JUNIOR MINTS CHEESECAKE: National Chocolate Mint Day!

Today is National Chocolate Mint Day. Chocolate Mint Day is the perfect food holiday to focus on one of my all time favorite candies -- Junior Mints. You're going to love the following recipe for Junior Mint Cheesecake!  

Junior Mints are a candy consisting of small rounds of mint filling (with a dimple on one side) inside a dark chocolate coating. They are currently produced by Tootsie Roll Industries.

History: Junior Mints were introduced in 1949 by the James O. Welch Company, manufacturers of candies and candy bars such as Sugar Babies, Welch's Fudge, and Pom Poms. The name of the product is a pun on Sally Benson's Junior Miss, a collection of her stories from The New Yorker, which were adapted by Jerome Chodorov and Joseph Fields into a successful play, directed by Moss Hart. Junior Miss ran on Broadway from 1941 to 1943. In 1945, the play was adapted to film, with George Seaton directing Peggy Ann Garner in the lead role. The Junior Miss radio series, starring Barbara Whiting, was being broadcast weekly on CBS at the time Junior Mints were first marketed in 1949. Welch created a product sold at movie theater concession stands and identified with a specific movie and radio series and displaying a name that sounded almost exactly like that property–yet different enough that it avoided any fees for licensing and merchandising. Junior Mints quickly became a popular candy, and one product in the line is the three oz. box marketed as the "Theater Size Junior Mints Concession Candy."

And, of course, who can forget the Junior Mints episode of Seinfeld?

In case you want to smell like Junior Mints, not just eat them, here's a Link to the Scent.

And, here's a recipe that includes actual Junior Mints: Junior Mints Cheesecake 

JUNIOR MINTS CHEESECAKE 

Ingredients
6 ounces Junior Mints (two 3 ounce packages)
3 (8 ounce) packages of cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
Chocolate crumb crust for a 9 inch springform pan (see below)

Directions
Put Junior Mints in freezer.
In electric mixer, combine cream cheese and sugar until smooth.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Stir in vanilla.
Pour into crust.
Chop cold Junior Mints and sprinkle on cheesecake.
Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until just set.
Cool on wire rack, then chill several hours or overnight. Makes 8 servings.

Chocolate Crust: 
Combine 2 cups crushed chocolate wafers (I whirl them in the blender) with 6 Tbsp melted butter.
Press into bottom and up sides of pan.

HELLMAN'S CHOCOLATE MAYONNAISE CAKE: Retro Ad with Recipe

I just love Retro Ads and recipes! So much fun. Here's an ad for Hellmann's Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake (and variations/scroll down).

HELLMANN'S CHOCOLATE MAYONNAISE CAKE

Ingredients
1 box (18 oz.) chocolate cake mix
1 cup Hellmann's® or Best Foods® Real Mayonnaise
1 cup water
3 eggs
1 tsp ground cinnamon (optional)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and lightly flour two 9-inch round cake pans*; set aside.
Beat cake mix, Hellmann's® or Best Foods® Real Mayonnaise, water, eggs and cinnamon 30 seconds in large bowl with electric mixer on low speed. Beat on medium speed, scraping sides occasionally, 2 minutes.
Pour batter into prepared pans.
Bake 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean.
Cool 10 minutes on wire rack; remove from pans and cool completely.
Sprinkle with confectioners sugar or fill and frost.

*Or, prepare cake mix as above in 13 x 9-inch baking pan and bake 40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

VARIATIONS: For A PECAN COCONUT TOPPED CAKE...combine 1 cup flaked coconut, 2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar and 1/2 cup chopped pecans, then sprinkle over cake batter in 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Bake 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

For A BLACK FOREST CHOCOLATE CAKE...do not flour baking pan. Evenly spread 2 cans (21 oz. ea.) cherry pie filling over bottom of 13 x 9-inch baking pan, top with prepared cake batter and bake 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely, then turn upside down onto serving platter.

For A DECADENT CHOCOLATE LAVA CAKE...combine 2 packages (3.4 ounces each) instant pudding, 2 cups water, 2 cups milk and 1/3 cup sugar until blended, then pour over cake batter in 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Bake 1 hour or until toothpick inserted along edge comes out clean and serve warm.

