Chocolate Peanut Butter Bran Buddy Bars--Prototype 1: Uses two 8-oz. packages of Philly 1/3-less-fat cream cheese Crust: Melt: 12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate Add: 2 oz. Philly 1/3-less-fat cream cheese (softened) Add: 2 tbsp. sugar Add: 1 tbsp: skim milk Mix together. Add: 1/2 package (i.e., 8.8 oz.) of Kellogg's All Bran Bran Buds Mix together. Press into 13" x 9" pan (a good idea is to line it with wax paper first). Refrigerate, at least until reasonably firm. Filling: Soften: remaining 14 oz. of Philly 1/3-less-fat cream cheese Add: 4 oz. creamy peanut butter Add: 3/4 cup sugar Mix together. Add filling on top of crust and spread out. Refrigerate until firm, then cut into squares. Chocolate Peanut Butter Bran Buddy Bars--Prototype 2: Still uses two 8-oz. packages of Philly 1/3-less-fat cream cheese Crust: Melt: 12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate Add: 4 oz. (INSTEAD OF 2 oz.) Philly 1/3-less-fat cream cheese (softened) Add: 2 tbsp. sugar Add: 1 tbsp: skim milk ADD: 2 TEASPOONS OF VANILLA Mix together. Add: 1/2 package (i.e., 8.8 oz.) of Kellogg's All Bran Bran Buds Mix together. Press into 13" x 9" pan (a good idea is to line it with wax paper first). Refrigerate, at least until reasonably firm. Filling: Soften: remaining 12 oz. (INSTEAD OF 14 oz.) of Philly 1/3-less-fat cream cheese Add: 4 oz. creamy peanut butter ADD: 2 OZ. SEMI-SWEET CHOCOLATE (MELTED) Add: 3/4 cup sugar Mix together. Add filling on top of crust and spread out. Refrigerate until firm, then cut into squares. SUMMARY OF DIFFERENCES FOR PROTOTYPE 2, COMPARED TO PROTOTYPE 1: Crust gets 2 teaspoons of vanilla, plus 2 additional oz. of cream cheese. Filling gets 2 less oz. of cream cheese. In other words, 2 oz. of the cream cheese gets shifted from the filling to the crust. Filling also gets 2 oz. of melted semi-sweet chocolate. Originally, the aforementioned 2 oz. of chocolate for the filling was supposed to be shifted from the crust's allocation (resulting in only 10 oz. of semi-sweet chocolate for the crust), but this step was forgotten. So the crust still got a full 12 oz., all of this chocolate being mixed in and the crust being made up before the error of forgetfulness was discovered. So a separate allocation of 2 oz. of chocolate was used for the filling (resulting in a total of 14 oz. of semi-sweet chocolate for the entire recipe, instead of 12 oz. as originally planned). It is hoped that next time, the step to take 2 oz. from the 12 oz. allocation of melted chocolate will NOT BE FORGOTTEN. Chocolate Peanut Butter Bran Buddy Bars--Prototype 3: What Prototype 2 was meant to be. In other words, a grand total of 12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate was used for the entire recipe. Memorial success won out this time as the crust got only the intended 10 oz. of the melted chocolate (and the filling still got the remaining 2 oz.). However, a new concern was triggered by eating these bars perhaps a day or so after they were prepared. The Bran Buds lost their crunch! It is likely that the moisture from other ingredients rendered them more chewy and/or soggy. The result was a texture that did not seem to feel great when eaten. Somebody suggested using Splenda (sucralose) instead of sugar to suppress the crunch's loss. Chocolate Peanut Butter Bran Buddy Bars--Prototype 4: Repeat Prototype 3, 12 oz. total of melted semi-sweet chocolate and all, but with a new approach. Give up on the crunch. But avoid the unsatisfactory texture of the seemingly soggy Bran Buds as well. All of the ingredients, both for the crust and for the filling are ultimately mixed together before being put into the pan. But...the Bran Buds are finely ground in a blender to a flour-like texture first, before being added to the other ingredients. Here is a suggested sequence (with the quantities repeated for convenience): Soften: two 8-oz. packages of Philly 1/3-less-fat cream cheese (and set aside) Grind: 1/2 package (i.e., 8.8 oz.) of Kellogg's All Bran Bran Buds (and set aside) Make sure the Bran Buds are finely ground to a flour-like texture (use a blender or food processor). Measure: 3/4 cup PLUS 2 tbsp. sugar Add: 1 tbsp: skim milk Add: 2 Teaspoons of vanilla Mix together. Add: 4 oz. creamy peanut butter Mix together. Melt: 12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate Combine this with the sugar/milk/vanilla/peanut butter mixture (quickly, while the chocolate is still melted). Next, add the softened cream cheese to the above mixture, and mix well. Finally, add the powdered Bran Buds to this mixture, and blend well (plenty of effort needed here as the texture becomes stiff). Spread all this into a 13" x 9" pan (a good idea is to line it with wax paper first). Refrigerate until firm, then cut into squares. Expect a somewhat fudge-like texture. Please keep in mind that sugar was used in this prototype (not Splenda). Chocolate Peanut Butter Bran Buddy Bars--Prototype 5: While Prototype 4 had a decent taste, its single-mixture appearance might have been too mysterious for some. So it's back to the two-layered approach, but with some major changes: The peanut butter goes to the bottom, and the chocolate (all of it!) goes to the top. And baking (!) is added as well. First, the crust. Start with the first 8-oz. package of the softened cream cheese and blend it with the 4 oz. of creamy peanut butter, the 1 tbsp. of skim milk, the 1/2 package (i.e., 8.8 oz.) of Bran Buds, finely ground, and 1/2 cup of the sugar. Press it all into a 13" x 9" pan (lined with wax paper). Then bake this crust at 350 degrees (preheat the oven first) for 10 minutes. Next comes the filling, a blend of the second 8-oz. package of the softened cream cheese, the entire 12 oz. of melted, semi-sweet chocolate, the 2 teaspoons of vanilla and 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp. of the sugar. Spread this filling evenly onto the crust in the pan (cooling it off first is not necessary, and was largely skipped here). Then return the pan to the 350-degree oven for another 10 minutes. Remove and let cool afterward, for about an hour, then place into refrigerator, and let the recipe firm up there before cutting into squares. One of the challenges was deciding how much of the recipe's total sugar to allocate to the crust, which was initially going to contain only the peanut butter and the ground Bran Buds, along with the crust's small share of the sugar. However, this mixture was determined to be way too dry. Ultimately, some of the cream cheese (likely all of which was originally planned to be allocated to the filling) was gradually added to get the moisture up. And this was done, unfortunately, after the peanut butter and the Bran Buds powder got mixed together earlier. So blending in the cream cheese was difficult. Some heating assistance was needed, therefore the mixture got a little "microwaving" in order make the cream cheese hopefully more workable. The milk, originally planned for the filling on top, also got switched to the crust on the bottom in order to contribute to the moisture. So the filling got "robbed" of all of its milk, half of its cream cheese, plus some of its initial share of the sugar (to compensate for the cream cheese shift) in order to "pay" the "thirsty" crust. To bake this crust was also a late decision, in hopes of possibly enhancing the blend for a better firmness, in light of the cream cheese's late addition (and therefore difficulties in blending) to the crust. The filling's stiffness led to the additional baking (in hopes of the filling evening out more). It should also be noted here that the peanut butter used in this prototype was unsalted (salted varieties were likely used in at least some of the earlier prototypes). The result of all this is a lightly-colored crust on the bottom, along with dark-colored filling on top, in keeping with the looks of many popular, square-shaped, baked goods. Furthermore, the peanut butter's light, brown color matches the crust exclusively containing it. And the filling's dark, brown color does a good job of reflecting the chocolate solely allocated to this upper layer. Chocolate Peanut Butter Bran Buddy Bars--Prototype 6: A repetition of Prototype 5, but with some challenging reallocations (and additional, yet minor changes)! Shift 4 ounces of cream cheese from the filling to the crust (2 tablespoons of sugar were also supposed to be transferred along with this cream cheese in the filling-to-crust shift, and probably was indeed done, but the memory of this action is not 100% certain). Sequential details (combining order) for crust: 12 oz. cream cheese 4 oz. unsalted peanut butter 1 tbsp. skim milk (blend the three wet ingredients above before adding the two dry ones below) 1/2 cup plus (hopefully) 2 tbsp. sugar 8.8 oz. Bran Buds (ground up, of course) Sequential details (combining order) for filling: 12 oz. melted, semi-sweet chocolate 2 teaspoons vanilla (should have added this one last, instead of at this point, because it quickly stiffened the chocolate) 4 oz. cream cheese 1/4 cup (hopefully only this amount) sugar Now things get really challenging. Press only HALF the chocolate filling into the 13" x 9" wax-paper-lined pan (if necessary, apply a minimal amount of broiler heat to facilitate the spreading). Then firm this up by chilling it in the freezer for 20 minutes. Remove the pan from the freezer, and add the crust mixture on top of the lower chocolate layer. Press it down firmly, then return the pan to the freezer for another 20 minutes. Next, take the pan out of the freezer and press the remaining half of the chocolate filling on top of the crust layer. This step was too difficult, because the chocolate hardened too soon. Got to cut down next time on the freezer duration that follows the crust addition (seems like the filling absorbed the crust's cold temperature too quickly). Just make sure that the crust is packed as firmly as possible. But not all was lost, thanks to a quick heat application (broiling the pan in the oven for about a couple of minutes). Spreading the top filling suddenly became extremely easy. Next, it's "back to cool" time, but this time the pan goes into the refrigerator, not the freezer. Far more than enough time required for firmness passed (probably about two hours) before the contents of the pan were cut. Unfortunately, the chocolate filling tended to break up badly during the cutting phase. Applying some oven heat helped a little, but not enough.   Here is some further background for Prototype 6. Laurie (a cousin of Lesa, who herself had provided excellent home care for my dad in his later years) made a number of recommendations for my Bran Buddy Bars (I think Laurie was probably also the one who suggested using Splenda back around Prototype 3). More specifically, she felt that the crust texture of Prototype 5 was too dry. She had two suggestions. One was to split up the chocolate filling into two parts so that these would form the top and bottom layers. The crust would go in between them. This approach would result in a bite that was more moist to the touch. Her other suggestion was to shift more of the cream cheese from the filling to the crust. She advised perhaps shifting as much as all the cream cheese to the crust, but I was concerned that taking too much cream cheese from the filling would result in the chocolate layers being too firm. This excessive hardness could also contribute, along with the thinness of these layers, to the chocolate filling cracking up too easily. So I made a decision to take only half of the filling's Prototype 5 share of the cream cheese and transfer it to the crust. Since I felt that some matching sweetness should also go along with this reallocated cream cheese, I also made plans to transfer 2 tablespoons of sugar as well. Seeing that the chocolate filling was disintegrating on me during the bar-cutting process, I am glad that I didn't raid any more cream cheese from it. But I hope to come up next time with a better way to cut the bars non-destructively. So what was the feedback on this prototype from Laurie? I had to wait a long time for this one (due to her absence at the time that I served these bars), but I was finally told by Lesa (who saved some bars for Laurie's later consumption) that she "liked them" (hopefully, according to what I best recall hearing).
	Chocolate Bran Buddy Bars--Prototype 1: After having made Prototype 6 of the Chocolate Peanut Butter Bran Buddy Bars, it was time to try a chocolate-only version (which is largely based on that prototype). For the crust (featuring cocoa, along with additional milk, sugar and vanilla) start with... 1/4 cup skim milk, heated and combined with... 1/4 cup cocoa powder. Fully dissolve this in the milk, then blend in... 12 oz. cream cheese. Then add... 1 cup sugar. Blend thoroughly, then add... 2 teaspoons vanilla (next to last ingredient here). Blend this in, then finally mix in... 8.8 oz. finely ground Bran Buds Sequential details (combining order) for filling: 12 oz. melted, semi-sweet chocolate 4 oz. cream cheese 1/4 cup sugar 2 teaspoons vanilla (last ingredient here!) Note that only cream cheese, sugar and vanilla (identical amounts on this one!) are used for both the crust and filling. Press half the chocolate filling into the 13" x 9" wax-paper-lined pan (if necessary, apply a minimal amount of broiler heat to facilitate the spreading). Then firm this up by chilling it in the freezer for 20 minutes. Remove the pan from the freezer, and add the crust mixture on top of the lower chocolate layer. Press it down firmly...but do NOT return the pan to the freezer afterward (the crust mixture was already fairly stiff). Instead, proceed directly with pressing the remaining half of the chocolate filling on top of the crust layer, applying broiler heat as needed (be careful, and do not overheat). For some reason, spreading the filling (top and bottom) was not all that easy this time. Apply a final shot of heat, this time BAKING briefly (instead of broiling), hopefully to get the chocolate filling layers, especially the bottom one, to adhere better to the crust. Cool the pan until it can be comfortably touched, then put it into the refrigerator. Refrigerate until firm, about 60 to 90 minutes. For the sake of cutting, do not refrigerate for too long (the idea here is to prevent the filling layers from cracking up or coming apart). There was still some disintegration here, but hopefully not as badly as in the aforementioned Prototype 6 of the chocolate peanut butter bars. Despite omitting the peanut butter, the taste of the chocolate-only bars was still close to that of the chocolate peanut butter ones. This was probably due to whole wheat (of which bran is a particularly important characteristic) tending to have a "nutty" flavor.   Laurie loved these chocolate ones a lot! This time she was present when I served these Bran Buddies, and I got an overwhelmingly great response from other people as well (along with preferences for this recipe over the chocolate-peanut butter versions). Lesa's partner Steve pleaded for me to not change this prototype. Thus I felt like I hit a big winner with this one. Furthermore, the taste seemed less "nutty" and more "chocolaty" at the time I served these guests (nearly 3/4 of a day after my somehow perceiving a nuttier taste as I was cutting these bars). So it looks like I have managed to accomplish a prototype to greatly please the crowds. But the filling's excessively thin layers still made my work difficult. It was time for me to bring up a sizing issue at this point. In many of my earlier chocolate peanut butter prototypes, I made full recipes and used a 13" x 9" pan. However, for later prototypes and this chocolate-only version, I went with only HALF recipes (in order to reduce excessive leftover problems that I had to deal with). Because of this, I switched to a 9" x 9" pan. So why did I in these notes list the measurements based on FULL recipes in the later prototypes, despite making half-size batches? It was likely to make proportional comparisons much easier. But there was a catch, something that hopefully hardly mattered in the earlier prototypes. But it would indeed matter in Prototype 6 of the Chocolate Peanut Butter Bran Buddy Bars and Prototype 1 of the Chocolate ("only") Bran Buddy Bars, due to the 2-layed chocolate filling approach. The 9" x 9" pan used in the half recipes was NOT half the size of the 13" x 9" pan used in the full recipes. The smaller pan was proportionally much larger! Shall we do the math here? Both pans are 9" wide. So in keeping with the full recipe proportions, if the full-sized pan is 13" long, then the smaller pan's corresponding dimension for the half recipes should be only 6 1/2". But the measurement here is actually 9". How much bigger is that? 9" / 6.5" = about 1.38. That's about 38% too big! Therefore, the layers are stretched out considerably thinner in a 9" x 9" pan when a half recipe is used (about 28% of the thickness is diminished). Got 6.5" x 9" pan (for half recipes)? Such a pan could improve the thickness of those excessively thin chocolate filling layers by about 38%, and this can be helpful in reducing disintegration problems. An even sweeter idea for full recipes is to use the 9" x 9" pan instead of the 13" x 9" one. Now we're talking double-thick filling layers that we can work with, compared to the half recipe-9" x 9" pan combination (about 44% thicker and easier than the full recipe-13" x 9" pan combination, by the way).   Chocolate Bran Buddy Bars--Prototype 2: Repeat Prototype 1, but substitute whipped lowfat cottage cheese for the lowfat cream cheese. And this time, thicken up! Use a full recipe (instead of half), and put it all in a 9" x 9" pan. The bars looked (and tasted) great in their thicker form, but there were still some disintegration problems, likely due to the timing of my cutting these bars after refrigeration. All this painstaking preparation, off to a late start, was getting well into the wee hours of the morning, and I wanted to get to bed. So I finally did so shortly after putting the finished recipe in the refrigerator for a firm chill. Therefore I did not get around to cutting up the bars until at least four or five (too many) hours afterward. Applying some quick oven heat helped a little. All this happened on a very eventful weekend, so my schedule was a bit crazy, but I wanted to make some Bran Buddies to bring to a friend's house for a Shavuot celebration on the Sunday of that weekend. Many people there liked the recipe. A number of days later, I also presented these thicker bars to Lesa and Steve, who enjoyed these as well as the earlier prototype (Steve was particularly enthusiastic about these chocolate-only bars).
	Chocolate Peanut Butter Bran Buddy Bars--Prototype 7: This was sort of a new one, featuring three distinct layers and a new ingredient: white chocolate. Due to this prototype being made after Prototype 2 of the Chocolate (only) Bran Buddy Bars, whipped cottage cheese (lowfat, of course) replaced the cream cheese as well. Sequential details (combining order) for lower filling: 6 oz. melted, semi-sweet chocolate 2 oz. whipped lowfat cottage cheese 1/8 cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla (last ingredient here!) Sequential details (combining order) for crust: 14 oz. whipped lowfat cottage cheese 2 oz. unsalted peanut butter 1 tbsp. skim milk (blend the three wet ingredients above before adding the two dry ones below) 1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp. sugar 8.8 oz. Bran Buds, ground up Sequential details (combining order) for upper filling: 6 oz. melted, white chocolate 2 oz. unsalted peanut butter 1/8 cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla (last ingredient here!) Tip: 1/8 cup of sugar weighs 1 ounce, so if a measuring cup of this size is not available, try using a kitchen scale instead. Note a 2 ounce swap--2 ounces of the peanut butter being switched from the crust to the upper filling (mainly to give this filling more of a peanut butter color), and 2 ounces of cottage cheese (the upper filling's entire Prototype 6 share in its corresponding cream cheese form) being switched from the upper filling to the crust. Also note that the white chocolate replaces the semi-sweet on the top layer. The pan procedures were similar to those of Prototype 6 (20-minute freezer exposures, etc.), and the full recipe was actually used here--not half--along with, however, a 9" x 9" pan (see the comments above on Prototype 1 of the Chocolate Bran Buddy Bars for further info on this issue). The cutting was done after probably about an hour and a half of refrigeration (i.e., that occurred right after the top layer's placement). There were still some disintegration problems, mainly with the semi-sweet chocolate filling layer. However, the resulting cut bars were each transferred to an individual-sized piece of wax paper, re-assembled with the the broken filling sections, then heat-treated (semi-sweet side up, under the broiler), and this approach ended up working out quite well. The bars were then transferred back to the refrigerator for re-hardening. "Integrated" success was hopefully attained at last! I made these bars in honor of Lesa's birthday.
	Chocolate Bran Buddy Bars--Prototype 3: Let's face it. To make a batch of three-layered (filling-crust-filling) Bran Buddies has certainly become so time-consuming. And the lower layer of filling breaking up upon cutting these bars (after chilling) only added to the difficulty. It was time for some kind of compromise. Retain only the top filling layer, and merge the lower one into the crust. While this would result in the relatively dry crust being at the bottom and hence more likely to hit the eater's tongue (sorry, Laurie), at least this reformulated crust would be somewhat moister. Furthermore, the bars wouldn't be as messy to handle (the dual-filling-layers version tended to melt easily in one's hand). So Prototype 2 gets repeated, but the ingredients for the bottom filling layer get combined with those of the crust mixture. Here are the details: Crust: 1/4 cup skim milk, heated and combined with... 1/4 cup cocoa powder. Fully dissolve this in the milk, then blend in... 14 oz. lowfat cottage cheese, whipped. Then add... 1 + 1/8 cups sugar. Blend thoroughly, then add... 6 oz. melted, semi-sweet chocolate 1 tablespoon vanilla (next to last ingredient here). Blend this in, then finally mix in... 8.8 oz. finely ground Bran Buds Filling: 6 oz. melted, semi-sweet chocolate 2 oz. lowfat cottage cheese, whipped 1/8 cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla (last ingredient here!) Press the crust mixture into a 9" x 9" wax-paper-lined pan. Then firm this up by chilling it in the freezer for 20 minutes. Remove the pan from the freezer, and add the chocolate filling on top of the crust layer, carefully applying broiler heat as needed. When the pan is cool enough to be comfortably touched, put it into the refrigerator. Chill until the top filling is almost completely firm, about 60 to 90 minutes, then cut into bars. Return these to the refrigerator, and chill until fully firm. What a difference dealing with the filling being only on top! There were hardly any disintegration problems. Another helpful factor had to do with the timing of cutting these bars, which was after maybe about an hour (or a little longer) of refrigeration. At that point, the filling was slightly soft (hence just right for cutting). I no longer had to wait for some kind of bottom filling layer to get considerably hard (hard enough to avoid getting squished out under the pressure of cutting the bars, but also prone to easily getting broken up as well). And this prototype was still a great success, particularly at the Sports Page, a place frequented by Lesa, Steve and their friends for playing darts, singing karaoke or just hanging out--where I have brought in many past Bran Buddy prototypes in addition to this latest batch of chocolate ones (Steve loved 'em)!
	Chocolate Peanut Butter Bran Buddy Bars--Prototype 8: How about doing to the Chocolate Peanut Butter Bran Buddy Bars the same kind of thing that was done for Prototype 3 of their chocolate-only counterparts? In other words, merge the lower, dark, chocolate filling layer into the crust mixture, but retain the peanut butter filling layer on top. While this method would make the recipe simpler, another helpful idea involved an extremely minor shift for the sugar. More specifically, the total sugar used here amounted to 3/4 of a cup plus 2 tablespoons. The distribution of this ingredient on Prototype 7 was: Bottom filling: 1/8 cup Crust mixture: 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons Upper filling: 1/8 cup But efforts to measure 1/8 of a cup had been a challenge, due to lack of a measuring cup in this size. Some claims out there have somehow indicated this amount as being equal to 2 tablespoons. However, a closer check would reveal 1/8 of a cup to be more than that, but it wouldn't be by much. In fact, the difference was negligible enough to make a minor change in how the sugar would get measured out for this prototype. By merging the two lower layers based on the above info, the sugar allocation would be: Combined bottom filling/crust mixture: 1/2 cup plus 1/8 cup plus 2 tablespoons Upper filling: 1/8 cup Due to the small enough difference between 1/8 of a cup and 2 tablespoons, a tiny allocation swap could be made, and the recipe total for the sugar would still be 3/4 of a cup plus 2 tablespoons, as follows: Combined bottom filling/crust mixture: 1/2 cup plus 1/8 cup plus 1/8 cup Upper filling: 2 tablespoons Hence the sugar for the combined lower mixture would now add up to an easier-to-handle 3/4 of a cup (and measuring this ingredient for the upper filling would be easier as well)! Here, then, are the simplified details: Crust: 16 oz. whipped lowfat cottage cheese 2 oz. unsalted peanut butter 1 tbsp. skim milk (blend the above three ingredients before adding the next four ones below) 3/4 cup sugar 6 oz. melted, semi-sweet chocolate (be sure to quickly stir this one in while it is still melted) 1 teaspoon vanilla (next to last ingredient here!) 8.8 oz. Bran Buds, ground up Filling: 6 oz. melted, white chocolate 2 oz. unsalted peanut butter 2 tablespoons sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla (last ingredient here!) Press the crust mixture into a 9" x 9" wax-paper-lined pan. Then firm this up by chilling it in the refrigerator (not the freezer this time--it has been determined that refrigeration is sufficient) for 20 minutes. Remove the pan from the refrigerator, and add the peanut butter filling on top of the crust layer. If broiler heat is needed, be very careful. Use just enough to make the filling spreadable (too much heat can brown the filling). When the pan is cool enough to be comfortably touched, put it into the refrigerator. Chill until the top filling is almost completely firm, about 60 to 90 minutes, then cut into bars. Return these to the refrigerator, and chill until fully firm. Looks like I overdid it with the broiler heat, as the filling on top got slightly browned. But the outcome was not a disaster. However, I cut up the bars a little on the late side, so there was some filling disintegration, although very little. A cautiously quick heat treatment would fix that. Lesa greeted me with a thankful kiss, immediately picking up one of these bars as I walked with a plate of them through the entrance door into the Sports Page, where she was playing darts. It didn't take very long to empty the rest of this plate. That's another treat that was "on target".   Seems like something went wrong when I tried to compare 1/8 of a cup to 2 tablespoons for this prototype. Chances are, I was using a small cup that indicated a measurement of 2 tablespoons--a quick, convenient way to make such a measurement, rather than using a single measuring tablespoon twice. A few weeks after making this batch of bars, I did some additional research on the Internet in regard to the question of how many tablespoons were in 1 cup. I kept on getting 16 as the answer here. This would mean that 1/8 of a cup would equal only 2 tablespoons--not more than that, as I thought earlier! But I wondered why I came up with such a different evaluation. So I took some measuring spoons and cups, did some further research, and determined that the "2 TBSP COFFEE MEASURE" which I very likely used in the earlier comparison was, in fact, deficient (no, this supposedly was not from a coffee can, but rather part of a regular set of measuring cups). Maybe this particular cup was meant for heaping, not leveling. So after checking with the other measuring utensils, I have finally arrived at the conclusion that 1/8 cup = 2 tablespoons.
	Chocolate Peanut Butter Dream Bran Buddy Bars--Prototype 1:   This one is my answer to Mrs. Fields! Around the time that I produced Prototype 8 of the Chocolate Peanut Butter Bran Buddy Bars, I was visiting a shopping mall and passed by a Mrs. Field's outlet, whose tasty treats included chocolate/peanut butter "Dream" bars. Chances are highly likely that I had such a bar in the distant past--and greatly enjoyed it. The price, be it financially or nutritionally, was likely on the high side. A great idea popped into my mind on my more recent visit--how about a Bran Buddy version? And so I quickly began to brainstorm a recipe that would be derived mainly from Prototype 7 of the Chocolate Peanut Butter Bran Buddy Bars, labor-intensive as they were. But I also gave a lot of thought to the crust of Prototype 8 (and/or the crust of the chocolate-only bars) as well, due to that crust having a dark brown appearance. This would come close to matching the Mrs. Field's bar's thick bottom layer--on top of which went an obscurely thin chocolate layer, followed by a somewhat thicker peanut butter layer, then finally an easily visible chocolate one (these top three layers seemed to have a filling-like appearance). However, my version would skip the obscure chocolate layer immediately below the peanut butter one. Visually, it did not matter much, but there would be a lot less work involved. So the plan was to start with Chocolate Peanut Butter Prototype 7 and relocate the chocolate filling from the bottom and put it on top of the peanut butter one. That was easy to determine. Figuring out how to darken the crust (which would now be on the bottom) was much more of a challenge. One option considered was to make it like that of Prototype 8. This would therefore call for a second occurrence of ingredients of the chocolate filling. This additional set would be merged into the crust. But there were at least a couple of issues. The total amount of cottage cheese for this recipe would be 18 ounces. Since I was not using this perishable ingredient for anything else, I would have preferred being able to buy a container of cottage cheese in this amount. Such a size was not available, at least in my knowledge (I was able to find containers at least in 8, 16 and 24 ounces). And I had some concern about the idea of adding another 6 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate, in light of my trying to keep the fat down. I finally decided on a reasonable compromise for the crust. I also decided to give the peanut butter filling more of a peanut butter appearance.   These Bran Buddy Bars just keep on getting better and better. What does this mean? They're getting devoured more quickly! Because of this, the actual recipe was increased by 50% and put into a 13" x 9" pan. However, the normal size recipe is presented here (remember to use a 9" x 9" pan if using this one!) for the sake of reference. Some helpful tips are provided as well. Grind the Bran Buds ahead of time, then set side. Next, whip the cottage cheese ahead of time, then place in refrigerator until it is needed. Sequential details (combining order) for crust (lower layer): 1/4 cup skim milk, heated 1/4 cup cocoa powder. Fully dissolve this in the milk. 2 oz. melted, semi-sweet chocolate 2 oz. unsalted peanut butter 3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp. sugar 14 oz. whipped lowfat cottage cheese 1 teaspoon vanilla (next to last ingredient here). Blend this in, then finally mix in... 8.8 oz. Bran Buds, ground up Sequential details (combining order) for peanut butter filling (middle layer): 6 oz. melted, white chocolate 3 oz. unsalted peanut butter 3 tbsp. sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla (last ingredient here!) Sequential details (combining order) for chocolate filling (upper layer): 6 oz. melted, semi-sweet chocolate 2 oz. whipped lowfat cottage cheese 2 tbsp. sugar Note the added peanut butter (along with a corresponding increase in sugar) for the peanut butter filling. "Hey, wait a minute! Wasn't the chocolate filling supposed to include 1 teaspoon of vanilla??" As a matter of fact, yes. Unfortunately, this late step was forgotten. Here are some additional tips. Melt the entire recipe's semi-sweet chocolate, i.e., 8 ounces, before adding any of it to the crust. More specifically, add the 2 ounces to the milk and cocoa powder mixture--quickly, of course. Immediately afterward, take the cottage cheese from the refrigerator, and add 2 ounces of this to the remaining 6 ounces of melted chocolate (return the remaining cottage cheese to the refrigerator). Blend these two together, reserving this mixture for the chocolate filling--set it aside and be sure to protect it against spoilage (since it may be a long while before the mixture is needed to complete the filling, refrigeration is recommended until then--at which point the contents can be reheated). After setting this mixture aside, continue with the crust (adding peanut butter, etc.). And here's another tip: 1/4 cup of cocoa powder has been determined to weigh 1.2 ounces (so if this is what the normal-sized recipe calls for, a 50% increase would require an additional .6 ounce, i.e., 1.8 ounces altogether). Chill until the top filling is almost completely firm, about an hour, then cut into bars. Return these to the refrigerator, and chill until fully firm. There were hardly any disintegration problems (looks like one hour of refrigeration before cutting was the way to go), and these bars were a terrific hit at the Sports Page. Steve told me that he had two of them ("for energy") before shooting his round of darts--and he beat his competitor! Lesa told me that the away team loved these a lot. Maybe I should nickname this prototype the Bull Shooter's Special.
