Dec 22, 2012 I skipped Christmas last year and forgot how much I love it. Here are the highlights so far:
- Frolicking in the snow (until a nor’easter blew 50 mm of rain our way last night…SO not impressed).
- Gobbling clementines as fast as I can remove them from their skins.
- Sniffing the christmas tree. Well, actually, rubbing the needles then sniffing my fingers. I hope no one witnesses.
- Wrapping presents. Taking breaks to sniff the scotch tape. (My GOD do I love the smell of scotch tape). Maybe no one should witness that one either…
- Snuggling with my sister. Sisters are the best.
- Snuggling with a beautiful quilt my Aunt Pierette made as a wedding-birthday-Christmas gift. Homemade gifts are the best!
- Snuggling with my friends’ babies. BABIES!!!!
- Relishing my mom’s home cooking. Moms’ cooking is the best.
- Sleeping in. Ohhhh yeah. It’s good.
- Slurping maritime seafood chowder. SO good.
- Drinking tea with eggnog in it. Because I can’t drink rum with eggnog in it… I’m a happy, well-fed, well-rested camper. These little cheesecakes are an annual tradition. My mom makes them with a Nilla Wafer in the bottom of each muffin cup and tops them with store-bought cherry pie filling, which makes them a real breeze, but I didn’t mind the extra work to whip up a graham cracker crust and homemade topping. You can do it either way! If using Nilla Wafers (little vanilla cookies), you don’t need to pre-bake, just top with cheesecake filling and proceed. We always freeze them – they only take about 10 minutes to thaw. Perfect to have on hand for unexpected guests. Hope you all are having a safe, happy, cozy holiday season! Warmest wishes from me to you and yours!
Ingredients
For Crust:
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs 1 tbsp granulated sugar 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp melted butter
For Filling:
1 block (8 oz, 227g) cream cheese, softened 1/4 cup granulated sugar 1 egg 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 1/8 tsp almond extract (optional)
For Topping:
1 cup pitted cherries (fresh, frozen or jarred are fine) 1 tbsp cornstarch 3 tbsp granulated sugar 1/3 cup cold water
Preparation
