Churros Cheesecake

I saw this sometime back on FB and my Grannies Gone Wild Group suggested I bring it for dessert to our next meeting.  A friend of my sister Tony said she makes it all the time and her family loves it, so I made it for club today.  It sure makes the house smell good.  I had to cut into it for the picture and of course to taste.  It is wonderful.  If you love churros, you will love this.

If you have not had a churros, you really should try them.  It is a Mexican pastry that is coated in sugar and cinnamon.  You can buy them a Taco Johns still hot.  Josh and Sawyer love them and we order them when ever we go to Taco Johns.  I’ll also share my recipe with you below.  It is much more work than this cheesecake, but delicious.

Churros Cheesecake

2 cans (8 oz. each) Pillsbury Crescent Dinner Rolls

2 pkg. (8 oz. each) whipped cream cheese

1 tsp. vanilla

1 egg

1 cup sugar (divide in half)

2 Tbsp. ground cinnamon

Unroll one of the cans of the Crescent dough and press it onto the bottom of a greased 13 × 9 inch baking pan. Firmly press the seams together to seal.

Mix the cream cheese, vanilla, egg and 1/2 cup of the sugar well until completely blended.

Spread it evenly onto the bottom crust.

Unroll the remaining can of Crescent dough onto a large sheet of wax paper.  Pat out the dough to form another 13 × 9 inch rectangle, pressing the seams together to seal.

Invert over the cream cheese mixture to form a top crust. 

Combine the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon in a bowl and sprinkle ½ of it all over the top.

Bake at 350 degrees F. for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the crust is hard and crusty.

Take out of oven and dust with the remaining sugar and cinnamon and let cool. 

Cut into bars and serve.  You have a simple dessert and the house smells amazing.  

Churros

Vegetable oil, for deep frying

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 stick butter

1 cup water

2 teaspoons sugar*

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg*

4 eggs

Fill a deep-fryer or large Dutch oven halfway with vegetable oil and heat to 350 degrees F.

Mix the sugar and cinnamon together in a large shallow bowl, set aside.

Combine the butter, water and sugar in a large saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Once it has come to a boil, lower to a medium heat and add the flour, and nutmeg, stirring constantly until it comes away from the pan and it forms a ball.

Transfer dough to a bowl and use an electric mixer to help cool it off. At this point you can whisk in the eggs, 1 at a time, until it becomes a smooth batter.  Make sure the batter is cooled so the eggs do not scrabble.  Transfer the mixture into a large piping bag fitted with a large star tip (you can use a baggie and cut the tip off or a cookie press). Working in batches, carefully pipe 4 inch long ribbons directly into the hot oil to fry. Fry until golden, turning if necessary, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove with tongs and drain on paper towels.

Roll the churros in the sugar and cinnamon mixture and toss to coat. Serve immediately while still warm.  You may also serve them with a hot chocolate dip. 

Hot Chocolate Dip

4 ounces dark chocolate

2 cups milk

1 tablespoon cornstarch

4 tablespoons sugar

I have 2 another cheesecake bar recipes I'll share. One uses chocolate chip cookie dough with a cream cheese middle and the other is a banana split cheese cake.  I’ll share it tomorrow and Thursday.

Be happy and may God bless you and yours.