	Change of name from Bran Buddy(-ies) to HiFi Buddy(-ies)   The way that I came up with the name Bran Buddy/Buddies is derived from the name of the key ingredient used in these recipes: Kellogg's All-Bran BranBuds--or "All Bran Bran Buds" as I expressed it (Kellogg's itself being the trademark owner of the All-Bran and BranBuds names). I have also used the Bran Buddy expression for some other BranBuds-containing treats that I have thrown together, not just these bars. But it was for good reason that I used this kind of naming on all of these recipes. Yes, they obviously contained bran from the BranBuds. But they were also very delicious--high in fiber, yet surprisingly delectable or "decadent" (as some would say). I somehow perceived a "nutritious and very delicious" kind of treat like this as a "buddy"--as in friend, pal, ally, etc.--this word being, of course, derived from "Buds" in BranBuds. While I have succeeded in getting many people turned on to these recipes that were both nutrition-friendly and taste-friendly, at least one person suggested that I drop "Bran" from the name, due to the likelihood of scaring off some other potential tasters. This would pose a challenge to me, due to my having used the "Bran Buddy" form for a few years. But another term had been on my mind throughout those years as well--Hi-Fi. Why? As I was growing up, "Hi-Fi" (or "HiFi," or "hi-fi," or "hifi") had a nice ring to it, at least for me and many other people of my generation. Hi-Fi was an abbreviation for High Fidelity, a term describing high-quality audio. In more recent times, this wording has somehow given way to "Hi-Def" or High Definition, a term still applicable to audio, but a lot more easily associated with video (particularly HDTV's, i.e., high-definition televisions, with wide, flat screens). However, what I had in mind was the idea of "Hi-Fi" standing for "High Fiber", at least within the context of my Bran Buddy concoctions. So I thought that I would change the name of my high-fiber treats to "Hi-Fi Buddies" (or "Hi-Fi Buddy Bars"). This sounded good to me, and I felt that it would sound good to many people from my generation as well (hopefully in addition to those people older than us). Many of us who grew up rockin' out to "hi-fi stereo" systems in the 1970's would acquire a significant desire for fiber as we got older. But what about those younger than us? These people may not yet be as concerned about getting enough fiber, and "Hi-Fi" and "High Fidelity" may sound too old to them. But at least "Hi-Fi" easily rhymes with "Wi-Fi", which itself stands for "Wireless Fidelity" (a bonus is that the "Fi" part still stands for "Fidelity"), and this Internet-related term is something that these younger ones can much more easily relate to. So as long as the rhyme is there, perhaps "Hi-Fi" will still have at least a somewhat decent ring with these people too. Furthermore, even though they might not have a particularly big appetite for fiber these days, they still may like the high-fiber snacks anyway. When someone hears the wording "Hi-Fi Buddies", that may bring up images of some kind of audiophile community. "Ah, the joys of high-end electronics!" Anyway, I have come to conclude that switching to this new naming arrangement, with "Hi-Fi" standing for "High Fiber" in this context, was a good move.
	Chocolate Cherry HiFi Buddy Bars--Prototype 1: Given that chocolate and cherry are a popular Valentine's Day combination, let's make some HiFi Buddies for this romantic holiday. This particular recipe uses cherry butter, a pasty-textured cherry spread available (at least as of this batch's production) at Whole Foods Market. This recipe is based mainly on Prototype 8 of the chocolate peanut butter bars. However, the cherry butter directly replaces the peanut butter. Due to exchanging this peanut butter for a sweeter ingredient, the sugar is omitted from the filling as well. The details are as follows: Crust: 6 oz. melted, semi-sweet chocolate 2 oz. cherry butter (combine quickly with the chocolate above while it is still melted, and blend in the next two ingredients shortly afterward) 3/4 cup sugar 16 oz. whipped lowfat cottage cheese 1 tbsp. skim milk 1 teaspoon vanilla (next to last ingredient here!) 8.8 oz. Bran Buds, ground up Filling: 6 oz. melted, white chocolate 2 oz. cherry butter 1 teaspoon vanilla (last ingredient here!) Press the crust mixture into a 9" x 9" wax-paper-lined pan. Firm it up in the refrigerator for 20 minutes or freezer for 10 minutes. Remove the pan from whatever cooler was used, and add the cherry filling on top of the crust layer. Tip: if the filling is stiff, microwave it a little to soften, before it gets put on the crust (this is better than the broiler heat approach). Place the pan in the refrigerator. Chill until the top filling is almost completely firm, about 60 to 90 minutes, then cut into bars. Return these to the refrigerator, and chill until fully firm. I had difficulty detecting a cherry presence upon eating these bars. This may have been due to some cold symptoms which I had (which, by the way, moved me to be extra careful in regard to sanitary handling procedures). But these bars went over very well at Living Hope Church, where many people there could taste the cherry. However, I still wondered about that flavor's strength, whether it was too weak. But a few days later my cold symptoms dropped off significantly, and my cherry detection picked up a lot better. At that point, I reasoned that I did not need to add more cherry flavor. I had gotten additional favorable comments from Lesa's friends. The balance between this flavor and the chocolate seemed to be on target. For me, personally, whenever I took a bite, the flavor actually varied throughout the chewing process, with cherry dominating at the beginning and chocolate doing so at the end.   Chocolate Cherry HiFi Buddy Bars--Prototype 2: No need to add more cherry! No need to lower it either. But the quest was on for the filling to have a more reddish appearance. Repeat Prototype 1, but shift 1 ounce of the cherry butter from the crust to the filling (which would furthermore have more of a distinct cherry taste). This means 1 ounce of cherry butter for the crust, and 3 ounces of it for the filling. Another change was to defer the crust's sugar until after the cottage cheese. In Prototype 1, there was a lumpiness problem in fully blending the semi-sweet chocolate mixture with the cottage cheese. This was likely caused by the cold cottage cheese being combined long after the chocolate was melted. What happened was that the chocolate mixture had an extended chance to cool back down, thanks in part to mixing the sugar into it before bringing on the cottage cheese. The mixing bowl used was metal, so microwave usage was not a suitable choice. A cautious use of a conventional oven would reheat the contents enough to produce a desired thorough blend. As for Prototype 2, a further step was to somehow preheat the metal bowl. One way of doing this was by heating it in an oven. Another helpful approach involved filling a sink with some hot water and placing the bowl of mixture there and blending the contents without getting any of the sink's water into the bowl. Fast forward to the point after the top filling is spread over the crust! Place the completed pan in the refrigerator, and chill until the top filling is almost completely firm. But this time allow about 2 1/2 to 3 hours, due to a softer filling (because of it having more of the soft cherry butter), then cut into bars. Return these to the refrigerator, and chill until fully firm. These bars fared well, and it seems that at least one of Lesa's friends liked this prototype better than the first one. I was fairly happy myself, at least with the taste, although the filling still looked too dark. But despite the top lacking a bright red appearance, the taste was still great. Happy Valentine's Day!
	Peanut Butter HiFi Buddy Bars--Prototype 1: Let's take a good look back at all these "Buddy" bars. Chocolate and peanut butter "shared" their "rule" with each other for the first few recipes. Then chocolate got to have a recipe all to itself. Later on, this popular flavor teamed up with cherry early in a year as Valentine's Day approached. But peanut butter never got to have such a bar recipe all to itself...until now. Okay, white chocolate is used here, but this stuff is relatively neutral, at least compared to its darker, brown counterparts. In fact, many feel that this white ingredient should not even be called "chocolate". Possible alternative names have included "white candy". What can one officially call this thing? Maybe "neutral confection"? Still, for now, let's call this ingredient "white chocolate", whether it really is chocolate or not. Anyway, in light of this ingredient being so neutral that many flavorings added to it have easily dominated this white stuff, it should be reasonably safe to say that peanut butter is the sole flavor ruler (or at least easily the dominator) of this recipe described here. So what do you do for such a nutty prototype here? Looks like Prototype 8 of the Chocolate Peanut Butter Bran Buddy Bars is a good starting point. The changes are extremely simple and only need to be made in the crust: delete the semi-sweet chocolate, and increase the peanut butter by 4 ounces and the sugar by 1/4 cup. That all! The results: Crust: 16 oz. whipped lowfat cottage cheese 6 oz. unsalted peanut butter 1 tbsp. skim milk (blend the above three ingredients before adding the next three ones below) 1 cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla (next to last ingredient here!) 8.8 oz. Bran Buds, ground up Filling: 6 oz. melted, white chocolate 2 oz. unsalted peanut butter 2 tablespoons sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla (last ingredient here!) Use a 9" x 9" pan, of course. Delicious peanut butter flavor, although these bars seem to have a taste that may be too sweet for at least some people.   Peanut Butter HiFi Buddy Bars--Prototype 2: If the above recipe was too sweet, perhaps this was the case only with the filling. However, the crust seemed like it could use a little more sweetness. So let's repeat Prototype 1, but shift all of the filling's sugar to the crust. In light of a 13" x 9" pan being used for Prototype 2, the amounts shown below reflect this bigger batch: Crust: 24 oz. whipped lowfat cottage cheese 9 oz. unsalted peanut butter 1 + 1/2 tbsp. skim milk (blend the above three ingredients before adding the next three ones below) 1 + 1/2 cup plus 3 tbsp. sugar 1/2 tbsp. vanilla (next to last ingredient here!) 13.2 oz. Bran Buds, ground up Filling: 9 oz. melted, white chocolate 3 oz. unsalted peanut butter 1/2 tbsp. vanilla (last ingredient here!) Repeating what was just stated, a 13" x 9" (not 9" x 9"!) pan was used, and the ingredient amounts shown here reflect this. Some tips are worth noting here. Vigorously stir the filling immediately after adding the vanilla, because this last ingredient causes the filling to get stiff. And (for all Bran/HiFi Buddy Bar recipes) stir, with even more intense vigor, the crust mixture immediately after adding the Bran Buds for the same type of reason. It is advisable to dump this entire amount of Bran Buds "powder" on top of the other crust ingredients, and then blend the contents as quickly as possible, before this dry, ground-up bran absorbs a lot of the moisture from the wet ingredients, thus rendering the crust very stiff.   I think that I improved the taste with this one. Happy Easter!
	Banana HiFi Buddy Bars--Prototype 1: Let's go bananas with this one! Plan ahead by taking two medium-to-large sized bananas (enough to make 8 ounces of puree) and let them get ripe. Then peel and puree them (a blender or food processor is recommended here) just before using in the recipe that follows: Crust: 16 oz. whipped lowfat cottage cheese 6 oz. banana puree 1 tbsp. skim milk (blend the above three ingredients before adding the next three ones below) 1/3 cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla (next to last ingredient here!) 8.8 oz. Bran Buds, ground up Filling: 6 oz. melted, white chocolate 2 oz. banana puree 1 teaspoon vanilla (last ingredient here!) Fit all this into a 9" x 9" pan, and chill until firm.   Looks like banana puree was too thin to let the filling get firm. Even when I put this recipe in the freezer, as opposed to the refrigerator, this still did not work out well enough. Therefore, I took the pan out, let it sit at room temperature for perhaps about a half hour, then dumped the whole thing into a bowl. And I blended the crust and filling together (this took considerable effort)! Then I put this combined mixture back into the pan and placed it all into the freezer. After perhaps at least roughly a couple of hours, I cut up the bars from it.   Even then, the bars tended to be very soft when allowed to be at refrigerator temperature. Although the texture seemed to resemble cookie dough, the taste (at least to me) was very delicious--a nice, "melt in your mouth" experience and a terrific banana flavor.
	First you mix, mix, mix, some Fluff and peanut butter, add ground-up Bran Buds, and have a... Fluffernutter HiFi Buddy Bar! Anybody remember the "Fluffernutter" jingle for Marshmallow Fluff? If you lived in the Boston area around the 1960's or the 1970's, you probably do. Well, that's my variation on this jingle...and on the Fluffernutter recipe itself, a fairly simple sandwich. Let's give this baby-boomer classic the Bran Buddy treatment.   Fluffernutter HiFi Buddy Bars--Prototype 1: This is the simplest HiFi Buddy Bar recipe yet--there is only one layer, and these bars should keep for a very long time at room temperature (no refrigeration needed). The sequence suggested by the song's lyrics are crucial. According to the original tune, the peanut butter went on the bread first, and the Marshmallow Fluff was added afterward. For the Hifi Buddy Bars, it's a different story, so pay close attention. Sequential details (combining order) for single layer: 1 jar (i.e., 7.5 ounces) Marshmallow Fluff (or other brand of marshmallow cream, if you cannot get the Fluff brand) 4 oz. unsalted peanut butter (mixture will become very stiff after combining the first two ingredients) 8.8 oz. Bran Buds, ground up (last ingredient here!) Mix hard! You are dealing with a very stiff mixture. Then press it all into a 9" x 9" wax-paper-lined pan. Get it leveled off, and expect a thin layer. Once this is done, cut into bars and enjoy! This one was thin and chewy, and the peanut butter could be detected. The marshmallow flavor was not nearly as much present, but these bars were still a nice hit.   Fluffernutter HiFi Buddy Bars--Prototype 2: Those bars need to be made thicker and softer. This means increasing the recipe, but also giving the marshmallow cream a proportionally higher boost--which increases its flavor as well. Sequential details: 1 large "tub" (i.e., 16 ounces) Marshmallow Fluff (or other marshmallow cream) 6 oz. unsalted peanut butter 13.2 oz. Bran Buds, ground up (last ingredient here!) Mix hard, press into 9" x 9" pan, level off, cut into bars, enjoy some, store the rest at room temperature (chilling will result in stiffer, harder bars). The bars were indeed softer this time, although the peanut butter's presence seemed a little lacking.   Fluffernutter HiFi Buddy Bars--Prototype 3:   With this prototype, I discovered that the square glass dish ("pan") that I had been using all along in many of these Bran Buddy/Hi-Fi Buddy recipes was, in fact, highly likely of an 8" x 8" size (at least according to the numbers etched thereon and confirmed by tape measure, combined with my failing to locate an alternative similar-looking dish), rather than 9" x 9". What about the bigger, rectangular glass dish ("pan") that I also likely used? I could not find any dimensions etched into this one, although I did see "3QT" (which I assumed to mean three quarts). So I took out my tape measure and came up with about 8.5" x 13.5", as opposed to 9" x 13". Hopefully, the differences aren't too big, especially for the larger rectangular dish. Nevertheless, for this Buddy Bar prototype and later, I felt that I would state 8" x 8" every time the square dish was used--and stick with mentioning 13" x 9" for the rectangular, out of simplicity (particularly since that was close enough in area to 8.5" x 13.5"). Okay, enough of this size discrepancy discussion on these Pyrex dishes--bring on the bars!   Increase the peanut butter...slightly. Sequential details: 1 large "tub" (i.e., 16 ounces) Marshmallow Fluff (or other marshmallow cream) 7 oz. unsalted peanut butter Tip: Heat these first two ingredients, blend well, then (if needed) heat again just before adding the last ingredient. This should help ease the stiffness somewhat. 13.2 oz. Bran Buds, ground up (last ingredient here!) Mix hard and quickly, press into an 8" x 8" pan or dish, level off and cut into bars (store at room temperature).   Nice taste. A great hit at the Sports Page, at which point we also celebrated Lesa's birthday.
	Lemon HiFi Buddy Bars--Prototypes 1 & 2: The ingredients are the same for both of these prototypes. The difference is in the ways that the filling is handled. Crust: 5 oz. lemonade concentrate, thawed 1/3 cup sugar 16 oz. whipped lowfat cottage cheese (blend the above three ingredients first before adding the Bran Buds) 8.8 oz. Bran Buds, ground up (blend this into the above mixture as fast and "furiously" as possible) Filling: 6 oz. melted, white chocolate 1 oz. lemonade concentrate, thawed Spread the crust mixture into an 8" x 8" pan, then add the filling on top, and chill until firm.   As for how much "concentrated" the lemonade concentrate was, the directions--on the can it came in--would have called for 4 and 1/3 cans of water, in order to make the lemonade drink itself. Thus a 12-ounce can would need 52 ounces of water (in order to make 64 ounces of lemonade). Of course, I did not use water, because I was not making this drink. Instead, I used the concentrate for Buddy Bar flavoring purposes. For Prototype 1, I chilled the crust for perhaps about 10-20 minutes before adding the filling. The way that I prepared the filling itself involved microwaving the lemon concentrate and white chocolate together. At times the concentrate seemed to boil. I aimed for a soft liquid, and it looks like that is what I got. But after pouring this onto the crust, I failed to cover the entire surface, probably due to the crust's chilliness cooling the filling too soon. So I heat-treated the recipe with broiler heat in order to get a hopeful filling distribution before I resumed chilling. As a result, the filling turned out a bit hard and crusty, almost like hard candy. So for the second prototype, I microwaved the white chocolate alone, carefully trying not to get it too hot. Then I added the lemonade concentrate, making sure beforehand that it was warm (but not hot). I mixed these two ingredients very quickly, hoping for sufficient softness, before adding this to the crust, which this time I did NOT chill beforehand (in fact, I slightly heated this crust in order to have it a little warm in preparation for placing the filling on top of it). Instead of dumping all of the filling at once onto the middle of the crust's surface, I placed this melted topping in small amounts around the edges and worked my way towards the center. However, the surface looked too uneven, so I very sparingly applied broiler heat (about 60 seconds), then tilted the pan for a more even distribution. Even then the filling appeared to have a somewhat unblended look (perhaps due to the water of the lemonade concentrate not blending well with the fat content of the white chocolate?), but I did not want to push any further with heating. So I placed the pan in the refrigerator for about an hour. I afterward cut up the bars (with plenty of ease this time around) and returned them to the refrigerator for additional firming. The outcome: The topping's softness was just right--a pleasant firmness that I had been used to with my Buddy Bar recipes--without the abnormal crunch. So I learned a new lesson: Steer clear of overheating certain chocolate mixtures (such as white chocolate and water-based drink concentrates).   The amount of lemon flavor (at least in my opinion and hopefully those of many others as well) was just right (for both prototypes). Jude, a close friend of mine (and sister of a guitar player who performed in a cover rock band with my drum-playing brother back in their high school days), immensely enjoyed these bars, especially the second prototype, possibly as her favorite HiFi Buddy Bars of all time (or at least up to this point).
	Orange HiFi Buddy Bars--Prototype 1: This one is easily based on the Lemon Bars above. There is only one difference: orange juice concentrate replaces the lemonade concentrate that was used in the lemon recipe. Simple enough. Here are the details for quick reference: Crust: 5 oz. orange juice concentrate, thawed 1/3 cup sugar 16 oz. whipped lowfat cottage cheese (blend the above three ingredients first before adding the Bran Buds) 8.8 oz. Bran Buds, ground up (blend this into the above mixture as fast and "furiously" as possible) Filling: 6 oz. melted, white chocolate 1 oz. orange juice concentrate, thawed Spread the crust mixture into an 8" x 8" pan, then add the filling on top, and chill until firm (cut them about an hour after chilling).   These orange-flavored bars look nearly identical to their lemon counterparts. One may be compelled to add orange food coloring, at least to the filling. However, my personal preference is to avoid artificial colors. The bars were delicious, though, and many other people enjoyed them too.   Orange HiFi Buddy Balls--Prototype 1: That's right: "Balls" is correct. This is a new approach. All the Crust and all the Filling ingredients of the Orange HiFi Buddy Bars recipe are combined together into a single mixture. Note that the total amount of orange juice concentrate used is 6 ounces. Also, the Bran Buds should be the last ingredient--blend together all the other ones first. The resulting mixture may be a bit too soft at first, so refrigerate this in order to get it a little more firm. Then take a little bit of the mixture at a time, forming it into a ball, about 1 1/2 inches in diameter, and place it onto wax paper. Repeat this until all the mixture is used up. This should result in about 24 balls. Refrigerate at least about an hour. Nice orangey taste!
	Pumpkin HiFi Buddy Bars--Prototype 1: Are you ready for some football ("American football" to many of those who live outside the USA)? While this sport is a major part of the autumn season, pumpkins are largely associated with this time of year as well, and pumpkin pie, in particular, is a popular treat (especially around November). Here's a HiFi Buddy version! Crust: 4.5 oz. pumpkin butter (available at Trader Joe's) 1/3 cup sugar 16 oz. whipped lowfat cottage cheese (fully blend the above three ingredients first before adding the Bran Buds) 8.8 oz. Bran Buds, ground up (blend quickly into the above mixture) Filling: 6 oz. melted, white chocolate 1.5 oz. pumpkin butter Spread the crust mixture into an 8" x 8" pan, then add the filling on top, and chill until firm. Another terrific hit! Looks like this one became Jude's new favorite (even ahead of the lemon ones). In fact, she had been looking forward to these for a long time (perhaps since about a whole year ago, assuming that she likely suggested a pumpkin flavor back then). Furthermore, these bars went very quickly when I brought them to the Sports Page.
	Chocolate HiFi Buddy Balls--Prototype 1:   The Orange HiFi Buddy Balls turned out to be a great idea. So why not apply this same approach to Prototype 3 of the Chocolate Bran Buddy Bars: Combine the crust and filling mixtures together, and form into balls. The chocolate ones in this particular shape reminded me of chocolate truffles, although that's not what these Buddy Balls are. But warm one up in the microwave, and the result is a still deliciously soft, chocolate texture!   12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate. Heat only until it just becomes fully melted, then mix in... 1/4 cup cocoa powder. Heat this mixture a little more, then blend in, as thoroughly as possible... 1/4 cup skim milk. Heat this mixture a little more, mix it more thoroughly, then gradually combine... 16 oz. lowfat cottage cheese, whipped. Then add... 1 + 1/4 cups sugar. Blend thoroughly, then add... 1 + 1/3 tablespoons vanilla (next to last ingredient here). Blend this in, then finally mix in... 8.8 oz. finely ground Bran Buds. Mix quickly with vigor. Let resulting mixture sit for at least 5-10 minutes, perhaps even in the refrigerator. Then form into balls. Refrigerate until firm. Makes about 24 (each one close to 1 1/2" in diameter, based upon about 2.1 to 2.2 ounces per ball).   Mmmm (especially when warmed up)! The truffles shape (and additional similar characteristics, at least if these "Buddies" are heated) has caused me to come up with this alternative name: "Bran Buffles" (or "Hifi Buffles", although I like Bran Buffles better, perhaps due to alliteration reasons). Alright, what is "Buffles"?! My mind somehow came up with this by contracting "buddy" with "truffles", and this wording has stuck!   Orange-Chocolate variation: Replace the 1/4 cup skim milk with 3 ("touch of orange") to 4 ("possibly overwhelming orange") ounces of orange juice concentrate.   I think that 3 ounces of orange juice concentrate is just about the right amount here. These went over very well at the Sports Page.
	Peanut Butter HiFi Buddy Balls--Prototype 1:   Or is that "Peanut Butter [HiFi/Bran] Buffles"? How about just "Peanut Buffles" ("Butter" somewhat contracted into "Buffles")? Anyway, this one is simply a matter of combining all the ingredients of the "Bars" version. Note that the total ingredient proportions between Prototypes 1 and 2 of the Peanut Butter HiFi Buddy Bars are the same. The following recipe contains the sum of the Prototype 1 Bars, which is a regular-sized recipe (its Prototype 2 counterpart being 50% larger).   6 oz. melted, white chocolate 8 oz. unsalted peanut butter 16 oz. whipped lowfat cottage cheese 1 tbsp. skim milk 1 cup plus 2 tbsp. sugar 2 teaspoons vanilla (last ingredient just before the Bran Buds) 8.8 oz. Bran Buds, ground up (make sure that all the other ingredients are thoroughly blended first, then quickly combine this one using a serious amount of intensity, expecting stiff results) These is no need to let the resulting mixture sit for long. It gets very stiff rather quickly. Form this into balls, and refrigerate until firm. Makes about 24 (each one close to 1 1/2" in diameter, based upon about 1.9 to 2.0 ounces per ball).   These Balls reminded me of peanut butter fudge. They went over very well at the Sports Page.   Peanut Butter HiFi Buddy Balls--Prototype 2:   In Prototype 1, the peanut butter favor is rather on the strong side. I had an idea of making HiFi Buddy Balls which would combine the peanut butter mixture with its chocolate counterpart (i.e., Chocolate HiFi Buddy Balls, above), somewhat like a marble cake. However, I felt that the peanut butter was too dominant. This flavor is reduced for Prototype 2.   Repeat Prototype 1, but... Reduce peanut butter by 2 ounces, to 6 ounces Reduce sugar by 3 tablespoons, to 15 tablespoons (1 cup minus 1 tablespoon)   I felt that this provided a better balance when combined with the chocolate HiFi Buddy Balls mixture (see Chocolate Peanut Butter HiFi Buddy Balls, below, for more details). NOTE: Even if the peanut butter flavor were to still be too strong, I had already come up with a contingency plan to further reduce the peanut butter to 4 ounces, and also reduce the sugar to 3/4 cup.
	Chocolate Peanut Butter HiFi Buddy Balls--Prototypes 1 & 2:   The peanut butter flavor somewhat overwhelmed the chocolate in Prototype 1. The flavors seemed to be more balanced for Prototype 2. Take your pick.   For both prototypes, prepare a bowl of the mixture for Chocolate HiFi Buddy Balls, Prototype 1. For Prototype 1 of these combination balls, prepare a bowl of the mixture for Peanut Butter HiFi Buddy Balls, Prototype 1. For Prototype 2 of these combination balls, prepare a bowl of the mixture for Peanut Butter HiFi Buddy Balls, Prototype 2. From the bowls of both of these flavors, take equal amounts from each one--about one ounce from each mixture is suggested--and roll them together into a single ball. The result is a somewhat marbled pattern (about a two-ounce, 1 1/2" size). Repeat this until the bowls are empty. There will probably be some extra mixture left in one of the bowls after the other one is empty. Simply take double amounts (such as about two ounces) from the surplus bowl and form into balls solely in that flavor. The yield should be close to 4 dozen balls. Many years ago, back around the early 1980's, I overheard some co-workers referring to another co-worker as "Buffy", but to me, that sounded like a great name for a pet, particularly a fluffy one, such as a cat (supposedly because of "Buffy" and "Fluffy" rhyming with each other). In fact, I did have a long-haired cat at the time, named Patches, who I greatly enjoyed, and she easily came to mind when I heard the word "Buffy". Patches was a multi-colored cat with colors like brown, black, orange and white, and it wasn't long before I felt compelled to somehow apply the name "Buffy" to her. At some point, I was baking chocolate-chip, marbled "Bundt" cakes. Due to these being multi-colored somewhat like Patches, I ended up calling my such recipes "Buffy" cakes. Fast forward to these more recent times and my HiFi, or Bran, Buddy Balls. With the chocolate versions, I somehow came up with "Buffles" ("buddy" + "truffles"). Subsequently, I ended up creating a batch of "Buffles" that were "marbled" or "multi-colored", somewhat like my "Buffy" cat of late. In light of "Buffles" (and also "Buddies") being very close to another "funky" word--"Buffies", I ended up with the idea of these alternative names for this multiple-colored recipe: "Bran Buffies" and "HiFi Buffies" (singular "Bran Buffy" and "HiFi Buffy", of course)!
	Maple HiFi Buddy Balls--Prototype 1:   For some time, I had been dreaming of making these balls in a maple flavor. I quickly threw together this recipe shortly after being invited by a friend from Beverly's Living Hope Church to a Mother's Day cookout a little later that Sunday. This recipe includes two ingredients that are particularly challenging to shop for--maple flavoring (try Whole Foods Market) and maple sugar (at least if it's granular, which is what I prefer, as opposed to the molded "candies"). If you happen to be driving in Vermont, stock up on some of this sugar (check around for prices, because maple sugar can be very expensive). When you get back home, store it in the refrigerator, rather than at room temperature, in order to help prolong this ingredient's shelf life.   6 oz. melted, white chocolate 16 oz. whipped lowfat cottage cheese ("no salt added" recommended) (When combining the two above ingredients, start off by blending just some of the cottage cheese--perhaps close to half of the total amount--with all of the white chocolate, using heat along the way, so that this chocolate does not solidify back up. Once it is thoroughly "dissolved", no additional heat should be needed upon adding the rest of the cottage cheese.) 1 cup maple sugar 2 teaspoons maple flavoring 8.8 oz. finely ground Bran Buds (mix this in last, and mix it fast) This small, simple list of ingredients only yields about 18 two-ounce balls, so increase the proportions if more balls are desired.   The hosts at the cookout, Eric and Mary Beth, as well as some guests, expressed their appreciation for this HiFi treat. I enjoyed it myself and felt that the maple flavor in particular was sufficient--that's pretty good for a first prototype here.

