Cole and I received a goodie bag of dog toys on my door along with a "Taste of Home" magazine all about Cheesecakes from Tia with a request for a Mallow Cranberry Cheesecake. I am not a big Cranberry person myself, but it certainly looked pretty with all the sugared cranberries on top. Here is a little video of the baseball squeaky toy that had Georgia a bit perplexed, but still "all in".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uH8-j8ig5Zk
The same was she is "all in" when Brendan asks her if she wants to go in the smoker and she she gives her paw to say 'yes'. She's not sure what that means, but she'll try it out. (Brendan is just mocking that we claim to have Georgia trained to give her paw in reply to certain questions if the answer is 'yes'.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfiXfwsD0Ro
In our litte gift bag, Tia also left this cute Limoges-type box with an Electric Mixer sitting on top of it. It even had a miniature cake inside. It fits right in!
Here is the mallow cranberry cheesecake with sugared cranberries on top.
The crust was graham cracker and macadamia nut.
I really like the look of these sparkling cranberries. Ooh, I just got an idea for a Thanksgiving centerpiece.
Thanks Tia for our bag of treats!
Mallow Cranberry Cheesecake
(Adapted from Taste of Home)
INGREDIENTS
Cheesecake
¾ cup graham cracker crumbs
½ cup finely chopped macadamia nuts
2 tablespoons sugar
¼ cup butter, melted
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
¼ cup cold water
2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
1 jar (7 ounces) marshmallow creme
1 can (14 ounces) whole-berry cranberry sauce
1 cup heavy whipping cream
Sugared Cranberries
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
¼ cup cold water
1 package (12 ounces) fresh cranberries or frozen cranberries, thawed
⅔ cup superfine sugar
DIRECTIONS
Cheesecake
- Preheat the oven to 350°.
- In a small bowl, combine the cracker crumbs, nuts and sugar. Stir in butter. Press onto the bottom of a greased 9-in. springform pan. Place on a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack. (You can turn oven off now!)
- In a small saucepan, sprinkle gelatin over cold water; let stand for 1 minute. Heat over low heat, stirring until gelatin is completely dissolved and let cool for a few minutes.
- In a large bowl, beat together cream cheese and marshmallow creme until smooth. Add in cranberry sauce and cooled gelatin and mix on low to combine.
- In a small bowl, beat heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Fold into cream cheese mixture. Pour over crust. Refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.
Sugared Cranberries
- In a microwave-safe bowl, sprinkle gelatin over cold water; let stand for 1 minute. Microwave on high for 1-2 minutes, stirring every 20 seconds, until gelatin is completely dissolved. Whisk until slightly frothy.
- Lightly brush mixture over all sides of berries. Place on a wire rack over waxed paper; sprinkle with superfine sugar. Let stand at room temperature for up to 24 hours (do not refrigerate or the sugar will dissolve).
To Assemble: Just before serving, carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen. Spoon sugared cranberries over cheesecake.