vanilla bean and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly till mixture starts to thicken and simmer.  Cook for an additional minute, then remove from heat.  Whisk in butter, cognac and vanilla.  Remove vanilla bean.

Cover top of filling with plastic wrap and allow to cool for about 30 minutes.  When cooled to warm, spread about half the filling into the pie shell.  Top with sliced bananas, and spread the remaining filling over the bananas.  Cover filling with plastic wrap and chill at least 3 hours.

To finish, beat cream with sugar and vanilla till soft peaks form.  Beat slightly longer to almost stiff peaks.  Spread over filling and garnish with banana slices before serving if desired.

M&M Candy Corn Blondies

Happy Halloween!  We carved our pumpkins and roasted the seeds yesterday; my son has his costume and is ready to go!  It should be a fun night for all the kids.  We had a great weekend as a family.  My husband was supposed to get here around lunch time on Saturday, but he surprised me and showed up at 10:00 on Friday night!  I was just getting ready to go upstairs and I heard the garage door open.  One of the best surprises ever! 

I found these bars awhile ago on Pinterest, and I was instantly in love.  I am obsessed with Blondies recently, after just discovering what they are.  It is a little late in the season to make them, but you could substitute white chocolate chips if you can’t find the M&M’s.  But I suspect if you go to the store first thing tomorrow morning, you will find them on clearance :)  You really should make a special trip tomorrow to find them, these Blondies were insanely good! 

 

M&M Candy Corn Blondies

Adapted from The Little Kitchen

Printable Recipe

1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla

½ cup butter, melted
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup M&M white chocolate candy corn, chopped

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Prepare an 8 inch pan or line with foil.

Cream brown sugar and egg until it's light and fluffy. Add in vanilla and melted butter, mix well

In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking soda and salt.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and incorporate with a spatula. Stir in M&Ms by hand. Do not over mix.

Pour batter to the prepared pan. Bake for about 25-28 minutes. The top will be dry.  Cool completely before cutting.  

Steph's Virtual Bridal Shower - Risotto and Cupcakes!

Have you heard?  Steph from Steph's Bite by Bite is getting married!  October 29^th is her big day!  Kita from Pass the Sushi had the wonderful idea of having a Virtual Bridal Shower for Steph to celebrate.  So today we get to share some of our romantic meals with Steph.  After 10 years of marriage I would like to think I know a little bit about romantic meals.  Today I am giving you my Sausage and Mushroom Risotto with Red Velvet Cupcakes for dessert. 

My husband and I had this risotto 6 years ago at my sister in law’s rehearsal dinner.  It was so good; I had to try to make it at home.  It isn’t quite the same, but it is rich, creamy, and delicious.  Serve with a glass of wine, and you have a romantic dinner, perfect for a cool night.  But you have to have dessert too, right?  Anything red just says sexy to me, so Red Velvet Cupcakes fit the bill.  Plus they are cute and little, so you don’t get too full.

Congrats Steph!  I hope you and Lucas have a long and happy life together!  I can’t wait to see pictures from your special day.

Sausage and Mushroom Risotto

Printable Recipe

3 cups chicken stock

3 cups beef stock

2 Tbls olive oil

1 small onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

8 oz Shitaki Mushrooms

½ tsp thyme

1 lb Italian Sausage

1 Tbls butter

Salt and pepper

2 cups Arborio Rice

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese

Combine Chicken and Beef stock in a sauce pan.  Warm over low heat. 

In a separate skillet, sauté mushrooms and the thyme together.  Sprinkle mushrooms with salt and pepper once lightly browned.  Set aside. 

In another skillet brown the sausage.  Discard the fat, and set aside. 

In a large skillet heat 2 Tbls oil over medium heat.  Add onion and garlic.  Sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes.  Add the rice and coat well with the oil.  Lightly toast the rice, about 2 minutes.  Stir in wine, and cook until it is almost evaporated.  Ladle about 1 cup of warm stock into the rice and stir.  Once it is mostly absorbed add in more stock (1 ladle full each time).  Continue this process until the rice is cooked through and nice and creamy.  You might have a little stock left over, but not much. 

Once cooked through, add mushrooms and sausage to the pan.  Stir in the Parmesan Cheese and butter.  Top with additional cheese if desired. 

For the Red Velvet Cupcakes go to Dessert For Two for the recipe!  The recipe makes 4 cupcakes - how perfect is that!