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Awesome, Rawkin' Egg "Nawg" Pancake Batter: Combine a 50-50 blend of Trader Joe's Buttermilk Pancake (& All Purpose Baking) Mix and egg nog. (Do not add eggs, because the egg nog already contains some.) Expect batter to be thick. Gradually add water (or more egg nog) to produce a suitably thin consistency. Tip: If the pancakes are very hot, cool them slightly in order to better enjoy the egg nog flavor.

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Additional Trader Joe's Buttermilk Pancake & All Purpose Baking Mix notes: Using a scale for weighing, instead of a measuring cup: 1 cup of this pancake mix (packed down) = 7 ounces Chocolate version: Add 3 tablespoons of sugar and 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder to the aforementioned cup of pancake mix. Add semi-sweet chocolate chips as well for a great chocolaty taste. Chocolate chip cookie dough version: Fold 3 1/2 ounces of this cookie dough, finely chopped, into the batter prepared with the aforementioned cup of pancake mix (in other words, first combine the pancake mix with water and/or other liquid ingredients, then add the cookie dough afterwards). Orange version: Add 2 tablespoons of grated orange peel (rind) to the aforementioned cup of pancake mix, and instead of adding water to this mix (per package instructions), substitute orange juice (no eggs are really necessary). Lemon version: Add 1/2 cup of lemon juice and 1/4 cup of sugar to the aforementioned cup of pancake mix, mix together, then add water until desired consistency is obtained (no eggs are really necessary). Cinnamon roll version (my attempted answer to an IHOP limited-time offer from the past): Using the aforementioned cup of pancake mix, prepare pancakes the regular way with water (eggs optional, but not really necessary), but also prepare these two toppings as well: 1. Cottage cheese (not cream cheese) icing (mix together 1/2 cup of whipped cottage cheese, 2 tablespoons of confectioner's sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla) 2. Cinnamon "filling" (mix together 1/4 cup of brown sugar, 1 tablespoon of cinnamon, and just enough maple syrup to obtain a thick liquid consistency) Use both of these to top off the pancakes.

