I didn't think baking a cookie on top of the cheesecake was a good idea, so instead of that, I baked a Giant Cookie and the Cheesecake (minus the topping) separately and combined them! It turned out lovely! My mathmatical skills of the cookie dough spreading to a 10 inch circle were just about 1/2 inch off, so we cut the cookie a little (and gobbled up those scraps), and it fit the cheesecake just perfectly! I also added whipped cream around the outer edge of each slice of Skookie Cheesecake, and then topped it with ice cream to truly make it Skookie style! That's my kind of cheesecake! It was pretty rich, a little slice was plenty to satisfy!
I thought this was a fun and a bit fancy dessert to share just in time for Valentines Day! I'm thinking it would satisfy just about any cheesecake-loving sweetheart!
Happy February!
Just a note: This recipe looks super long, but it's basically the Lion House Cheesecake recipe (minus the sour cream topping), and a Giant Cookie. I just re-worded a few things from both recipes so that it made sense for this particular confection!
Skookie Cheesecake
Printable VersionServes 8-12
Ingredients:
For the Cheesecake:
Crust:
1 ½ cups finely crushed graham cracker crumbs
3 tablespoons white sugar
6 tablespoons butter, melted
Filling:
3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup white sugar
3 eggs
¾ teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons lemon juice
Directions:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
Prepare crust: To crush graham crackers place in a ziplock bag and roll with a rolling pin, or blend/food process in blender or food processor. Thoroughly mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter. Press firmly onto bottom and sides of a 9 or 10 inch springform pan (or pie pan if you don’t have a springform pan; set aside while preparing filling. I like to press it down by placing my hand it a plastic bag so I don’t get the butter all over me.
Filling: In a large mixing bowl (or stand mixer bowl, like BOSCH), beat (with BOSCH whips or hand mixer) cream cheese until smooth; add sugar a little at a time. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Mix in vanilla and combine thoroughly. Pour into crust; fill to within half an inch of top to allow room for topping. Bake 55 to 60 minutes, until set or when the pan is gently moved, the center does not move. Cool completely. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Refrigerate for 24 hours before serving for best taste!
A few tips:
-Make sure your cream cheese really is softened to room temperature or it’s hard to get a smooth cheesecake with no lumps. Let it sit out for 4-6 hours in the foil packaging on the counter.
-You don’t want to over whip the cream cheese mixture. You want it smooth, but if you over whip it will have lots of bubbles in it.
-To let cheesecake cool, just turn the oven off and open the door, this way it doesn’t cool as quickly as on the counter and is less likely to crack on the top. Make sure you don’t have any small children or animals that will touch the oven! :)
-If you use a springform pan, consider wrapping the bottom and up the sides with aluminum foil. Some springform pans don’t have a tight seal when done up and the grease from the crust will leak through into your oven. You could also just place a cookie sheet or something underneath for a mess free bake job.
Ingredients:
For the Giant Cookie:
½ cup white sugar
½ cup packed light brown sugar
½ cup butter, melted and cooled
1 egg
½ teaspoon soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 ½ cup flour
½ cup chocolate chips
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a medium-sized bowl, cream together the brown sugar, white sugar, and butter. Add the egg and vanilla and mix to combined. In a separate bowl, combine soda, salt, and flour and mix well. Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture and mix to incorporate. Then stir in the chocolate chips.
Line a large (11x17 inch) cookie sheet with foil. Using about ¾ of the cookie dough, press the cookie into a circle and place in the center of the cookie sheet. I press my cookie into a 7-8-inch circle, about ¼ to ½ inch thick. When it bakes, it spreads to about 10-10 ½ inches. Make one other cookie with the remaining ¼ of the dough, or freeze for a fresh baked cookie for later!
If desired, top the cookie with M&M’s or any other candies or garnishes. Bake for 12-16 minutes until the cookie is lightly golden brown. When it’s done baking, place the cookie sheet on a wire rack and let the cookie cool completely on the pan - this helps it stabilize and set so it can be easily lifted off the pan. Once cool, gently use the foil to lift the cookie off the pan to a cutting board. Measure your pan and the cookie, if it's too big then place the cookie on a cutting board and cut around the edges until it will fit inside your springform pan. Place cookie on top of cheesecake up to 3 hours before serving. If the cookie is a little too small use whipped cream to fill in around the edges and make pretty!
Slice to serve and top with vanilla ice cream for your truly Skookie style Skookie Cheesecake! Enjoy!
Recipe Sources: Skookie Cheesecake - A Leesh & Lu's Recipe Box Original. Lion House Cheeseacake is from LDS Living Magazine. And the Giant Cookie recipe comes from Mel's Kitchen Cafe.
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