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Spiced Buttercream

Things are about to go Halloween around here next week.  I have something special planned for you tomorrow, and then next week prepare for Orange, and Spiders, and all things Gross!  In the meantime though I have these amazing Cupcakes I want to share with you.  They are pumpkin, so they are the perfect prelude to Halloween! 

I made these for a Teacher’s Appreciation Lunch at my son’s school.  There were a few teachers around when I brought them in, and these little treats  were oohed  and awed over like crazy.  I am not sure they even made it until lunch time!  If you follow me on facebook, you may remember me not being able to find powdered sugar.  This is why I needed it!  Seriously!  It took 3 stores to find powdered sugar.  But it was well worth all the trips, because this frosting was amazing!! 

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Spiced Buttercream

Adapted from Annie’s Eats

PrintableRecipe

Cupcakes:
2 2/3 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
¼ tsp ground cloves
1 tsp salt
1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin puree
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup canola

4 eggs

Buttercream Frosting:
8 oz. cream cheese
5 tbsp. butter, softened
2 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. cinnamon

2½ cups powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare cupcake pans, makes approximately 30 cupcakes. 

To make the cupcakes

Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt together. Set aside.  In the bowl for an electric mixer, blend together the pumpkin, sugar, brown sugar and oil. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each.  With the mixer on low, add the flour in slowly, until just combined. 

Fill the cupcake liners about 2/3^rd of the way full.  Bake for about 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. 

To make the frosting

Using an electric mixer cream together cream cheese and butter, until smooth.  Mix in vanilla.  Gradually stir in the powdered sugar and cinnamon.  Beat on medium until smooth.  Frost cooled cupcakes.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Blondies

I almost forgot to write this post.  We got an offer on our house last night, so the whole night was spent discussing what to do.  Do you take the offer, or do you counter?  Too much stress!!!  I just want it all over, so we can move out to Colorado and be a family again!  It has only been 2 weeks, but I am done with this living apart thing. 

It is a good thing I remembered to write this post though, you are going to want to make these bars.  Obviously I like peanut butter and chocolate, that is not a secret, but these were delicious.  I liked my Coconut White Chocolate Blondies so much, I wanted to try another version.  I found this peanut butter version over at Ravie NomNoms that was about what I was thinking.  I changed it up a little to use what I had on hand, and they were perfect! 

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Blondies
Adapted from Ravie NomNoms
Printable Recipe

1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup peanut butter
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup white chocolate chips


Preheat oven to 350º.  Prepare a 13x9 pan.

Cream together butter and sugar. Mix in eggs, one at a time. Add the vanilla and peanut butter.

In a small bowl combine the flour and baking powder.  Slowly add flour to the peanut butter mixture. Fold in the chocolate chips.  Spread mixture into your prepared pan.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the top starts to look dry.   Allow to cool before cutting and serving. 

Coconut White Chocolate Blondies

This week over at erecipe.com I am the featured Chef of the Week! Go check it out!

Remember back when I made Citrus Garlic Chicken with Coconut Lime Rice? It was a great use of my coconut oil. I knew I wanted to make a savory dish when I received it. I am glad I did, because it was amazing. But I couldn’t skip dessert, could I? I thought about banana bread or muffins or something along those lines. As good as that sounded, I wanted a real dessert. I had seen this Blondie recipe from Cassie at Bake Your Day and I thought this would be the perfect experiment. I am not sure I had ever made Blondies before, so I was very curious how they would turn out.

They were really good! I am not a big fan of coconut, or at least I thought I wasn’t. You could definitely taste it in these, and I liked it! It didn’t have the texture coconut usually has, maybe that is part of my problem with it. I will be branching out and trying other coconut recipes though!


Coconut White Chocolate Blondies
Adapted from Bake Your Day
Printable Recipe

1/2 cup Coconut Oil, melted
1 cup light brown sugar
1 whole egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup white chocolate chips
1/4 cup sprinkles

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare 8×8 pan.

Blend coconut oil and brown sugar together until smooth. Stir in egg and vanilla. Add flour and salt, mix until combined. Fold in the white chocolate chips and sprinkles.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 25 – 30 minutes or until it is set, and slightly browned. Cool completely before cutting. This part is torture, but Cassie claims it is necessary!

Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Brownies

A couple weeks ago I saw a recipe for Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Brownies over at The Farm Girl.  I could not get in the kitchen to make these fast enough.  I was trying to come up with all sorts of excuses why I needed to make them.  The one I ended up going with?  I had a meeting with my son’s teacher after school, and since she teaches first grade, she definitely deserved a brownie or two.  Turned out my in laws came the next day as well, so it actually worked out well.  Even my Father-in-law, who almost never eats dessert, loved these.  He was trying to corner the market on the couple that were left.  My husband, who isn’t a big fan of chocolate ate them as well!  So I suggest you come up with whatever excuse you need, and go make them now!  You will not be disappointed. 