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Barbecue Latkes: Prepare latkes according to the potato latkes package, but whatever amount of water this package calls for, replace 1/3 of it with barbecue sauce. For example, if using Streit's Potato Pancake Mix, and the package says to add 2 eggs and 2 cups of water to the mix, go ahead and use the 2 eggs, but add only 1 1/3 cups of water, along with 2/3 cup of barbecue sauce, to the mix. Buffalo Ranch Latkes: This is similar to the barbecue latkes recipe. However, instead of using barbecue sauce, use an equal amount of a 50-50 blend of wing sauce and ranch dressing. By utilizing the above example, 2 eggs and 1 1/3 cups of water, along with 1/3 cup of wing sauce and 1/3 cup of ranch dressing, would be added to the mix.

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Basic Bran-Buds-Based Pie Crust: For one 9.5" pie plate (expect crust to be somewhat thicker than normal) Mix: 8 oz. whipped lowfat cottage cheese 1/3 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon vanilla Optional (useful for eggnog pies): 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg 1/4 cup eggnog Then add: 4.4 oz. Bran Buds, ground up Mix quickly and vigorously. Then press into pie plate and refrigerate. Suggestion: Line pie plate with a circular piece of wax paper on the bottom.

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Chilled Eggnog Pie: For one a 9.5" pie plate, prepare a Basic Bran-Buds-Based Pie Crust, and include the optional ingredients for eggnog pies (refer to above recipe). Then for the filling, combine 2 packages of instant vanilla pudding mix (I used Trader Joe's, each package being a 3.39 oz. size) with 3 cups of light eggnog (I used Hood). Mix well, let the resulting mixture thicken a little, then pour it into the crust, and chill (preferably for at least three hours). Note: One variation is to increase the eggnog to 3 1/2 cups, but the filling may be a little runny when the pie is sliced (unless it is served frozen). Chilled Pumpkin Eggnog Pie--Prototype 1: I used a somewhat smaller pie plate (perhaps a little over 8.5") for this recipe. The pumpkin part of this one is largely based on the Pumpkin HiFi Buddy Bars (see above), but there is a slight shift in regard to the pumpkin butter. First, prepare this crust, and press it into the pie plate: 2 oz. pumpkin butter (I used Trader Joe's) 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons sugar (this equals 1/6 cup) 8 oz. whipped lowfat cottage cheese (fully blend the above three ingredients first before adding the Bran Buds) 4.4 oz. Bran Buds, ground up (blend quickly into the above mixture) Next prepare this "lower" filling, and spread it onto the crust (try to get the filling almost to the top of the crust): 3 oz. melted, white chocolate 1 oz. pumpkin butter Note two things here: 1. This is, generally speaking, half of the Buddy Bars recipe. 2. Some of the pumpkin butter has been, proportionally speaking, shifted from the crust to the "lower" filling (so the crust only gets 2 oz., not 2.25 oz., and the filling gets 1 oz., as opposed to .75 oz.). Chill all this until the pumpkin filling is firm. Make the "upper" filling: 1 package instant vanilla pudding mix (such as Trader Joe's) 1 3/4 cup light eggnog (such as Hood) Mix these, let the mixture stiffen a little (perhaps about 5 minutes), then pour it onto the other contents in the pie plate, and chill the whole thing for at least three hours. The result of this one: The eggnog filling was sort of runny (and would easily slide off the rather slick pumpkin filling), as well as overwhelmed by the pumpkin flavor. Maybe this is because eggnog tends be mild, while pumpkin, at least when used in dessert recipes like this one, tends to be a lot more spicy. Furthermore, the color of the pumpkin filling was nearly identical to its eggnog counterpart (I had hoped for a decent difference, in order to be able to more easily distinguish this recipe from an eggnog-only pie).

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Baked Chocolate Cheesecake--Prototype 10.1:   Prototype 10.1?? What's that?? The batter for this recipe is derived from a line of cheesecake prototypes that I made back around the late 1980's. The crust is derived, scaled down to a one-third recipe--with extremely small deviations on the cottage cheese and Bran Buds--from that used in Prototype 3 of the Chocolate Bran Buddy Bars. More specifically, around 1987 or 1988, I began experimenting with a "Baked Cheese Pie" recipe in a cookbook from the American Heart Association. This initial recipe was not chocolate flavored, but supposedly meant to be plain, although it actually turned out too lemony. I referred to it as "Prototype 1". From there, I went through a number of different cheesecake prototypes, with a few different flavors, incrementing the "prototype" number as I went along. "Prototype 4" was my first chocolate attempt (it ended up having way too much cocoa powder). A number of prototypes later, I had a much improved chocolate cheesecake, "Prototype 10", and continued on with additional flavors. I hardly gave consideration to the crust, as I wanted to focus on the batter. The recipe presented here uses this "Prototype 10" batter, but with a relatively minor swap. The original version used margarine. The updated version presented here uses butter instead. Since I am adding crust, I felt that I would also implement a minor variation for the prototype number. "10.1" is the result. This one is a baked recipe (as opposed to "refrigerate until firm").   Crust: 2 oz. melted, semi-sweet chocolate 4 teaspoons skim milk, heated 4 teaspoons cocoa powder. Fully dissolve this in the chocolate and milk, then gradually blend in... 5 oz. whipped, lowfat cottage cheese. Then add... 3/8 cup sugar. Blend thoroughly, then add... 1 teaspoon vanilla (next to last ingredient here). Blend this in, then finally mix in (quickly and vigorously, all at once)... 2.9 oz. finely ground Bran Buds Press this crust mixture into the bottom of a lightly buttered 9" cheesecake pan (such as removable-bottom or spring-form). There is no need to press the crust up the pan's sidewall. Batter: 2 cups lowfat cottage cheese 2 tablespoons melted or softened butter 2 eggs 7/8 cup sugar 1/2 cup skim milk 1/4 cup flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 3 tablespoons cocoa powder Blend all these ingredients together thoroughly, particularly the butter and eggs (an electric mixer or food processor may be needed for this), then pour this batter into the pan (on top of the crust, of course). Promptly place this into the oven--preheated at 300 degrees--and bake for 100 minutes (or until cake tester comes out clean). Remove from oven, cool down to about room temperature, carefully remove from pan, and refrigerate (perhaps at least three hours is a good suggestion at this last step). Baked Chocolate Cheesecake--Prototype 10.2:   This is a tastier version. The crust is somewhat richer, due to inclusion of the "filling" ingredients of the Prototype 3 Chocolate Bran Buddy Bars. Essentially, what goes into this cheesecake's crust is a one-quarter recipe of the Chocolate HiFi Buddy Balls (Prototype 1). Remember, that's a quarter recipe, not a third, as I felt that the crust needed to be cut down a bit. Another change is the addition of vanilla to the batter. Despite this batter modification, I have chosen to keep the "10" in "Prototype 10.2" rather than up this number to 11. Not only is this more in keeping with the 1980's prototype numbering, but the vanilla addition is an extremely small change anyway--small enough that I would rather consolidate this modification with that of the crust, resulting in a ".2" (up from ".1") after the "10".   Crust: 3 oz. semi-sweet chocolate. Heat only until it just becomes fully melted, then mix in... 1 tablespoon cocoa powder. Heat this mixture a little more, then blend in, as thoroughly as possible... 1 tablespoon skim milk. Heat this mixture a little more, mix it more thoroughly, then gradually combine... 4 oz. lowfat cottage cheese, whipped. Then add... 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar. Blend thoroughly, then add... 1 teaspoon vanilla (next to last ingredient here). Blend this in, then finally mix in... 2.2 oz. finely ground Bran Buds. Mix quickly with vigor. Press this crust mixture into the bottom of a lightly buttered 9" cheesecake pan (such as removable-bottom or spring-form). Batter: 1/2 cup skim milk 2 tablespoons melted butter 3 tablespoons cocoa powder 7/8 cup sugar 1/4 cup flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 cups lowfat cottage cheese 1 teaspoon vanilla 2 eggs Blend all these ingredients together thoroughly and pour into pan. Promptly place into 300-degree oven (preheated), and bake for 100 minutes (or until cake tester comes out clean). Remove from oven, cool down to about room temperature, carefully remove from pan, and refrigerate. Baked Chocolate Cheesecake--Prototype 10.3:   I felt that the crust's texture was somewhat too dry on the previous version. While the Chocolate HiFi Buddy Balls may have been moist enough, baking their same set of ingredients for a cheesecake was apt to produce dry results. So I needed to find a "wetter" approach for the crust.   Repeat the previous version, but make these changes for the crust: Boost semi-sweet chocolate by 1 ounce, to 4 ounces. Boost skim milk by 1 tablespoon, to 2 tablespoons.   I think that this one is almost on target. I felt that the crust could use a little more moisture.   Baked Chocolate Cheesecake--Prototype 10.4: Repeat the previous version, but boost the crust's skim milk by 2 tablespoons, to 1/4 cup. Tip: Immediately after adding the Bran Buds to the crust's other ingredients, act real fast! Get the Bran Buds soaked and mix quickly, yet thoroughly. The resulting crust mixture should have a thick, liquid texture. But this is not going to stay this runny for long. So before it hardens, dump it into the bottom of the pan, and tilt this pan in various directions until the mixture has coated the entire bottom. If necessary, carefully spread this mixture (using something small, such as a finger) to close any remaining gaps, but be as quick as possible. Give the pan a slight shake as needed to help level out the crust.   The crust's texture was considerably better.   Baked Chocolate Cheesecake--Prototype 10.5: The quest is still on for crust improvement! Repeat the previous version, but boost the crust's skim milk, by 4 teaspoons, to 1/3 cup. Increase the sugar as well, by a tablespoon, to 3/8 cup for a tastier crust. Finally, use the bath approach for this cheesecake (i.e., wrap foil around the pan, and place it in a hot "tub"--see Baked Eggnog Cheesecake, Prototypes 8 and 9, below, for more info).   A huge improvement for the entire cheesecake, especially the crust! "Tubbing" makes a world of difference! Could it be that the bath separates the pros from the rest? Maybe I should become a "tub-thumper" for cheesecake baking (not quite the "Chumba-cheese-wamba-cake" variety, inasmuch that my non-bath cheesecakes got "knocked down" upon removal from the oven after "getting up" in the baking process--but the bath approach would "keep" the batter "down" throughout...so..."When we're baking, we'll be winning, if we're bathing--Cake gets knocked down, but it gets up at first, if cake you're gonna keep un-bathed/Oh, bain marie, bain marie, bain marie").   Baked Chocolate Cheesecake--Prototype 11:   The crust's sugar and, especially, its milk got boosted in the last few prototypes. I felt that the cocoa should be given a little boost as well. Cutting down the batter's salt (see Baked Eggnog Cheesecake--Prototype 10, for more info on this change) also seemed like a good idea. With this change affecting both the crust and the batter, and in light of my wanting to revert at some point to whole-numbered prototype designations, I felt that I would move the Baked Chocolate Cheesecake designation beyond the "10.x" series and call this version "Prototype 11", rather than "Prototype 10.6". By now it was time to get out of the "late 1980's cheesecake prototype numbering system" and bring things up to date for this 21st century scrapbook. Upon checking my 1980's cheesecake prototypes, it looked like 7 of them were specifically chocolate ("Prototype 4" through "Prototype 10" under that arrangement), and I did not (from what I best recall) get involved with crust experiments back then. If I were to resume prototype numbers solely for the chocolate batter in this 21st century scrapbook (i.e., pick up on the chocolate batter where the 1980's experiments left off, calling the first chocolate cheesecake prototype of this scrapbook "Baked Chocolate Cheesecake--Prototype 8"), then "Scrapbook Prototype 10.1" could be thought of as "Prototype 8" (butter replacing margarine), "Scrapbook Prototype 10.2" (as well as "10.3", "10.4" and "10.5") could be thought of as "Prototype 9" (1 teaspoon vanilla being added), and "Scrapbook Prototype 10.6" (this current recipe here, which I wanted to rather call "11") could be thought of as "Prototype 10" (salt being reduced to 1/4 teaspoon), the integers 8, 9 and 10 all being in sequence with the 1980's chocolate experiments. But the "10 series" designation had already been in use by the Baked Chocolate Cheesecake "21st century scrapbook system", so that would present a problem in calling this latest version "Prototype 10" here. What if I were to further bump up the number each time for changes made solely to the crust (not to the batter)? That's 3 "crust-only" modifications ("10.3", "10.4" and "10.5"), so this recipe's proposed "Prototype 10" designation could instead be "Prototype 13". The batter votes for a not-so-eligible "10". The crust, not wanting to be "counted out", casts its ballot for a more-eligible "13". The midpoint would be "11.5", but I wanted only an integer. Since the batter dominated over the crust, I thought it would be a good idea to move from "11.5" to the nearest integer in the batter's direction, and this resulted in yet another reason to go with the number "11" (in addition to it being the lowest eligible integer here). So "Baked Chocolate Cheesecake--Prototype 11" it is for this particular version in this 21st century recipe scrapbook. For now, I felt that this number was a reasonable compromise. Should I make subsequent variations for Baked Chocolate Cheesecake (whether for the batter only, crust only or both of them), the plan would be to use "12", "13", "14", etc.   Repeat Prototype 10.5, but... For the crust, boost cocoa powder by 1 teaspoon, to 1 1/3 tablespoons. For the batter, reduce salt by 1/4 teaspoon, to 1/4 teaspoon. The latest update for the ingredient lists... Crust: 4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, melted 1 1/3 tablespoons cocoa powder 1/3 cup skim milk 4 oz. lowfat cottage cheese, whipped (no-salt-added recommended) 3/8 cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla (next to last ingredient here) 2.2 oz. finely ground Bran Buds Batter: 1/2 cup skim milk 2 tablespoons melted butter 3 tablespoons cocoa powder 7/8 cup sugar 1/4 cup flour 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 cups lowfat cottage cheese, whipped (no-salt-added recommended) 1 teaspoon vanilla 2 eggs   This one went over very nicely at the Sports Page, and Steve, in particular, could hardly stop raving about this Prototype. Of all the treats that I brought--for him, Lesa and others in their company to enjoy--this seemed to be one of his favorites, perhaps even his #1 favorite, at least up to this point. I myself felt that both the filling and the crust were terrific!   Baked Chocolate Cheesecake--Prototype 12:   Inasmuch as the crust had a nice chocolate taste to it, I wanted a richer cheese presence as well. I decided to swap out the 1/3 cup skim milk, replacing it with an additional 4 ounces--i.e., about 1/2 cup--of cottage cheese. It was a painstaking experience for me to arrive at this amount. But not only was this easier than attempting an equal "1/3 cup for 1/3 cup" exchange (or boosting the cottage cheese by an oddly 2 2/3 ounces!), but the amount of liquidity (or moisture) for the overall mixture would hopefully remain close (replacement of 1/3 cup of a thin, wet ingredient with about 1/2 cup of a somewhat thicker one).   Repeat Prototype 11, but... For the crust, eliminate the skim milk, and boost the whipped cottage cheese by 4 oz., to 8 oz.   This resulted in a thicker crust. I think the taste may have indeed been slightly richer, perhaps with the cottage cheese's flavor barely being present--not easily detected, due its mild characteristic.   Baked Chocolate Cheesecake--Prototype 13:   Back in the 1980's I aimed to get my chocolate cheesecake to taste very much like that of a certain brand that I enjoyed at the time: Alden Merrell. My efforts back then were for a healthy answer to a high-fat treat. Inasmuch as I came close, tartness was one of the taste issues that I was grappling with. My earlier prototypes included lemon juice and lemon peel, which I ended up outright eliminating in the later chocolate cheesecakes at the time. My goals have shifted more recently, and I reasoned that tartness had an important contributing role to the cheesecake flavor, particularly when using cottage cheese, whose taste I felt was relatively mild. In light of my giving lemon juice a try in my latest combination "chocolate-and-peanut-butter" cheesecakes--with successful results--I thought that I would utilize it here in this latest chocolate-only prototype as well. In another move to better ensure the cheese presence in the batter, the cottage cheese was boosted as well. To compensate for this, I also increased the flour. In fact, the chocolate batter of Prototype 13 here is identical to that of Prototype 3 of Baked Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake (see below), with the only exception being the amount of flour (I used slightly more in the latter recipe, due to its deeper height in the baking process). The chocolate crust is the same for both recipes!   Repeat Prototype 12, but make these changes for the batter: Boost whipped cottage cheese by 4 ounces (1/2 cup), to 20 ounces (2 1/2 cups). Boost flour by 4 teaspoons (1/12 cup), to 1/3 cup. Add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Bake this cheesecake for two hours (at 300 degrees, with hot water bath), then remove from oven, and allow about two hours for cooling before removing from pan.   The batter had a delicious cheese presence. It also had a nice tart taste, without being excessive (and I felt that the sweetness wasn't deficient either). This prototype went amazingly fast at a church event that involved only a small crowd.

