Mini Upside Down Gingersnap Chocolate Cheesecake Heaven in Your Mouth!

That name is insanely long and I feel like it needs to be shortened; however, it explains it very well! Yesterday, my little Monkey [ sister- Kaity, I have nicknames for everyone!] had her 8th grade graduation banquet at a hotel and they had amazingly delicious food! We had chicken with fresh ginger on top and for dessert we had pineapple upside down cake [I had never had that before, and it was yum!] Earlier that morning I had woken up before anyone else and was sitting in bed - I don't know about you, but my mind tends to wander when I just sit and let it do it's thing... well mine wandered about cheesecake. Cut to yesterday night- ** warning** when I get an idea about something I have to do it right then and there. Patience and I aren't very close friends... more like enemies** which led me to the store to buy some ingredients that we didn't have (( SHOCKING )) honestly, shocking- this household has everything-- EVERY THING! Anyways, I go down the cookie aisle because I needed a crust for my cheesecake- I was thinking a chocolatey oreo type crust, or a graham cracker cinnamon crust [ I have this obession with cinnamon] When I got there they had a box of Ginger Snap cookies which just looked absolutley perfect [just the right amount of spice without it being extremely sweet because I knew I was going to top it with chocolate, so it balanced it out well!] and of course I had to buy oreos too... just in case!



First: I made up the cheesecake mixture [recipe below]



Second: I laid out the mini muffin liners - I didn't have the foil ones, and when I used the regular paper ones they didn't hold their shape; however, it still worked it was just a bit messier

Third: I filled the liners about 3/4ths full with the mixture, and baked them for about 5 minutes

Fourth: After the 5 minutes I took them out, and topped them with the gingersnap cookie, and the reason I put the cookie on top instead of on the bottom as you should do since it acts like the crust was because it didn't fit into the bottom of the liners [hence the upside down part]

Fifth: Once they were done baking I let them cool just a quick little bit; partly because I was impatient and partly because well I was impatient.. I took each one out of their liners and placed them on the cookie sheet, and then topped them with the chocolate ganache.

Lastly: I poured the ganache over the entire cookie sheet and popped them in the fridge overnight [which KILLED me-- not literally obviously]

Cut to this morning where the finshed product was ready, and I had my Momma tried them, and she LOVED them! If I could change anything it would be the messiness of the finished product, I like clean and easy to pop in your mouth! They even taste good smashed together like a cheescake cookie! I also, wouldn't have put the ganache over the entire pan because it made the cookie crust soft on the bottom- I would most likely save that for a pan full of cheesecake bars, perhaps!

Try them, and tell me what you think!

MINI CHEESECAKES

WHAT YOU NEED:

2 (8OZ.) PKG Cream Cheese [MAKE SURE THIS IS AT ROOM TEMP]

3/4 C. Sugar

3 Eggs

1 TBSP Vanilla

1 TBSP Lemon Juice

Mix.

Bake at 350* for 15-20 minutes.

CHOCOLATE GANACHE

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

8OZ. Heavy whipping cream

2OZ. Butter

8OZ. Semi-sweet chocolate

1/4C. Confectioner's sugar

TO DO:

Heat cream and butter on stove top- once it reaches ALMOST boiling pour over chocolate [in separate bowl]. Stir until all blended, add the confectioner's sugar, and bring out your inner M.J. and beat it until it's smooooth like a criminal!

HUGE LOVE,

<3

Mini Pancake Muffins with Maple Syrup, Cinnamon Sugar, and Chocolate Chips

I've been in a mini mood lately and came across this recipe on BAKERELLA [ wonderful website ] I tweeked the recipe just a bit though. I decided to make this one because it was morning time and it was something my niece could eat; however, she didn't eat it for breakfast but rather a snack-- of course-- she is super picky with food time lol

To get out:
1 C. Flour
1 TSP. Baking Powder
1/2 TSP. Baking Soda
1/4 TBSP. Sugar
2/3 C. Buttermilk [I used dry packaged one- more cost effective]
1 Egg
2 TBSP. Maple Syrup
2 TBSP. Melted butter
Splash of vanilla [Not in the recipe at all - this is what I added]
Dash of cinnamon [I add this to everything]

OPTIONAL:
Chocolate Chips
Cinnamon Sugar

TO DO:
Preheat oven to 350*
Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl
Combine wet ingredients in a SEPARATE medium bowl
Add the WET to the DRY
*** You can add the chocolate chips/ cinnamon sugar now
Bake for 8-9 minutes [I baked mine for as long as it took me after the timer went off at 8 minutes to clean up McKenna from breakfast!]

We dipped ours in syrup, and also just ate them alone. My mom said the Cinnamon Sugar ones tasted like mini churros and my little munchkin [littlest sister] said I put to much chocolate chips in them [ HA! ] but that she LOVED the plain ones!

ENJOY!

Remember they are mini muffins! These are the regular ones!

This were the chocolate chip and cinnamon sugar ones!

Welcome to Nanny Princess Baking

Hello all!

Thank you for reading my blog! I'm not really sure how I want this set-up so I will figure it out as I go! Lets get down to business- I love baking and cooking, and just being in the kitchen in general! Being able to bake and cook this amazing [ I think they are amazing;) ] things and sharing them with people and seeing their reactions to them [ good or bad ] is what I love! I was just telling someone the other night why I love cooking/ baking and food- it warms my heart.  When someone is having a bad day or a long day being able to make them something to eat that is so warm and delicious that for that moment they don't think about their bad day is what makes me love it.  Yes, that may sound corny and I am okay with that because that's what it does for me.  I truly truly love being able to that for someone!  My ultimate goal is to make a difference in someone's life, and if I can do that for just a moment with baking/ cooking then I will!

Now for the name, I am a Nanny to my wonderfully, amazingly, beautiful, gorgeous niece- who is now entering her terrible two's which just makes the day to day even more challenging! I love watching her- she brings a sparkle to my day everyday, and I am very blessed to be able to have this opportunity with her.  I was just telling my SIL that I will probably be her least favorite Auntie by the time she gets older because I have to discipline her when my other two sisters get to always be nice with her- but I love that I can have special one-on-one time with her as well. It's precious moments with her that I love.  One of those moments being baking! I am really random with my baking- if I see a recipe I will want to try it right away, even if it's the middle of the day, or before I have to leave to go somewhere I will squeeze time in! So, on Friday mornings before my niece's breakfast I would want to bake.  Usually I will sit her on the counter and we will line up the bowls [ I have a set of measuring bowls that are lined up the same every time- thank you OCD ] and she will help pour the ingredients in; well she will try and get them in the bowl.  Regardless it is a fun and exciting way to spend time with my niece that we get to do together!  Which brings me to the NANNY part of my name! Well actually, my entire name which is longer than just  Nanny Princess... started with my SIL's dad [ we've been tying to figure out exactly what he is to me, so I just call him Uncle Dirty Harry - LONG STORY!] Anyways, he started calling me Nanny Princess and then everytime I saw him there was another name that he added onto it, but for this I shortened it and added baking! So, thank you Uncle Harry for helping me with my name!

Now onto the delicious part of this blog- baking!

Huge love,

NPB