I admit, I did adapt the recipe slightly.  I used my normal brownie recipe for the base.  Because this was last minute (and I am trying to clean out my kitchen due to the pending move) I didn’t have any chocolate chips. Although I did find 3 Hershey Bars in my cupboard from a camp fire we had this summer.  So I used those for the glaze.  I also added a little peanut butter frosting drizzle on the top… just because.  Well actually I had a tiny bit of frosting left over from something else, so I added a little peanut butter, thinned it out, and drizzled until my heart’s content.  I like drizzles!  And I liked these brownies.  Go!  Make!  Them!  Now! 

Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Brownies

Adapted from The Farm Girl

Printable Recipe

Brownies:

2 envelopes unsweetened chocolate
1/3 cup canola oil
1 cups sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cups flour
½  tsp baking powder
½  tsp salt

Filling:

1/2  cup peanut butter

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 Tbls milk

1 tsp vanilla

¾  cup flour

1/4 tsp salt

Glaze:

1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips   Or Any melted Chocolate

2 Tbsp. shortening

Drizzle:

½ cup powdered sugar

1 Tbls milk

2 Tbls peanut butter

¼ tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare and 8x8 baking pan. 

To make the brownies blend the chocolate and the oil together.  Mix in the eggs and sugar.  Stir in the flour, baking powder and salt until just combined.   Pour batter into pan and bake for about 25 minutes.  Allow to cool completely.

To make the filling cream together butter and brown sugar.  Mix in the peanut butter, vanilla and milk.  Stir in flour and salt until well combined.  Spread over cooled brownies.  It may be sticky. You can spray a spatula with non stick spray, or slightly dampen your hands to spread out. 

Melt Chocolate and pour over the peanut butter layer.  Put in fridge for 30 minutes to start to harden. 

Stir together the sugar, milk, vanilla and peanut butter.  Adjust the level of milk to get your desired consistency.  Drizzle over chocolate layer.  Store in fridge.  Enjoy!!

Mini Oreo Cheesecakes

I am sitting here trying to figure out what to tell you today.  I am struggling.  I could talk about the weather.  It was in the 60's here today.  Kind of windy and overcast.  I could tell you about my day.  I went running today.  Ran for 5 miles, it was a tough 5 miles too.  Not sure why though?  I went at a different time than normal, but not that far off.  I usually go at 8:30 after I get my son on the bus.  Well on Tuesdays I volunteer in his classroom at 9:00, so I go after I am done with that.  I got hungry during my run, even though I ate breakfast.  I NEVER get hungry during a run.  Even when I ran my 1/2 marathon, I didn't get hungry.  I do the Gu and Power Blocks for the energy, not because I am actually hungry.  I also ran kind of fast today.  I kept trying to make myself slow down, but it just wasn't working.  Or maybe it was because I was by myself.  I usually do my "longer" runs with a friend.  Our schedules aren't working this week so I was on my own today.  I baked this afternoon too.  Not these little treats but something cinnamon!  It is my husbands last week of work.  Our wonderful friends had a going away party for us on Saturday.  While at the party one of my husbands coworkers suggested that I should send it one last batch of treats.  How could I not oblige!

Ok, so that is enough of nothing.  Why don't I just get to the treats.  I made these for a party we went to a couple weeks ago.  I am not a big fan of cheesecake (stems from my hatred for cream cheese), but when it is flavored I like it.  I figured my love of Oreo's would work for flavoring.  These were creamy and delicious!  My first ever attempt at cheesecake!

Mini Oreo Cheesecakes
Recipe adapted from Kraft Foods
Printable Recipe 

1 package Oreo's

3  8 oz pkg. Cream Cheese, softened

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup Sour Cream

1 tsp. vanilla

3   eggs

Heat oven to 325°F.

Put 1 cookie in 24 prepared muffin cups. Chop 8 of the remaining cookies; set aside. 

Beat cream cheese and sugar with mixer until blended. Add sour cream and vanilla; mix well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each just until blended. Gently stir in chopped cookies. Scoop into baking cups. 

Bake for 18 to 20 min. or until centers are set. Cool completely. Refrigerate 3 hours or until chilled.  Topped with Whipped Cream, and 1/2 an Oreo to serve.