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Baked Eggnog Cheesecake--Prototype 1:   The Baked Chocolate Cheesecake is a good starting point for this eggnog version. The crust is scaled down to what could perhaps be referred to as some kind of a "one-quarter" recipe. However, because this is a new baked cheesecake flavor, one which I did not try back in the late 1980's (nor closely enough modeled directly after a recipe back then), the prototype number here gets off to a fresh start of "1". Remember that this is a baked version, not a "firmed-by-refrigeration" kind.   Crust: 4 oz. whipped lowfat cottage cheese 3 tablespoons sugar 1/4 teaspoon vanilla 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg 1/8 teaspoon rum extract (such as McCormick) 2 tablespoons light eggnog (such as Hood) Thoroughly blend these above 7 ingredients together. Afterward, quickly and vigorously mix in: 2.2 oz. finely ground Bran Buds Press this resulting mixture into the bottom of a lightly buttered 9" cheesecake pan. Batter: 2 cups lowfat cottage cheese 2 tablespoons melted or softened butter 2 eggs 1/2 cup sugar 3/4 cup light eggnog (such as Hood) 1/3 cup flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon lemon juice Blend all these ingredients together thoroughly, particularly the butter and eggs, then pour this batter into the pan, on top of the crust. Promptly place this into the oven--preheated at 300 degrees--and bake for 100 minutes (or until cake tester comes out clean). Remove from oven, cool down to about room temperature (about 1 1/2 hours), carefully remove from pan, and chill.   Where is the eggnog?? I could hardly taste it!   Baked Eggnog Cheesecake--Prototype 2: Repeat Prototype 1, but make these changes for the batter: Boost eggnog by 3/4 cup, to 1 1/2 cups. Boost flour by 1/6 cup, to 1/2 cup (to help compensate for the increase in liquid).   I still had difficulty detecting the eggnog flavor, although at least one person mentioned that she could barely taste it.   Baked Eggnog Cheesecake--Prototype 3: Repeat Prototype 2, but make these changes for the batter: Boost eggnog by 1/2 cup, to 2 cups. Add 1 tablespoon of rum extract (yes, that is a generous amount). Add 1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg. Also, let's make the crust a little tastier. Combine 1 tablespoon of brown sugar with the crust's earlier ingredients (i.e., before blending in the Bran Buds).   We're finally getting somewhere--adequate presence of some kind of mellow eggnog flavor! But perhaps a little more spice is needed.   Baked Eggnog Cheesecake--Prototype 4: Repeat Prototype 3, but make these changes for the batter: Boost nutmeg by 3/8 teaspoon, to 1/2 teaspoon (thus adding more spice). Boost flour by 1 tablespoon, to 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon (for the sake of firmness, to compensate for the liquid increases in Prototype 3).   Good presence of eggnog, but, come to think of it, I have somehow more readily noticed some kind of harsh tinge from the rum extract. Could I get away with cutting it down by a third and still getting an adequate eggnog presence?   Baked Eggnog Cheesecake--Prototype 5: Okay, repeat Prototype 4, but decrease the batter's rum extract from 1 tablespoon to only 2/3 (i.e., from 3 teaspoons to only 2).   The flavor was just about right--no harshness. I had contemplated using even less rum extract (than I actually did) in this prototype, but I'm glad I ended up not doing so (because I thought the flavor was diminished enough). The result is a relatively mild (not so spicy) eggnog cheesecake.   Baked Eggnog Cheesecake--Prototype 6: Spice it up a little more! Repeat Prototype 5, and boost the batter's nutmeg by 1/2 teaspoon to 1 full teaspoon.   The flavor was more encouraging. However, I felt that the crust could use some improvement.   Baked Eggnog Cheesecake--Prototype 7: Repeat Prototype 6, but spice up the batter even more by adding 1 teaspoon of cinnamon to it. Also increase the moisture and flavor for the crust by boosting its eggnog from 2 tablespoons to 1/2 cup (with this change, the crust mixture becomes somewhat pour-able, subject to the timing of blending in the Bran Buds, so be sure to let this mixture firm up a little in the pan before adding the batter on top).   Too much pumpkin-like taste! Let's face it--eggnog tends to be a delicate flavor, and boosting the spice too much, particularly with cinnamon, can throw things off. Furthermore, the crust's taste and texture did not seem all that great either. Better to stick to Prototype 6. Perhaps a good tip is to give consideration to the eggnog being used. I myself have mainly used light eggnog made by Hood (more specifically the quart-sized, ultra-pasteurized product, as opposed to the half-gallon-sized, pasteurized counterpart, due to my preference for the product's longer shelf life). Another dairy out there is Oakhurst (from Maine, and available at least in much of New England), whose eggnog has a somewhat spicier taste (maybe it's the nutmeg, maybe it's a hint of mint, but I don't know for certain). Inasmuch as the eggnog flavor was adequately present in Prototype 6, I have somehow lost consideration that this is supposed to be a cheesecake as well. Perhaps the rum extract should be reduced further.   Baked Eggnog Cheesecake--Prototype 8: Okay--repeat Prototype 6 again, but reduce the batter's rum extract from 2 to 1 + 1/2 teaspoons (in other words, to put it simply, 1/2 tablespoon). For this prototype, skip the crust.   This time, I embarked on a new baking approach. Beforehand, I would simply pour the batter into the "springform" pan, then put this straight into the oven. Typically, the cake would rise to nearly double its height during baking, only to fall back shortly after I removed the pan from the oven for the cooldown, and the outer edge of the cheesecake would end up with some kind of inferior taste and/or texture. So with Prototype 8, I took a piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil and wrapped the bottom and sides of the pan, in order to resist water leakage. What water leakage?! What's water got to do with this?? It's because after I poured the batter into the foil-lined pan, I placed this into a larger pan, filled with boiling water. Then I put the whole thing into the oven. The result: no high-climbing cheesecake during baking--and the outer edge came out so much better. However, I felt that my eggnog cheesecake needed more firmness.   Baked Eggnog Cheesecake--Prototype 9: Repeat Prototype 8, and increase the batter's flour from 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon (that's 9 tablespoons) to 3/4 cup (that's 12 tablespoons--therefore the flour is getting about a 33% boost). No crust.   This one seemed firmer, and Lesa's friend Steve especially enjoyed this treat, which I brought to the Sports Page for New Year's Eve 2011.   Where are we at this point with the baked eggnog cheesecake prototypes?? Okay, I felt that at this point, I should provide the details of the ingredients so far--plus sequential info. This is batter-only (no crust). Grease a 9" springform pan. For best results take the bath approach--wrap this pan up to the sides with foil, in order to suppress water leaks (heavy-duty aluminum is a good choice). Mix thoroughly together: 2 tablespoons butter, softened or melted 1/2 cup sugar Then blend in: 1 teaspoon lemon juice 1/2 tablespoon rum extract Then mix in: 2 cups (such as a 16-ounce container) of lowfat cottage cheese (such as Hood, no salt added)--whip this in a blender just until the curds no longer show, before adding to the above ingredients. Next add: 2 cups of light eggnog (such as Hood or Oakhurst) Follow up gradually with a dry combination of: 3/4 cup flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon nutmeg Completely mix all of the above ingredients used so far, then finally add: 2 eggs (last ingredient here)--aim to get these at least fully mixed in (yet without overbeating, if possible). Have enough boiling hot water available at this point if using the bath approach (if the water is cold, the baking is going to get off to a start that's too cold!), and pour some into a large pan--let's call this the "tub". Also, the oven should be preheated to 300 degrees. Pour the batter into the springform pan. No bath? Then put the pan directly into the oven. But for the bath approach, place this pan into the "tub", add more hot water (perhaps to the batter's height), and put the whole thing into the oven. Bake for about 100 minutes. Afterward, take the springform pan out of the oven (and out of the "tub" if applicable) for the cooldown.   Don't throw away that piece of foil used for wrapping the springform pan if the bath approach was used! Save this foil to wrap the cheesecake later on.   Baked Eggnog Cheesecake--Prototype 10: Okay, let's give the crust another try. Its ingredient list at this point is as follows, with the latest changes noted: 4 oz. whipped lowfat cottage cheese 3 tablespoons sugar 1 tablespoon of brown sugar 1/4 teaspoon vanilla 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (up from 1/8 teaspoon, for more flavor) 1/4 teaspoon rum extract (up from 1/8 teaspoon, for more flavor) 1/4 cup light eggnog (that's 4 tablespoons, a reasonable compromise between 2 tablespoons and 1/2 cup) 2.2 oz. finely ground Bran Buds For the sake of flavor, the increase in the nutmeg and rum extract seemed like a reasonable compensation for the decrease in eggnog from its 1/2 cup usage in Prototype 7. For the batter, repeat Prototype 9, but in light of the questionable need for salt--combined with a desire to cut down what seemed to be unnecessary sodium, reduce the salt from 1/2 teaspoon to 1/4 teaspoon (seemed like a reasonable compromise, in case the recipe still needed some salt). Use the bath approach on this one, foil and all.   I discovered a soggy problem with this one. Looked like the foil, even if it was "heavy duty", still could not be relied upon to keep the water out of the cheesecake's pan, as some of it appeared to leak through and wet at least the crust. So after cooldown and removal, I put the cheesecake, upside-down (that's "crust-side-up"), back in the oven--but this time I used the broiler (as opposed to baking) for a few minutes, with the oven door ajar, in an effort to reduce the crust's sogginess. Inasmuch as I did not want the crust to be too dry, I didn't want it to be too soggy (a concern I had with Prototype 7) either.   Baked Eggnog Cheesecake--Prototype 11: Seems like maybe a little too much emphasis has been placed on the "eggnog" in "eggnog cheesecake" (and too little on "cheesecake"). This prototype is slightly mellower and sweeter. So repeat Prototype 10, but make these changes for the batter: Boost sugar by 1/6 cup, to 2/3 cup. Decrease rum extract by 1/2 teaspoon, to 1 teaspoon. Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract (include this one when blending in the lemon juice and rum extract). Remember that only 1/4 teaspoon of salt is to be used here (not 1/2 teaspoon). As for the bath approach, instead of placing the springform pan directly in the hot "tub", put it immediately above it, preferably by using a grate between the two (the "tub" itself being placed close to halfway up in the oven). In order to prevent steam from rising up into the bottom of the cheesecake's pan, it is still advisable to wrap a piece of foil around its bottom. Well, I somehow got the impression that the cheesecake did rise during the "above-the-tub" baking, but not as high as in the "tub-less" prototypes (and whatever resulting rise occurred, at least the top surface appeared to settle evenly--as opposed to having higher edges). I felt that the outer edge's taste and texture hopefully still turned out okay. The crust also seemed to be just right. This prototype had a taste that was somewhat strong on the nutmeg.   Baked Eggnog Cheesecake--Prototype 12:   I have come a long way in my various cheesecake prototypes since Baked Eggnog Cheesecake--Prototype 11! What I have done with the first two baked eggnog-pumpkin combos, as well as Baked Plain Cheesecake--Prototype 4, have led me to update the eggnog-only cheesecake. There were quite a few changes from the 11th eggnog prototype to the 12th for the batter. The lemon juice went from 1 teaspoon to 3. The rum extract went from 1 teaspoon back to 1 1/2. The cottage cheese was increased from 2 cups to 2 1/2, and the flour--previously all-purpose but now whole white wheat--got upped from 3/4 cup to a full one (in my ongoing quest for firmness). And the nutmeg's teaspoon was cut in half. Furthermore, whereas I baked Prototype 11 above the tub, I went back to baking in the tub with Prototype 12. A major change was made in regard to the crust. Many times, I have sought to attain one that would have a decent texture--not too soggy and not too dry--and be truly tasty. I have not always been satisfied with the outcome when trying to match the crust's flavor to its batter counterpart. Eventually, I felt that I had attained my goal for the chocolate flavor. But with other flavors, particularly with eggnog, this has been difficult. From what I best recall, I was fairly happy with the taste, but not the still-too-soggy texture, of the crust in Baked Plain Cheesecake--Prototype 4. However, due to its hopeful taste, as well as simplification issues, I made a decision to cease pursuit of matching crust flavors (to their batter counterparts) at this point (at least for most non-chocolate flavors, including eggnog) and go instead with a regular crust, similar to that of the plain cheesecake, but with further refinements (particularly reducing the cottage cheese back to 4 ounces) in an effort to get the texture more to my liking.   Crust: 1.5 oz. melted, white chocolate 1/2 cup (4 oz.) lowfat cottage cheese, whipped, no salt added 1 teaspoon lemon juice 2 tablespoons sugar 3 tablespoons brown sugar 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 2.2 oz. Bran Buds, ground up Batter: 2 tablespoons butter, softened or melted 2/3 cup sugar 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1/2 tablespoon rum extract 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 1/2 cups (20 oz.) whipped lowfat cottage cheese, no salt added 2 cups of light eggnog 1 cup flour 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 2 eggs Bake in (not above!) a tub at 300 degrees for about 2 hours, then remove from oven, and let this cheesecake cool off for about 2 hours before removing from pan. I used Oakhurst ("The Natural Goodness of Maine") eggnog for this one (which was baked early in the same week commemorating the 10th anniversary of Amtrak's Downeaster, an increasingly-popular train, serving Oakhurst's home state). This cheesecake was a terrific hit at the Sports Page, and I myself was quite pleased with the taste, both the batter and the crust (which itself was not too soggy).   Baked Eggnog Cheesecake--Prototype 13:   Inasmuch as the crust was great, I thought that I would eliminate the cottage cheese from it and replace it with additional eggnog. I also felt that Prototype 12 was a little too well done. But wait a minute! Didn't I decide to go with regular crusts back in Prototype 12? Yes, but I later on thought that I would give the eggnog flavor another try, with a simple dairy-for-dairy swap (which, among other things, would eliminate the cottage cheese from the crust--going against my long tradition of always including cottage cheese as a minimal ingredient for this bottom part of the cheesecake).   Repeat Prototype 12, but replace the crust's 1/2 cup of lowfat cottage cheese with 1/2 cup of light eggnog. Also, bake this cheesecake for about 110 minutes (instead of 120). Continue doing it "in-the-tub" style ("in" is here to stay at this point--just be careful with that foil, disturbing it as little as possible: gently wrap it onto the pan immediately before placing the cheesecake into the bath for baking, not earlier--first grease the pan, then "crust" it, then pre-bake it [if applicable--but use no tub during this phase], then cool it, then "batter" it, then "foil" it, then "tub-and-bake" it). Got it?   This time I used Hood eggnog (which I have been using likely the overwhelming majority of times). However, the crust seemed to be considerably more soggy. I brought this cheesecake to a Christmas Day get-together, but there was too much dessert competition. The host's chocolate trifle was a big hit. Even though I ate plenty of my own cheesecake, it wasn't touched much by others. A few days later, I brought what was left of this one (about half the cheesecake at this point) to the Sports Page, where it seemed to fare considerably better.   Baked Eggnog Cheesecake--Prototype 14:   How about pre-baking the crust in order to reduce its sogginess? Furthermore, because I increased the batter's cottage cheese back in Prototype 12, I was moved at that point to boost its rum extract as well. However, it wasn't long before I suspected that this extract was a little too much. Therefore, I decided to cut it back to its earlier amount (while keeping the cottage cheese at 2 1/2 cups). As with Prototype 13 (and most of my other baked eggnog cheesecake prototypes up to this point), I used Hood eggnog.   Repeat Prototype 13, but reduce the batter's rum extract by 1/2 teaspoon, back to only 1 teaspoon. Also, after the crust has been placed into the pan, pre-bake it (no tub during this phase) for about 20 minutes at 300 degrees, then cool it off until it can be comfortably touched. Add the batter afterward and bake (in a tub at this point) for about 110 minutes.   The pre-baking paid off! The crust's texture, I felt, was decent (nice taste, too). However, I felt that the batter was a little overdone (maybe I had been getting more sensitive to overbaking lately). Indeed, there were about a couple of noticeable cracks, and the outer batter (i.e., at the circumference) seemed a little too dry at the surface. Furthermore, the taste might have been a tiny bit too acidic or tart. My eggnog plans for the future, when I get to it: only 2 teaspoons of lemon juice for the batter, which itself should have its oven time cut to only 100 minutes. But all the refining that I have done up to this point has paid off in an eggnog cheesecake that did very well at Living Hope Church.

