S’s Sopapilla Cheesecake Dessert Recipe


A dear friend, S, makes the most amazing desserts, ever. I’m not the best baker, which means I rely on my friends to make these decadent treats. Turns out not only is S an amazing dessert chef, but she’s savvy too. This dish tastes like a million dollars, but is really easy to make. Thank you, S, for sharing this with me!

Ingredients:
3 (8 ounce) packages reduced fat cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 (8 ounce) cans crescent roll dough (store brand is fine!)
1/2 cup melted butter (key here is melted!)
1/2 cup white sugar (for topping)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup sliced almonds (more or less depending on taste. These are to sprinkle on top.)
drizzle of honey (this is what makes it a Sopapilla cheesecake!)

Directions:
Preheat an oven to 350 degrees. Beat the cream cheese with the sugar and the vanilla extract in a bowl until smooth. Unroll the cans of crescent roll dough, and use a rolling-pin (gently!) to shape the each piece into 9×13 inch rectangles. Press one piece into the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish. Evenly spread the cream cheese mixture into the baking dish, then cover with the remaining piece of crescent dough. Drizzle the melted butter evenly over the top of the cheesecake. Stir the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar together with the cinnamon in a small bowl, and sprinkle over the cheesecake along with the almonds. Bake in the preheated oven until the crescent dough has puffed and turned golden brown, about 45 minutes. Drizzle with honey while still warm. Cool completely in the pan before cutting into 12 squares. She adapted the recipe from this one on All Recipes.

My opinion:
This dish is sweet without being too sweet. Crunchy and flaky and creamy. It’s really hard to eat just on square. Next time you’re invited to a BBQ or a picnic bring this with you. Everyone will love it. I promise.

Pumpkin Soup (Round 2) and Gruyère Toast

We wound up with a couple of cans of left over pumpkin and in the quest for the perfect pumpkin soup, wanted to try a different version. This one is modified from the Mayo Clinic.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 can (8 ounces) pumpkin puree
1 and 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup fat-free milk
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
5 green onion, green top only, chopped

Directions:
In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until tender, about 3 minutes.

Add the remaining pumpkin, broth, cinnamon and nutmeg. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in the milk and cook until hot. Don’t boil.

Ladle into warmed individual bowls and garnish with white pepper and green onion tops. Serve immediately.

My opinion:
The happy medium lies in the combination of the last recipe and this one. This was a bit too pumpkin pie in soup form for me.

Now for the best part. The Gruyère Toast. I could eat just this for dinner on a regular basis. Yum!

Ingredients:
french bread loaf, cut into about 3/4 inch slices
Olive oil
Your favorite Gruyère (we like the apple wood smoked), sliced

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees or 450 degrees. brush bread with olive oil. Put in oven until just starting to brown on the top. Take out of oven, flip and add Gruyère. Put back in oven until Gruyère is melted and bread is fully toasted. (Hint: the toasting will take much less time on this side. Try to keep it from burning.)

My opinion:
Like I stated above, I love this toast. It’s great with tomato soup, chicken noodle and just by itself. It will be one of our go to dishes this winter!