Café Au Lait Coffee Cake: National Café Au Lait Day

Today is National Café au Lait Day! Café au lait is French for "coffee with milk" and refers to a specific French coffee drink, although like most things there are multiple varieties. Don't confuse it, though, with a Caffe Latte. Did you know that in the 1600s a French doctor suggested Cafe Au Lait for patients, inspiring people to add milk to their coffee? Cafe au Lait is often served in a small bowl. Very French! There are several cafe au lait bowls on the market if you want to be authentic when serving.

To celebrate today, go to your local cafe or brew a cup at home, or you can make this sensational Café au Lait Coffee Cake from Nicole at MadebyNicole. Her recipe is fool-proof, and it's filled with Chocolate Chips. What better way to celebrate coffee with milk than with a Coffee Cake? As always, you can use any good quality chocolate, chopped into small chunks in place of chocolate chips.

For those of you lucky enough to live in New Orleans, pop on over to the Café du Monde today for a Café Au Lait. They make it with chicory, which gives it a strong, bitter taste. The bitterness of the chicory offsets the sweetness of the powdered-sugar-covered beignets that, of course, you'll want to have. 

Café Au Lait Coffee Cake

Crumb Topping
1 tsp instant coffee
1/2 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
6 Tbsp cold unsalted butter
1 cup chocolate chips
1 1/4 cup pecans

Cake
1/2 cup softened butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
2 Tbsp instant coffee
2 Tbsp warm water
2 3/4 cup flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk

Glaze:
1/2 cup icing sugar
milk or cream to desired consistency
vanilla (optional)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9 x 13 pan
Make crumb topping: Stir together dry ingredients, cut in butter, add chocolate chips and nuts.
In large bowl beat sugar and butter until light. Add eggs, then sour cream, and then coffee dissolved in water.
In small bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. Gradually stir into moist ingredients starting with 1/3 of dry mixture, 1/2 of milk, 1/3 dry, 1/2 milk, and final 1/3 dry mixture.
Spread half of batter into pan. Sprinkle with 1 1/2 cups of topping. Cover with remaining batter and finish with crumb topping.
Bake for 60 – 65 minutes

(Optional) Cool and drizzle glaze off a fork onto top of cake.

I CANNOT TELL A LIE CHOCOLATE CHERRY PIE: Presidents Day

So here it is Presidents Day Weekend, and National Cherry Pie Day is only a few days off. Who can't help but remember the story about George Washington cutting down his father's Cherry Tree? He couldn't tell a lie, and for telling the truth -- that he did it -- his father forgave him. No punishment for cutting down the tree. O.k., we learned this at school..Alas, it's a myth that was perpetuated after Washington's death. Be sure and click the link. Still, for the sake, of this blog, I am combining the two holidays!

I'm not sure why National Cherry Pie Day shows up in February. Many markets carry fresh cherries from Mexico and countries in South America, so check around. Or, you can always wait and bookmark this recipe to make in the summer.

But, if you can get fresh cherries, I suggest you make Chocolate Cherry Pie. This recipe is from Allison Arevalo who posted this on Local Lemons several years ago.

This Chocolate Cherry Pie features fabulous cherries, rich dark chocolate, and a butter pie crust. I cannot tell a lie. It is positively sinful.The directions and photos on Local Lemons are outstanding.

I use pre-made pie crusts from Trader Joe's, but check the link if you want to make your own pie crust that includes graham cracker crumbs as well as a good flour. It definitely gives the pie crust more texture.

CHOCOLATE CHERRY PIE

Ingredients
2 pre-made deep dish pie crusts
2 1/2 pounds fresh cherries (about 2 pounds pitted)
1/2 cup agave nectar
4 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 cup shredded chocolate (Mostly dark, with some milk chocolate mixed in, also chopped in food processor)

Directions

Filling
Pit cherries using cherry-pitter and put in large bowl. Add chopped chocolate, 4 Tbsp flour, and agave nectar. Gently toss until cherries are well coated.
Preheat oven to 400F.
With pre-made pie dough that's been rolled out. Fit into 9 inch pie dish. Carefully pick up and place in dish, cutting off overhang. Fill dough with cherry mixture. Roll out second piecrust and place on top of pie. Pinch sides closed with thumb and forefinger, and use sharp knife to cut three vents into top of crust. Brush with egg wash.
Bake for 25 minutes in middle of oven. Lower heat to 350F and bake for 25 more minutes.  

Photo: Local Lemons with permission