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Additional Eggnog Notes HP Hood has been putting out some seasonal eggnog flavors, all of which I enjoyed, one way or another. Here are further details on how my taste buds reacted: Vanilla: Reminded me of melted vanilla ice cream, but I furthermore could not detect a distinct eggnog taste. Pumpkin: Nice pumpkin taste, reminding me of the pancakes I had made in the recent past by combining Trader Joe's Pumpkin Pancake and Waffle Mix with Hood Light EggNog. Sugar Cookie: Mild, sweet eggnog taste. Cinnamon: Very similar to regular-flavored eggnog. Gingerbread: Nice gingerbread taste, although I likely could not easily detect a distinct eggnog taste. Hood's Golden EggNog is its regular version. I personally prefer the Light EggNog, which has too little, if any, taste difference (at least that's my own reaction), compared to the full-fat version. I enjoy eggnog enough to wish for its year-round availability (it's the light version I really want), but I have had to settle mainly for the Christmas season. In 2009, I spotted it in a Market Basket store shortly after mid-October, picked up a quart of the Light EggNog, and quickly made up an eggnog pie--now that's a treat with a trick (due to this eggnog treat already being enjoyed before Halloween)! I also like Hood's ultra-pasteurization of its eggnog line because of my wishes to take advantage of the longer shelf life. Unfortunately, I have seen this only for Hood's quart-sized packages (its more economical half-gallons are only "regular"-pasteurized, according to my 2009 observations).

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Baked Peanut Butter Cheesecake--Prototype 1:   Time for another new baked cheesecake flavor! The prototype number starts at "1" here (just like with eggnog). I have decided to shun the crust for now, focusing on just the batter.   Batter: 2 tablespoons melted or softened butter 6 oz. unsalted peanut butter 1/2 cup skim milk (it is a good idea to warm this up first, at least if it is being directly added to the butter or a mixture dominated by it) 15 tbsp. (i.e., 1 cup minus 1 tbsp.) sugar (note--of this one, 1/2 cup of it is specific to the cheesecake base recipe, and the other 7 tablespoons are specific to the peanut butter flavor) 1/4 cup flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 cups lowfat cottage cheese, no salt added 2 eggs Blend all these ingredients together thoroughly, particularly the butter and eggs, then pour this batter into a lightly buttered 9" cheesecake pan. Promptly place in oven--preheated at 300 degrees--and bake for 90 minutes (or until cake tester comes out clean). Remove from oven, cool down to about room temperature, carefully remove from pan, and refrigerate.   Nice taste, great for a first prototype! This one got firm in the oven rather quickly.   Baked Peanut Butter Cheesecake--Prototype 2:   Here is a somewhat sweeter and easier recipe.   Repeat Prototype 1, but increase the sugar by one tablespoon, to an easier-to-manage full cup. Bake for only 80 minutes, or until cake tester comes clean.   Still delicious!   Baked Peanut Butter Cheesecake--Prototype 3:   I felt that the peanut butter flavor in the previous prototype was on the strong side, at least when layering it with a baked chocolate cheesecake (perhaps Prototype 10.2 of that one?), so I considered reducing the flavor here (thus affecting the sugar as well as the peanut butter). Yet I still anticipated a decent peanut butter presence. Also, a crust has been added for this prototype. Furthermore, as I have been doing with a number of other cheesecakes lately, I cut the batter's salt in half.   Crust: 2 oz. melted, white chocolate 2 oz. unsalted peanut butter 4 oz. whipped lowfat cottage cheese, no salt added 1/4 cup skim milk 1/3 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon vanilla (last ingredient just before the Bran Buds) 2.2 oz. Bran Buds, ground up Batter: 2 tablespoons melted or softened butter 4.5 oz. unsalted peanut butter 1/2 cup skim milk 5/6 cup (i.e., 1/2 + 1/3 cup) sugar 1/4 cup flour 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 cups whipped lowfat cottage cheese, no salt added 2 eggs Bake at 300 degrees for about 95 minutes (with tub immersion), or until cake tester comes clean.   Cooking this cheesecake in a "tub" of water produced nice results (see Baked Orange Cheesecake--Prototype 4 for more details on this successful "in-the-tub" approach). I felt that the crust's taste turned out well. However, when I brought this cheesecake to the Sports Page, Steve quickly commented that the peanut butter was too strong. But Lesa (a big peanut butter fan) loved it a lot. I myself felt that this flavor was still somewhat too dominant for the batter, in light of the fact that this was supposed to be a cheesecake as well as a peanut-butter-flavored treat.   Baked Peanut Butter Cheesecake--Prototype 4:   Peanut butter has got to be one of the strongest flavors that I have used in my cheesecake prototypes. With Prototype 4, this ingredient (as used in the batter) was down to half of what I started with back in Prototype 1!   Repeat Prototype 3, but reduce the batter's peanut butter by 1.5 ounces, to 3 ounces, and also reduce the batter's sugar by 1/12 cup (i.e., 4 teaspoons) to 3/4 cup (i.e., 1/2 + 1/4 cup). Bake for about 100 minutes (with tub immersion), or until cake tester comes clean.   I was concerned about slashing the peanut butter for this prototype. No problem! The flavor was still plentiful (in fact, at least one person at my church, Living Hope, somehow commented about the peanut butter still being on the strong side). In fact, I still could hardly pick up the "cheese-i-ness" flavor in the cheesecake batter. But I still decided for now that the peanut butter flavor was reduced enough. Perhaps this particular flavor was rather a bit too tricky (maybe I needed to not focus so much on the "cheese" flavor, but rather on the texture of the batter). But this peanut butter cheesecake was absolutely delicious, including the crust. Perhaps when combined with my chocolate cheesecake, the reduced peanut butter flavor involved here would not overwhelm the chocolate.   Internal Tweaking Notes Peanut Butter: (A) 4 oz. :: (B) 3.5 oz. :: (C) 3oz.? Sugar: 1/2 cup plus (A) 5.333 tbsp. to 4.667 tbsp. :: (B) 4.667 tbsp. to 4.08333 (that's 4 + 1/12) tbsp. :: (C) 4 tbsp. to 3.5 tbsp.?

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Baked Maple Cheesecake--Prototype 1:   Vermont was on my mind for this one. Shopping for maple sugar, unlike maple syrup, wasn't exactly an easy task, but I wanted a high enough concentration of maple flavor for this recipe, without using too much liquid (hence my preference for maple sugar over maple syrup). I was able to pick up some of this sugar at what seemed like a specialty store in the Green Mountain State.   Crust: 4 oz. whipped lowfat cottage cheese (such as Hood, no salt added) 1/4 cup maple sugar 1/4 cup skim milk Thoroughly blend these above 3 ingredients together. Afterward, quickly and vigorously mix in: 2.2 oz. finely ground Bran Buds Grease a springform pan, 9". For best results take the bath approach--wrap this pan up to the sides with foil, in order to suppress water leaks (heavy-duty aluminum is a good choice). Mix thoroughly together: 2 tablespoons butter, softened or melted 1/2 cup maple sugar Then blend in: 1 teaspoon lemon juice Then mix in: 2 cups (such as a 16-ounce container) of lowfat cottage cheese (such as Hood, no salt added)--whip this in a blender just until the curds no longer show, before adding to the above ingredients. Next add: 1/2 cup skim milk Follow up gradually with a dry combination of: 1/4 cup flour 1/4 teaspoon salt Completely mix all of the above ingredients used so far, then finally add: 2 eggs (last ingredient here)--aim to get these at least fully mixed in (yet without overbeating, if possible). Make sure that the oven is preheated to 300 degrees. If using the bath approach, have enough boiling hot water available, and fill a large "tub" with it and place this in the oven, close to halfway up. Pour the batter into the springform pan. Next, put this pan into the oven. If using the bath approach, place the springform pan immediately above the "tub" (not into it!). Bake for about 90 minutes. Afterward, take the springform pan out of the oven, and let the cheesecake cool off. After it has cooled down to about room temperature, carefully remove it from the pan, and refrigerate.   Nice presence of maple flavor for a first prototype, at least for the batter, although I felt that the crust could use more sweetness and flavor.   Baked Maple Cheesecake--Prototype 2: Repeat Prototype 1, but boost the crust's maple sugar by 1/4 cup, to 1/2 cup.   The crust had a decent, maple taste this time.

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Baked Lemon Cheesecake--Prototype 3:   Prototype 3?? Whatever happened to 1 and 2? Back in the late 1980's, I experimented with a number of cottage-cheese based cheesecakes, ultimately with a quest for a decent, chocolate one, among others (see Baked Chocolate Cheesecake--Prototypes 10.1 and 11, for more info). I came up with a couple of somewhat unintended lemon-flavored ones along the way as I was aiming for a plain flavor. In fact, these lemon cheesecakes were my very first two cottage cheesecake prototypes, officially referred to as simply "Prototype 1" and "Prototype 2" (as opposed to "Baked Lemon Cheesecake--Prototype 1" or "Baked Lemon Cheesecake--Prototype 2"), at that time. No crust was involved back then. With my introducing the crust in this more recent 21st century recipe, perhaps I could have called this one "Baked Lemon Cheesecake--Prototype 2.1". However, due to my diminished interest in using this decimal-style notation (like I did for my first few 21st century baked chocolate cheesecakes)--combined with minor changes in the lemon batter from the late 1980's "Prototype 2" (e.g., salt reduction)--I decided to go with the number "3" here.   Crust: 1.5 oz. melted, white chocolate 1 tablespoon water 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1/2 tablespoon grated lemon peel 1/4 cup sugar 4 oz. lowfat cottage cheese, whipped (such as Hood, no salt added) Fully blend the above ingredients before adding: 2.2 oz. finely ground Bran Buds Blend the Bran Buds into the above mixture as fast and "furiously" as possible and then pour quickly into a greased, 9" springform pan. Mix thoroughly together: 2 tablespoons butter, softened or melted 1/2 cup sugar Then blend in: 1 tablespoon lemon juice Then mix in: 2 cups (such as a 16-ounce container) of lowfat cottage cheese (such as Hood, no salt added)--whip this in a blender just until the curds no longer show, before adding to the above ingredients. Next add: 1/2 cup skim milk Follow up gradually with a dry combination of: 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel 1/4 cup flour 1/4 teaspoon salt Completely mix all of the above ingredients used so far, then finally add: 2 eggs (last ingredient here)--aim to get these at least fully mixed in (yet without overbeating, if possible). Make sure that the oven is preheated to 300 degrees. If using the bath approach, have enough boiling hot water available, and fill a large "tub" with it and place this in the oven, close to halfway up. Pour the batter into the springform pan. Next, put this pan into the oven. If using the bath approach, place the springform pan immediately above the "tub". Bake for about 90 minutes. Afterward, take the springform pan out of the oven, and let the cheesecake cool off. After it has cooled down to about room temperature, carefully remove it from the pan, and refrigerate.   Nice lemon flavor, even in the crust. When I brought this cheesecake to the Sports Page, inasmuch as this recipe was lemon-flavored, its popularity rating was "un-lemon"--in other words, it was a huge success (Steve was wild about it, and even Lesa liked it a lot)!

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Baked Orange Cheesecake--Prototype 3:   Another 21st century cheesecake with a "Prototype 3" start?? Yes, for the same reasons as its lemon counterpart (see Baked Lemon Cheesecake--Prototype 3, for more details). Just like the lemon cheesecakes I made back in the late 1980's, I made two orange ones as well. No crust was involved. However, I did make these two cheesecakes with orange flavor intentions. The salt usage for the batter of both of them was higher compared to that of this more recent 21st century recipe below.   Crust: 1.5 oz. melted, white chocolate 3 tablespoons orange juice 1/2 tablespoon grated orange peel 3 tablespoons sugar 4 oz. lowfat cottage cheese, whipped (such as Hood, no salt added) Fully blend the above ingredients before adding: 2.2 oz. finely ground Bran Buds Blend the Bran Buds into the above mixture as quickly as possible and then pour quickly into a greased springform pan, 9". Mix thoroughly together: 2 tablespoons butter, softened or melted 1/2 cup sugar Then blend in: 1/4 cup orange juice Then mix in: 2 cups (such as a 16-ounce container) of lowfat cottage cheese (such as Hood, no salt added)--whip this in a blender just until the curds no longer show, before adding to the above ingredients. Next add: 1/2 cup skim milk Follow up gradually with a dry combination of: 1 teaspoon grated orange peel 1/4 cup flour 1/4 teaspoon salt Completely mix all of the above ingredients used so far, then finally add: 2 eggs (last ingredient here)--aim to get these at least fully mixed in (yet without overbeating, if possible). Make sure that the oven is preheated to 300 degrees. If using the bath approach, have enough boiling hot water available, and fill a large "tub" with it and place this in the oven, close to halfway up. Pour the batter into the springform pan. Next, put this pan into the oven. If using the bath approach, place the springform pan immediately above the "tub". Bake for about 90 minutes. Afterward, take the springform pan out of the oven, and let the cheesecake cool off. After it has cooled down to about room temperature, carefully remove it from the pan, and refrigerate.   The Living Hope Church in Beverly was my "taste lab" for this one on an Easter Sunday. I asked a number of people who tasted this prototype about how much orange flavor they could detect. A typical response was that this flavor was somehow adequate. However, I personally sensed that the orange was still a bit weak. I could barely taste it in the batter, although it was slightly more present in the crust. I also felt that the crust should be a little sweeter.   Baked Orange Cheesecake--Prototype 4: Repeat Prototype 3, but... Make these changes for the crust: Boost white chocolate by 1/2 oz., to 2 oz. Boost orange juice by 1 tablespoon, to 1/4 cup. Boost sugar by 1 tablespoon, to 1/4 cup. And make this change for the batter: Boost grated orange peel by 1 teaspoon, to 2 teaspoons.   This time, I was considerably more satisfied with the orange flavor, in both the batter and the crust. This cheesecake was a terrific hit at the Sports Page when I brought it there, just like the third prototype of its lemon counterpart. With this fourth orange prototype, I felt that I would go back to giving the "in-the-tub" (as opposed to "above-the-tub") approach another try. Inasmuch as baking the cheesecake above the water produced results that were okay, I still felt that this method wasn't quite the same as placing the pan directly into the water. But this time I took two defensive measures against water leakage. One was to use two pieces of heavy duty foil, instead of one. The other was to "disturb" the foil as little as possible. That meant taking the two pieces of foil, placing one on top of the other, keeping them flat, and not wrapping the pan until it was ready to go into the oven. So I carefully put the foil on immediately after pouring the batter, gently pressing the foil up the sides of the pan, then I put the wrapped pan into the "tub", which was promptly placed into the oven. The outcome was an awesome cheesecake with no water leaks. I think one of my past mistakes was "disturbing" the foil too much, likely in wrapping the pan even before I greased it. Pressing the crust into it would add to the potential disturbance. From what I best recall in my Internet research, somebody reported triple-wrapping a cheesecake pan and still had leakage problems. My guess: too much disturbance of the foil before baking. The moral of the story--"Do not disturb!" Adhere to this rule as much as possible with the foil, until the baking is done and the pan is taken out of the water. Grease the pan, press in the crust and pour the batter first. Afterward, wrap the pan carefully, then place it into the "tub" and bake.

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Baked Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake--Prototype 1:   I felt that at some point, I would make a combination cheesecake involving two popular flavors--chocolate and peanut butter. Due to my not recording this prototype here until long after I had made it, I cannot fully remember all the details. However, my best guess is that I built this cheesecake based on the batters of Prototype 10.2 of my chocolate cheesecakes and Prototype 1 or 2 (more likely 2) of my peanut butter cheesecakes, combined with the crust of Prototype 10.2 of my chocolate cheesecakes. Furthermore, this crust was not baked. It was prepared and then topped by the baked peanut butter batter layer, followed in turn by the baked chocolate batter layer.   (No tub used at all in baking the batter layers.) Many people, including myself, felt that the peanut butter flavor overwhelmed the chocolate. However, this cheesecake was still delicious.   Baked Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake--Prototype 2:   It had been more than half of a year since I made Prototype 1. Since then, I had done many refinements to the "chocolate only" and "peanut butter only" cheesecakes. It was now time to try another "Resse's" prototype. I built this one based on my latest recipes at this point, Prototype 12 of my chocolate cheesecakes and Prototype 4 of my peanut butter cheesecakes. However, I felt moved to include more cheese-like flavor. So not only did I increase the cottage cheese for the two batters (by 4 ounces for each batter), but I added some lemon juice as well (1 teaspoon for each batter) for some tartness. In light of this "liquid" increase, I also boosted the flour (from 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup for each batter). I did not increase the sugar, because I felt that the batters of the aforementioned cheesecakes were easily sweet enough. Another thing worth noting is that--thanks to my chocolate crust refinements--the crust, this time, was baked as well. Three 16-ounce containers of cottage cheese were used in this entire recipe!   Use a tub when baking. Chocolate Batter: 1/2 cup skim milk 2 tablespoons melted or softened butter 3 tablespoons cocoa powder 7/8 cup sugar 1 teaspoon lemon juice 1/3 cup flour 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 1/2 cups (20 oz.) lowfat cottage cheese, whipped (no-salt-added recommended) 1 teaspoon vanilla 2 eggs Place this batter into a lightly buttered 9" cheesecake pan, and bake at 300 degrees (batter only, no crust), for about 100 minutes (or until cake tester comes out clean). Cool down, and remove from pan. Chocolate Crust (bake this one together with the peanut butter batter, below): 4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, melted 1 1/3 tablespoons cocoa powder 1 cup (8 oz.) lowfat cottage cheese, whipped (no-salt-added recommended) 3/8 cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla (next to last ingredient here) 2.2 oz. finely ground Bran Buds Promptly pour/press this crust mixture into the bottom of a lightly buttered 9" cheesecake pan. Peanut Butter Batter: 2 tablespoons melted or softened butter 3 oz. unsalted peanut butter 1 teaspoon lemon juice 1/2 cup skim milk 3/4 cup sugar 1/3 cup flour 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 1/2 cups (20 oz.) lowfat cottage cheese, whipped (no-salt-added recommended) 2 eggs Add this batter on top of the chocolate crust in the pan, and bake at 300 degrees (batter only, no crust), for about 100 minutes (or until cake tester comes out clean). After removing the pan from the oven, very carefully transfer the cooled chocolate batter layer into the pan, on top of the peanut butter layer. Then cool down, and afterwards remove entire cheesecake from pan.   It's a frustratingly hard art to place a (cooled-off) whole batter layer on top of another one that is sitting in a hot pan! Somehow, I made out alright in my previous chocolate-peanut-butter prototype. But not this time! The chocolate batter layer broke on me during the insertion, and I had to make the best of re-assembling it inside the still-hot pan. So I got cheesecake cracked in about 5 places as a result (at least this hopefully would not affect the overall flavor, just the appearance). So why not just bake both batters in the same pan at the same time? Because I had unfavorable experiences with this kind of arrangement back in the 1980's--from a couple of flavored batters combining to my dissatisfaction--to difficulties in getting the cheesecake to cook thoroughly. I somehow felt that the peanut butter flavor was now too weak in comparison with the chocolate. I also felt that the chocolate flavor was somewhat "sickly sweet" (or too sweet). There was hopefully some tartness, at least in the peanut butter batter, but I wanted more--in both batters. Despite my personal assessments, this cheesecake went over very well at Living Hope Church, and I got quite a few favorable comments.   Baked Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake--Prototype 3 (introduction):   Okay, it was time to look around on the Internet for some helpful advice in preparing multi-layered cheesecakes! I also took a good look at what I did back in the 1980's. This has led to my giving another try at baking both batter flavors together. I also felt that my taste buds had gotten rather "moody" over (in the sense of being too sensitive to) the chocolate sweetness in the previous prototype. But I also felt that more tartness was needed (which I felt would eliminate a need for sugar reduction). So I decided to increase the lemon juice in both batters. I slightly increased the flour with the hope that this now thickly-baked cheesecake would still come out firm enough. Finally, I raised the peanut butter back up a little bit. Up to this point (from what I best recall), I had always been baking my cheesecake prototypes at 300 degrees. This latest prototype would get off to a 325-degree start, then revert to 300.   Repeat Prototype 2, but... Make these changes for each of the two batters: Boost lemon juice by 2 teaspoons, to 1 tablespoon. Boost flour by 2 teaspoons, to 3/8 cup. And make this change for the peanut butter batter only: Boost peanut butter by 1 oz., to 4 oz. And carefully follow these steps below, many of which are new: Pour/press the crust mixture into the bottom of a lightly buttered 9" cheesecake pan. Next, add the chocolate (not peanut butter!) batter on top of this crust. Then carefully wrap foil around this pan. Next, place this pan into a tub of boiling hot water, and put this into an oven, preheated to 325 degrees (not 300 at this point). Bake this only for about 30 minutes. Now comes the tricky part! WARNING: Use plenty of caution at this point, due to the pan being very hot! Carefully place the peanut butter batter on top of the chocolate one. How?? Instead of dumping the whole thing all at once on the chocolate, try this delicate approach. Start off by scooping small amounts of the peanut butter batter out of its bowl (or whatever container is being used). A small measuring cup (1/2-cup size is good) or ladle is useful here. Pour these small amounts around the edge of the pan, not the middle (but rather allow the batter to flow there on its own, if possible). This should reduce the likelihood of the peanut butter batter breaching the chocolate one. When the bowl of the peanut butter batter is almost empty, it is probably safe to more directly dump the rest of this right onto what just got poured, which itself should be deep enough by then. Still, it is a good idea to do this gently enough to avoid the chocolate breach. Next, reduce the temperature to 300 degrees, and return the pan to the oven. Resume baking for about 80 minutes (or until cake tester comes out clean). The usage of the oven isn't done yet! Now, turn off the oven, but keep the cheesecake in it (along with its tub), with the oven's door slightly ajar. Allow one hour for this gradual cooldown. Afterwards, take the cheesecake out of the oven and out of the tub, but keep the cheesecake in its 9" pan. Next, cool the cheesecake off, at room temperature, for another two hours. Finally, remove it from its pan and refrigerate.   So what was this thick cheesecake like when I finally removed it from the pan? The peanut butter layer was easily firm, but the chocolate one was somewhat "jiggly". The cake tester at this point showed mixed results--some of them clean, others just slightly wet. But after more than 24 hours of refrigeration, I did not detect any jiggle in the chocolate layer. Then I cut the first slice, and the whole cheesecake was firm enough. Not only did I get a bunch of favorable comments at Living Hope Church on this one (including "not too tart, not too sweet"), but the cheesecake's side appearance in particular was awesome (the whole thing seemed to look, at least to me, "professionally done"--look out, Cheesecake Factory)! This prototype was so successful that I repeated it a second time, but I made a minor adjustment: Give the chocolate an additional 10 minutes for its baking head start. In other words, in the earlier phase of baking the chocolate batter and crust at 325 degrees, do so for 40 minutes, instead of just 30. I figured that this would give some more firmness to the chocolate batter. With the peanut-butter-related phase--at 300 degrees--unchanged, the total baking time would now amount to two solid hours. Combined with the one-hour cooling inside the oven and the two hours of cooldown outside of it, all this would amount to 5 hours altogether for the "pan heat" phases! Of course, scooping the peanut butter batter onto the chocolate one was going to add some time as well. But this time, the chocolate batter did not seem to jiggle as much as before. Although there was still some jiggle, the refrigeration that followed would sufficiently reduce it. Due to the aforementioned 10-minute adjustment being the only change, and this being but an extremely simple correction, I retained the prototype number, 3 (there were certainly no changes to the ingredients). I brought this masterpiece to my annual family reunion party in July of 2011. One of my relatives, Jodi, used the word "professional" (or some form of this word) in assessing my cheesecake. I'd have to agree on that one. This same word had been on my mind beforehand (probably because of the "tub"). This prototype was well-received at this event. Of all the culinary efforts that I have undertaken up to this point in my life, I consider this recipe to be one of my best ones yet (if not the best). It's also one of my most time-consuming ones. In light of all this, I felt that I would present this latest chocolate peanut butter cheesecake's recipe in full, below.   Baked Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake--Prototype 3 (full recipe presentation): For the cottage cheese, no-salt-added is recommended. Chocolate Crust: 4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, melted 1 1/3 tablespoons cocoa powder 1 cup (8 oz.) lowfat cottage cheese, whipped 3/8 cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla (next to last ingredient here) 2.2 oz. finely ground Bran Buds Promptly pour/press this crust mixture into the bottom of a lightly buttered 9" cheesecake pan. Chocolate Batter: 1/2 cup skim milk 2 tablespoons melted or softened butter 3 tablespoons cocoa powder 7/8 cup sugar 1 tablespoon lemon juice 3/8 cup flour 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 1/2 cups (20 oz.) lowfat cottage cheese, whipped 1 teaspoon vanilla 2 eggs Pour this chocolate batter on top of the crust. Carefully wrap foil around the pan afterwards. Remember to not put the foil on any earlier than this! The goal is to disturb it as little as possible, as a preventative measure against water leakage. Then place the wrapped pan into a tub of boiling hot water, and bake all this at 325 degrees (make sure oven is preheated) for about 40 minutes only. Peanut Butter Batter: 2 tablespoons melted or softened butter 4 oz. unsalted peanut butter 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1/2 cup skim milk 3/4 cup sugar 3/8 cup flour 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 1/2 cups (20 oz.) lowfat cottage cheese, whipped 2 eggs After the initial baking is done with the chocolate crust and batter, carefully place the peanut butter batter on top by scooping small amounts of it around the edge of the pan (try to let this batter flow towards the middle on its own), in order to minimize the likelihood of breaching the chocolate batter below. Lower the oven temperature to 300 degrees, and resume baking for about 80 minutes. Afterwards, turn the oven off, but keep the cheesecake in it (along with its tub), with the door slightly ajar. Allow one hour for this gradual cooldown. Next, take the cheesecake out of the oven and out of the tub, but keep the cheesecake in its 9" pan. Cool the cheesecake off, at room temperature, for another two hours. Finally, remove it from its pan and refrigerate.

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Baked Banana Cheesecake--Prototype 1:   A major challenge to this one was in the flavoring. I wanted real banana flavor, not artificial. While banana puree seemed like a great idea for the crust, I was concerned that if I used enough of this puree to get a sufficient flavor in the batter that this batter would end up being too wet. I needed a higher banana concentration with less water. I found a package of freeze-dried banana slices at Trader Joe's (nothing but bananas for the ingredients--what more could I ask for?) and used a blender to ground the contents to "banana powder" (which I then felt needed to be put to use immediately--refrigerating whatever was left over).   Crust: 2 oz. banana puree 1.5 oz. melted, white chocolate 4 oz. lowfat cottage cheese (such as Hood, no salt added), whipped 4 teaspoons skim milk 4 teaspoons sugar 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 2.2 oz. finely ground Bran Buds (blend in last, do it fast) Batter: 2 tablespoons butter, softened or melted 2 oz. ground banana powder (see intro comments above for more info) 1/2 cup sugar 1 tablespoon lemon juice 2 1/2 cups (20 oz.) of lowfat cottage cheese (such as Hood, no salt added), whipped 1/2 cup skim milk 1/2 teaspoon vanilla Follow up gradually with a dry combination of: 1/3 cup flour 1/4 teaspoon salt Completely mix all of the above ingredients used so far, then finally add: 2 eggs (last ingredient here)--aim to get these at least fully mixed in (yet without overbeating, if possible). Make sure that the oven is preheated to 300 degrees. Use a bath. Bake for about 110 minutes. Cool off afterward. Then carefully remove from pan, and refrigerate.   Somehow, this was a reasonably decent banana cheesecake. The banana flavor could be detected.   Baked Banana Cheesecake--Prototype 2:   I sought an alternative to banana powder, due at least to the high cost of the freeze-dried slices. So I pureed a few bananas and then concentrated the resulting puree over very low heat to about half the original weight, hence a "2X" concentrate. I then froze this until I was ready to use it. This concentrate was used in the crust as well as the batter.   Repeat Prototype 1, but make these changes: For the crust, replace the 2 ounces of banana puree with 1 ounce of banana concentrate (see intro comments above for more info), and boost the skim milk by 8 teaspoons, to 1/4 cup. For the batter, replace the 2 ounces of banana powder with 3 ounces of banana concentrate.   It seemed like the banana concentrate was not such a great idea. I had difficulty blending it in with the other ingredients (whether preparing the crust or the batter). Furthermore, when I mixed the Bran Buds in with the crust's other ingredients, the resulting mixture immediately became extremely thick (perhaps going back to the regular-strength puree while keeping the milk at 1/4 cup seemed like a good idea). But what about using the (relatively thin!) banana puree in the batter (maybe about 6 ounces of it)? Perhaps the flour needs to be increased (maybe to 1/2 cup) Nevertheless, the taste of this prototype was still decent, and it fared well at Living Hope Church in Beverly (although the second prototype of my baked pumpkin cheesecake did even better--much better--as I brought that one as well to the same event).

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	Baked Pumpkin Cheesecake--Prototype 1:   This one had been on my mind for a long time. I finally got around to making a baked cheesecake involving what I felt to be a popular October flavor. This first prototype was done, of course, in that very month.   Crust: 2 oz. melted, white chocolate 2 oz. pumpkin butter (such as from Trader Joe's) 4 oz. whipped lowfat cottage cheese, no salt added 1/4 cup skim milk 2 tablespoons sugar 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 2.2 oz. Bran Buds, ground up Batter: 2 tablespoons melted or softened butter 3 oz. pumpkin butter 1/2 cup skim milk 1/2 cup sugar 1/4 cup flour 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 cups whipped lowfat cottage cheese, no salt added 2 eggs Bake at 300 degrees for about 110 minutes (with tub immersion), or until cake tester comes clean.   It looks like I have somehow overestimated the strength of the pumpkin flavor. I had the tendency to think that it was about as strong as peanut butter, so the batter got only 3 ounces of pumpkin butter, just like the 4th prototype of Baked Peanut Butter Cheesecake (the latest peanut butter prototype as of the making of this first pumpkin prototype here) got this same amount of peanut butter. Back when I made a dessert combining the pumpkin flavor with eggnog (see Chilled Pumpkin Eggnog Pie--Prototype 1 for more details), the pumpkin was overwhelming, at least compared to the eggnog. It was likely this pie (at least) which led to my thinking of pumpkin as being a very strong flavor. Perhaps a better reasoning would have been to consider that the eggnog was much too weak in that dessert. Nevertheless, this pumpkin cheesecake was a "smashing" success at an early October "potluck" lunch at Living Hope Church in Beverly.   Baked Pumpkin Cheesecake--Prototype 2: Repeat Prototype 1, but boost the batter's pumpkin butter by 1 ounce, to 4 ounces.   The taste had a somewhat improved pumpkin presence, and this cheesecake went very fast at Living Hope Church.   Baked Pumpkin Cheesecake--Prototype 3:   After doing a combination cheesecake involving pumpkin and eggnog flavors (see Baked Eggnog Pumpkin Cheesecake--Prototype 1 for more details), I wanted to make a deeper pumpkin cheesecake. Two 16-ounce containers of cottage cheese altogether are used for the prototype presented here. The flour used here was white whole wheat, as opposed to all-purpose. I also did some pre-baking of the crust in an effort to reduce excessive sogginess. In my desire to better ensure firmness for the batter, I used a somewhat large amount of flour and opted to bake this cheesecake for a good two hours.   Crust: 2 oz. melted, white chocolate 2 oz. pumpkin butter (such as from Trader Joe's) 1 cup (8 oz.) whipped lowfat cottage cheese, no salt added 1/4 cup skim milk 1 teaspoon lemon juice 2 tablespoons sugar 2 tablespoons brown sugar 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 2.2 oz. Bran Buds, ground up Pour this crust mixture into a 9" pan and pre-bake this at 300 degrees (without tub) for 20 minutes. Then cool this off until the pan is comfortable enough to touch. Batter: 2 tablespoons melted or softened butter 5/8 cup sugar 6 oz. pumpkin butter 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1/2 cup skim milk 1/2 cup flour 1/4 teaspoon salt 3 cups (24 oz.) whipped lowfat cottage cheese, no salt added 2 eggs Bake at 300 degrees (with tub) for 2 hours. The batter seemed to come out hopefully firm enough, and the crust did not seem too soggy either. When I pre-baked the crust earlier, however, it seemed that 20 minutes was a little too long, as the crust rose probably about 1/4", then fell back and left its outer edge running up about that amount against the inside of the pan. The two hours of baking time for the batter resulted in it having some small cracks, but I reasoned that this was okay, signifying a sufficiently baked cheesecake. I brought this one to a couple of my cousins' homes on Thanksgiving, Joanne's and Lauren's, and some guests there complimented on this cheesecake. But I myself had difficulty tasting a sufficient presence of pumpkin flavor.
	Baked Plain Cheesecake--Prototype 4:   My first three prototypes, in my quest for a plain-flavored cheesecake, were done back in the 1980's--and did not contain any crusts. The latest prototype presented here not only improves on the third batter back then, but adds a crust (with some cinnamon flavor, which I felt would complement the batter nicely).   Crust: 1.5 oz. melted, white chocolate 8 oz. lowfat cottage cheese, whipped, no salt added 1 teaspoon lemon juice 3 tablespoons sugar 3 tablespoons brown sugar 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 2.2 oz. Bran Buds, ground up Batter: 2 tablespoons melted or softened butter 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup skim milk 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1/3 cup flour 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 1/2 cups (20 oz.) lowfat cottage cheese, whipped, no salt added 1 teaspoon vanilla 2 eggs Bake at 300 degrees for about 100 minutes, or until cake tester comes clean (use a tub). The taste was great, crust and all, for this plain one, which I brought to my cousin Rachel's house on one of my weekend getaways. One of her daughters, Mya, was especially delighted with it (likely having much more of it than anybody else in her family).
	Baked Eggnog Pumpkin Cheesecake--Prototype 1:   This one combines a couple of popular late autumn flavors. It was after doing some backtrack research, including on the third prototype of my combination Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake, that my plans came together for the eggnog-pumpkin combo provided here. The highlights included relatively large amounts of cottage cheese, flour and lemon juice (in many ways similar to the chocolate-peanut butter counterpart). Some adjustments were made to the brown sugar, rum extract and nutmeg as well. In light of my being concerned about the crust being too soggy, I tried a new approach with it--I "pre-baked" it a little, before adding any batter on top.   Eggnog Crust: 1/2 cup (8 oz.) whipped lowfat cottage cheese, no salt added 3 tablespoons sugar 2 tablespoons brown sugar 1/4 teaspoon vanilla 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon rum extract 1 teaspoon lemon juice 1/4 cup light eggnog 2.2 oz. finely ground Bran Buds Pour (or press) into the pan, getting this crust evenly distributed. Next, refrigerate for about half an hour, or until slightly firm. Afterwards, bake at 300 degrees for 10 minutes (no bath at this point--just put the pan directly on the rack), then remove from oven and cool down slightly (until the pan is no longer too hot to the touch--about 5 minutes). Pumpkin Batter: 2 tablespoons melted or softened butter 4 oz. pumpkin butter 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1/2 cup skim milk 1/2 cup sugar 3/8 cup flour 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 1/2 cups (20 oz.) whipped lowfat cottage cheese, no salt added 2 eggs Turn oven up to 325 degrees. Add the pumpkin batter on top of the crust. Then put the foil on the pan (no earlier--less foil disturbance means less leakage risk) and place into a hot bath. Bake for about 30 minutes. Tip: When handling the pan-foil assembly at this point, lift it by the pan's rim, not by the foil (let the foil cling to the pan's rim--optionally, you can also position your fingers to hold the foil in place, but do not put pressure on it to lift the entire pan--otherwise, the foil may tear). Eggnog Batter: 2 tablespoons butter, softened or melted 2/3 cup sugar 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1/2 tablespoon rum extract 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 1/2 cups (20 oz.) whipped lowfat cottage cheese, no salt added 2 cups of light eggnog 7/8 cup flour 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 2 eggs Carefully scoop this on top of the pumpkin batter, turn oven down to 300 degrees and resume baking for about 100 minutes. When I added the eggnog batter on top of the pumpkin, I was already suspecting a problem. As I scooped the eggnog batter, it seemed to be sinking into the partially-baked pumpkin batter, leading me to reason that a 30-minute head start was too short. Because of this "sinkage" concern, I suspected the eggnog batter to be too dense compared to its pumpkin counterpart (I took a chance, after careful consideration beforehand, on the densities being the other way around). Nevertheless, the batters came out separated (hopefully) the way I intended, at least visually, when the slices were cut. To my surprise, however, I felt that the pumpkin flavor was too weak overall for this combination cheesecake--but the eggnog presence was fine (its strength easily blew away the pumpkin's). Furthermore, despite a total batter cooking time of a record 130 minutes (30 minutes head start for the pumpkin batter, another 100 minutes after adding the eggnog batter), the whole thing turned out what I felt to be too soft (hopefully not runny, but still too limp). Ideas quickly came into my mind for the next prototype. Should I make the crust pumpkin-flavored instead of eggnog? Should I increase the baking time? How about more of a head start for the pumpkin batter? Should I use more flour in both batters? To add more flour would be somewhat tricky, because the overall height of this combo cheesecake was already within about 1/4" of the top of the pan (and this ended up as one heavy cheesecake). Thanks mainly to the two cups of eggnog for the batter, the height of its resulting layer was considerably higher than that of the pumpkin batter's. Still, this combination was another big hit during a November "potluck" at Living Hope Church. Starting with this prototype, I began switching over my flour, from all-purpose to whole white wheat (which has been said to be about as good nutritionally--or at least have about as much fiber--as the more traditional whole red wheat, yet have a taste about as mild as the oh-so familiar all-purpose). All-purpose was actually in the majority for the recipe here, as I simply finished this flour off and then used the whole white wheat to "close the gap". For those who are curious about more details, I went from Pillsbury all-purpose (in my earlier cheesecakes) to King Arthur organic (!) all-purpose (for a small handful of cheesecakes) to King Arthur organic whole white wheat.   Baked Eggnog Pumpkin Cheesecake--Prototype 2:   Yes, switch the crust from eggnog to pumpkin. In fact, increase the pumpkin's batter and reduce the eggnog's, because the eggnog itself has made the height of its respective batter very high in the previous prototype (close to double that of the pumpkin batter). So let's get these layers more balanced. Yes, also increase the baking time for the whole cheesecake, as well as the head start for the pumpkin batter. However, the overall height of this recipe has gotten too close to the top of the pan. So instead of adding more flour, let's see if the increased cooking time can firm up the batter a little (due to batter re-allocation, let's shift some of the flour as well). Add more pumpkin flavor. Exclude the milk from the crust (I probably should have already done this in the first prototype, due to the high amount of cottage cheese there, but I do not think that the idea grasped my mind at that point). Much of the pumpkin-related plans for this prototype is derived from Baked Pumpkin Cheesecake--Prototype 3, while the eggnog batter gets a few small tweaks. Overall, there are quite a few changes. Just follow the directions below.   Pumpkin Crust: 2 oz. melted, white chocolate 2 oz. pumpkin butter (such as from Trader Joe's) 1 cup (8 oz.) whipped lowfat cottage cheese, no salt added 1 teaspoon lemon juice 2 tablespoons sugar 2 tablespoons brown sugar 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 2.2 oz. Bran Buds, ground up Pour (or press) into the pan, refrigerate for about half an hour (at least), then bake at 300 degrees for 15 minutes (no bath), then remove from oven and cool to touch. Pumpkin Batter: 2 tablespoons melted or softened butter 5/8 cup sugar 8 oz. pumpkin butter 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1/2 cup skim milk 1/2 cup flour (whole white wheat, such as King Arthur) 1/4 teaspoon salt 3 cups (24 oz.) whipped lowfat cottage cheese, no salt added 2 eggs Turn oven up to 325 degrees. Add pumpkin batter on top of crust. Put on foil, place into hot bath. Bake for about 40 minutes. Eggnog Batter: 2 tablespoons butter, softened or melted 2/3 cup sugar 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 teaspoon rum extract 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 cups (16 oz.) whipped lowfat cottage cheese, no salt added 2 cups of light eggnog 3/4 cup flour (whole white wheat, such as King Arthur) 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 2 eggs Carefully scoop this on top of the pumpkin batter, turn oven down to 300 degrees and resume baking for about 120 minutes. Remove from oven and cool for 3 hours before removing from pan, then refrigerate (at least for a few hours, allowing the cheesecake to get more firm). This prototype, I feel, came out hopefully a little more firm, but still not as firm as I really wanted. Still, I do not think the cheesecake limped too much. I still had doubts about the eggnog batter staying on top after I scooped it over the pumpkin at the end of its "head start". At least I could taste the pumpkin flavor better this time around. This was still not easy for me to do, probably because my taste buds were losing some sensitivity. But a friend close to my age could pick up both flavors more easily. Maybe I was getting too old. Nevertheless, I felt that I should leave this combination cheesecake unchanged at this point. Maybe someday I'll retry this recipe with more flour if I get a taller cheesecake pan. As usual, this recipe was a big hit at Living Hope.
	WE INTERRUPT THIS RECIPE SCRAPBOOK TO BRING YOU... An unexpected FedEx delivery! Okay, what happened was...on the morning of the day before my 53rd birthday, I heard sounds of what seemed to be a box "drop" and a scanner "beep" near my front door. Without opening this door, I simply glanced out of a window and spotted a FedEx truck in front of my house. I afterward took in this box, which bore an Amazon.com logo. Before long, I was guessing this "Saturday Delivery" package to be something from my brother (and his household) in California. It was a good guess. I opened the box and found three wrapped presents. A note was attached to each wrapped item. The first gift was a book, The 50 Best Cheesecakes in the World, which came with this note: "Happy Birthday Joel. Love Eric, Jean, Meg and Becca." (i.e., my brother, his wife and their two daughters). The next gift was also a book, The Best Make-Ahead Recipe, along with this note: "Happy Birthday Joel. This is for your Cheesecake habit. Check page 370. Other items will arrive later. Love Eric, Jean, Meg and Becca." On Page 370 itself, in addition to containing a recipe for New York-Style Cheesecake, there was a top recommendation for a particular springform pan--so guess what the third gift was? That's right! The third gift was that Page 370 endorsement, a Frieling 9" springform pan, with--OMS (OhMySurprise)!--a glass bottom!! Now that was certainly a different kind of cheesecake pan! The accompanying note said, "Happy Birthday Joel. This is also for your cheesecake habit. Love Eric, Jean, Meg and Becca." The Amazon package also contained an envelope which said "keep your gift a surprise"/"unwrap your present before opening this envelope". Figuring that following this sequence would optimize my unpacking experience, I obediently opened my three presents first, including reading their respective accompanying notes. I then anticipated that the envelope would contain some kind of follow-up message from Eric, Jean, Meghan and Rebecca which they would want me to read specifically after unwrapping my presents. Actually, the envelope's contents turned out to be a packing slip, describing the three enclosed wrapped items. But I could still see the reason for accessing this envelope last--discover the identity of each gift upon unwrapping it, not upon viewing the packing slip! Okay, Amazon.com! Will do (and so I complied)! And so the cheesecake journey rawks on! Thank you, Eric, Jean, Meghan and Rebecca! And now, back to the Recipe Scrapbook!
	Baked Cookies+Creme Cheesecake--Prototype 1   Some may use other names for a cheesecake like this. How about this one: <name_of_this_kind_of_recipe> ::= {"Baked " (("Cookies" ("-n-" | " [']n['] " | " and " | "-and-") ("Cream" | "Creme" | ("Cr" <egrave> "me"))) | "Oreo") " Cheesecake"}. Well, if John Backus and/or Peter Naur (of "BNF", or "Backus-Naur Form", fame) were involved with cheesecakes, perhaps this is how they would express it. The crust here is identical to that used in Prototype 13 of the chocolate cheesecake and Prototype 3 of the chocolate-peanut butter combo. A suggested variation that I thought up here was to substitute about 8 finely ground chocolate sandwich cookies for the 2.2 ounces of Bran Buds. But I wanted to maintain my high fiber approach. The batter matches that of Baked Plain Cheesecake--Prototype 4, except that chocolate sandwich cookies are added here. As for the chocolate sandwich cookies themselves, I could have gone with the oh-so-familiar Nabisco Oreo cookies. For this recipe, I chose instead to use "Joe-Joe's" from Trader Joe's, due to my more natural preferences (but just about any chocolate sandwich cookie should do, so pick a favorite). The Frieling springform pan that I got as a gift made its debut with this prototype. One of things that I discovered was, despite this pan claiming a 9" size, I have found it to be more like 9 1/2".   Crust: 4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, melted 1 1/3 tablespoons cocoa powder 1 cup (8 oz.) lowfat cottage cheese, whipped, no salt added 3/8 cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla (next to last ingredient here) 2.2 oz. Bran Buds, ground up Batter: 2 tablespoons melted or softened butter 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup skim milk 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1/3 cup flour 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 1/2 cups (20 oz.) lowfat cottage cheese, whipped, no salt added 1 teaspoon vanilla 2 eggs 12 chocolate sandwich cookies, crushed (add this last, and mix enough to get it blended in) Bake in a tub at 300 degrees for about 100 minutes. I felt that I might have crushed the cookies somewhat too much. I placed 12 of these into a small plastic bag and used only my hands to do the crushing (no rolling pin or other kitchen "tools" were used). With the sandwich cream all over the bag's inside, it was a challenge to get as much of the contents as possible out of this bag and into the batter. Even though this prototype's taste was delicious, I felt that the batter's texture at the outer edge of the cheesecake was a bit too dry or "crusty". I also noticed scattered faint cracks. So I suspected that a 100-minute baking time was too long. Nevertheless, this one did alright during fellowship time at Living Hope Church.   Baked Cookies+Creme Cheesecake--Prototype 2 Repeat Prototype 1, but boost the batter's sandwich cookies by 4, to 16. Also, cut the baking time to only about 90 minutes.   Again, I used Joe-Joe's from TJ's for this one. I would have to admit, however, that their taste differed from that of the Oreo cookies. I performed a cookie taste test and felt that the Oreos tasted noticeably sweeter, this difference likely being linked to the creme filling in the middle--hardly because of the chocolate cookie "outsides". For this prototype, I crushed the Joe-Joe's much less. Instead of putting these into a bag and extensively mashing them (and afterward blending them into the batter by machine for a fairly long time), I broke--by hand--each cookie into a few chunks and dropped them directly onto a still batter in a blender (after having combined all the other ingredients, including the eggs). I then ran the blender, likely with the intent of doing so for only about 10 seconds (at the slowest speed), in order to get the cookie pieces reasonably distributed. To my surprise, the broken cookies quickly got blended into the batter, giving it nearly as much of a brown appearance as my previous prototype--a coloring effect that I had hoped to avoid--all within a few seconds, after which I immediately shut the blender off. I made a mental note to fold in the cookies strictly by hand (with a utensil such as a scraper or spatula) for future prototypes. However, the cookies still turned out chunkier than last time. The batter still ended up with some cracks, in light of the reduced baking time. Yet this tasty cheesecake ended up being a much bigger success (gone in a surprisingly short time) at Living Hope than the first prototype.
	Baked Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough (MBD) Cheesecake--Prototype 1:   At my church, I got a delicious Christmas gift from the Doane family--a big package of cookie dough. This wasn't the first time that Mary Beth gave me some cookie dough. But with this recent gift, a great idea came into my head--how about a cookie dough cheesecake? The ingredient list for the recipe here is similar to those of the cookies+creme cheesecakes, except that, of course, cookie dough is used instead of sandwich cookies. (The 9.5-inch Frieling pan was used here.)   (Still plenty of dough left!) Crust: 4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, melted 1 1/3 tablespoons cocoa powder 1 cup (8 oz.) lowfat cottage cheese, whipped, no salt added 3/8 cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla 2.2 oz. Bran Buds, ground up Batter: 2 tablespoons melted or softened butter 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup skim milk 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1/3 cup flour 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 1/2 cups (20 oz.) lowfat cottage cheese, whipped, no salt added 1 teaspoon vanilla 2 eggs Take 10 oz. of uncooked chocolate chip cookie dough, and cut it into small pieces (1/2 inch is a good maximum size). Fully immerse these into the batter as--and after--it is gradually poured into the pan. Next, wrap some foil onto the pan, and bake all this in a tub at 300 degrees for about 90 minutes. This kind of cheesecake has probably gotten one of the best debuts of all time in my cheesecake "prototyping" history, at least up to January 2012. I could not foresee any further modifications specific to this flavor--no "Prototype 2" needed! The texture was just right. I earlier had some kind of fear of possibly underbaking the batter and thus getting runny or limp results, but this batter was firm enough. It wasn't overbaked either--no dry "crusty" effect at this cheesecake's outer edge! (I had to remember that I was using a 9 /12" pan, not 9"--otherwise, the batter would have been close to 10% thicker, and roughly another ten minutes of baking time would have likely been needed.) This dessert cut beautifully, and the batter's taste had a nice balance between the cookie dough and the "main" (or "cheesey") part. This was also, as far as I can remember, the quickest disappearing cheesecake that I ever provided at Living Hope Church, up to this point. What a hit! Thank you, Mary Beth (and Eric too) for the cookie dough (which I also used, by the way, to make pancakes the next morning--thus marking the first time in my life, as far as I can remember, that I enjoyed chocolate cookie dough pancakes--see Additional Trader Joe's Buttermilk Pancake & All Purpose Baking Mix notes in this recipe scrapbook for more details). This is your cheesecake as well. ^radar+/dulcedeleche/
	Red Velvet Preliminary Research Project (Phase 1?):   This one had been on my radar screen for quite a few months. A red velvet cheesecake was in my dreams, and others have expressed a considerable interest for this one upon my mentioning it. But this presented a special challenge. I did not want to use a bunch of artificial red food coloring. I sought natural alternatives, with Internet research leading me to giving red beets a try. But instead of wasting a full-fledged cheesecake recipe on something that was probably going to require an excessive number of tries, I felt that I would start off by downsizing to crust-only experiments and conducting taste tests on a significant number of people (not just myself). I made up a flyer (click here to download) for this purpose. This crust would be the same as that used in my more recent chocolate-containing cheesecake prototypes (such as cookie+creme, chocolate chip cookie dough and plain chocolate itself, but with two exceptions. Lemon juice would be added for increased acidity (reportedly helpful for obtaining a redder outcome). And, of course, red beet puree would be used. For this experiment, four sampling batches would be made up. However, each one would have a different amount of beet puree in it.   Prepare four batches--"samples"--of crust: 4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, melted 1 1/3 tablespoons cocoa powder 1 cup (8 oz.) lowfat cottage cheese, whipped, no salt added 3/8 cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 teaspoon lemon juice 2.2 oz. Bran Buds, ground up Prepare beet puree (such as in a blender) by using a can or cans of no-salt-added red beets (such as sliced). Use the entire contents, including the water. To each of the above samples, add this puree, as follows: Sample 1: 1/4 cup Sample 2: 1/2 cup Sample 3: 3/4 cup Sample 4: 1 cup Recommended: Add this puree, before the Bran Buds, into each of these batches. Bake at 350 degrees for about the times as follows: Sample 1: 20 minutes. Sample 2: 25 minutes. Sample 3: 30 minutes. Sample 4: 35 minutes. REPLACE THESE PIX Samples 3 and 4 came out so soggy that I further cooked them by broiling them in the oven for at least about 10 minutes each. But what a project this has been! So what were the reactions of my taste testers like at Living Hope Church (on Super Bowl Sunday 2012)? I did not want to disclose the red beet puree before the tests were completed. I felt that otherwise, such anticipations by these tasters would psychologically mess up the experiments. I did inform participants that this "secret" red ingredient was either a fruit, vegetable or grain. As I conducted these tests, I had most of the participants start with Sample 1, then progress towards Sample 4 (only a few performed the sequence in the descending direction). For quite a few, the response was "increasing fruitiness", from Sample 1 to Sample 4. For another it was "increasing weirdness" (this respondent liked Sample 1 the best and Sample 4 the least). While Sample 4 was generally the least liked ("kind of bland" according to at least a couple of tasters, one of which mentioned "soy" on Sample 2 and, surprisingly, liked Sample 3 the best), some did like this one the best ("raisin" commented a respondent, who also remarked, for Sample 2, "squash"). "Chocolaty" was a major response for Sample 1. There were also responses of decreasing "chocolaty" descriptions proceeding from Sample 1 to Sample 4. One taster who liked Sample 1 the best could, nevertheless, hardly detect "increasing fruitiness" while ascending through the samples. Other remarks: "fudge", "marshmallow" (texture description here, as opposed to what I wanted tasters to really focus on--flavor!), "cherry". After I revealed the "beet secret" to a young girl who was eagerly curious, she--or another girl--told me about her guessing "bananas" (somewhat to my surprise) as the mystery ingredient. So what were my own reactions like? I actually tasted these samples in "raw" form, i.e., before baking. All of them had a beet presence in the taste, from "barely" in Sample 1 to "substantial" in Sample 4. But, to my surprise, the beet flavor was greatly diminished after baking. I was unable, from what I best recall, to detect any beets even in Sample 4 (!) upon tasting the samples after a little cooling down. I still easily tasted the chocolate on all 4 samples. In the morning that followed, however (this was when I was conducting the tests with the tasters at the church), I detected a very faint beet aftertaste in Sample 3 and a more pronounced such aftertaste in Sample 4. Overall, I felt that the tastes weren't too bad. As for the color, that was another story. Before baking, the samples were, generally, too brown. Sample 4 did have sort of a half-decent reddish brown color to it, but it was still way short of the redness that I had hoped for, based upon red velvet cake batter photos that I looked at on the Internet ("Did somebody use Adobe Photoshop to redden the batter's appearance?" I suspected). Sample 1, at the other end, easily reminded me of a well-known shipping company with the slogan, "What can Brown do for you". I had hoped that the baking process would cause chemical reactions that would produce redder results. Unfortunately, even Sample 4 turned out about as brown as a United Parcel Service delivery truck. This was not what I wanted "Brown" to do for me (Sorry, UPS)!