Recipe Scrapbook Home Bran Buddy / HiFi Buddy Bars Chocolate Peanut Butter Prototype 1 Prototype 2 Prototype 3 Prototype 4 Prototype 5 Prototype 6 Prototype 7 Prototype 8 Chocolate Prototype 1 Prototype 2 Prototype 3 Chocolate Peanut Butter Dream Bars Prototype 1 Chocolate Cherry Prototype 1 Prototype 2 Peanut Butter Prototype 1 Prototype 2 Banana Prototype 1 Fluffernutter Prototype 1 Prototype 2 Prototype 3 Lemon Prototypes 1 & 2 Orange Prototype 1 Pumpkin Prototype 1 (plus Balls variation) HiFi Buddy Balls Orange Prototype 1 Chocolate Prototype 1 (plus Orange-Chocolate variation) Prototype 2 Peanut Butter Prototype 1 Prototype 2 Chocolate Peanut Butter Prototypes 1 & 2 Maple Prototype 1 Eggnog Prototype 1 Pancakes Eggnog Pancake Batter Notes Trader Joe's Mix Latkes Spicy Latkes Matzah Pizza Stack Basic Crust Bran Buds Pie Crust Pies Chilled Eggnog Prototype 1 Prototype 2 Prototype 3 Chilled Pumpkin Eggnog Prototype 1 Key Lime Prototype 1 Prototype 2 Pecan Prototype 1 Prototype 2 Prototype 3 Eggnog Notes Additional Eggnog Notes Cheesecakes Chocolate Prototype 10.1 Prototype 10.2 Prototype 10.3 Prototype 10.4 Prototype 10.5 Prototype 11 Prototype 12 Prototype 13 Prototype 14 Prototype 15 Prototype 16 Prototype 17 Prototype 18 Prototype 19 Prototype 20 Prototype 21 Prototype 22 Prototype 23 Prototype 24 Prototype 25 Prototype 26 Eggnog Prototype 1 Prototype 2 Prototype 3 Prototype 4 Prototype 5 Prototype 6 Prototype 7 Prototype 8 Prototype 9 Prototype 10 Prototype 11 Prototype 12 Prototype 13 Prototype 14 Prototype 15 Prototype 16 Prototype 17 Prototype 18 Prototype 19 Prototype 20 Prototype 21 Prototype 22 Prototype 23 Prototype 24 Prototype 25 Prototype 26 Prototype 27 Prototype 28 Prototype 29 Prototype 30 Prototype 31 Prototype 32 Prototype 33 Peanut Butter Prototype 1 Prototype 2 Prototype 3 Prototype 4 Prototype 5 Maple Prototype 1 Prototype 2 Prototype 3 Prototype 4 Prototype 5 Prototype 6 Prototype 7 Prototype 8 Lemon Prototype 3 Prototype 4 Prototype 5 Prototype 6 Prototype 7 Orange Prototype 3 Prototype 4 Prototype 5 Chocolate Peanut Butter Prototype 1 Prototype 2 Prototype 3 Prototype 4 Prototype 5 Prototype 6 Prototype 7 Prototype 8 Prototype 9 Prototype 10 Banana Prototype 1 Prototype 2 Prototype 3 Prototype 4 Prototype 5 Prototype 6 Pumpkin Prototype 1 Prototype 2 Prototype 3 Prototype 4 Prototype 5 Prototype 6 Prototype 7 Prototype 8 Prototype 9 Prototype 10 Prototype 11 Prototype 12 Prototype 13 Plain Prototype 4 Prototype 5 Prototype 6 Prototype 7 Prototype 8 Prototype 9 Prototype 10 Prototype 11 Prototype 12 Prototype 13 Prototype 14 Prototype 15 Prototype 16 Prototype 17 Prototype 18 Prototype 19 Prototype 20 Prototype 21 Prototype 22 Prototype 23 Prototype 24 Eggnog Pumpkin Prototype 1 Prototype 2 Prototype 3 Prototype 4 Prototype 5 Prototype 6 Cookies+Creme Prototype 1 Prototype 2 Prototype 3 Prototype 4 Prototype 5 Prototype 6 Prototype 7 Prototype 8 Prototype 9 Prototype 10 Prototype 11 Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Prototype 1 Prototype 2 Prototype 3 Prototype 4 Prototype 5 Chocolate Eggnog Prototype 1 Vanilla Prototype 1 Prototype 2 Prototype 3 Prototype 4 Orange Vanilla Prototype 1 Prototype 2 Prototype 3 Chocolate Banana Prototype 1 Prototype 2 S'mores Prototype 1 Prototype 2 Prototype 3 Prototype 4 Prototype 5 Prototype 6 Pumpkin Pecan Prototype 1 Prototype 2 Whoopie Pie Prototype 1 Prototype 2 Pecan Prototype 1 Prototype 2 Marshmallow Prototype 1 Cherry Prototype 6 Prototype 7 Fluffernutter Prototype 1 Dulce De Leche Prototype 1 Prototype 2 Prototype 3 Chocolate Cherry Prototype 3 Strawberry Prototype 1 Prototype 2 Prototype 3 Prototype 4 Prototype 5 Prototype 6 Prototype 7 Prototype 8 Almond Prototype 1 Prototype 2 Chocolate Strawberry Prototype 1 Chocolate Almond Prototype 1 Neapolitan Prototype 1 Prototype 2 Prototype 3 Prototype 4 Prototype 5 Triple-Plus Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Prototype 1 Blueberry Prototype 1 Prototype 2 Patriotic Prototype 1 Prototype 2 Prototype 3 Key Lime Prototype 1 Prototype 2 Prototype 3 Cheesecake Tips Pecan Pie Filling Prototype 1 Prototype 2 Additional Notes Name Change: Bran to HiFi Birthday Gift Replacement of Bran Buds with Regular All-Bran Batter Composition Changes (Mid-2015) Batter Composition Changes (Mid-2017) Update Since COVID-19 (Late-2021) All Recipes & Notes Red Velvet Research Project Preliminary Secondary My 1980's Cheesecake Prototypes Pitfalls to avoid: Unsuccessful recipes

Baked Dulce De Leche Cheesecake—Prototype 1:   After this flavor had been on my "radar screen" for nearly 2 1/2 years, it was time to get this one underway.   2-to-1 Blend of Yogurt Cheese and Cottage Cheese: Prepare ahead of time 2 pounds of yogurt cheese, derived from two 32-ounce containers of nonfat yogurt. If the resulting yogurt cheese falls below 32 ounces, add back enough of the whey (that was strained out from the yogurt) to make up the difference. To this yogurt cheese combine 16 ounces (1 pint) of whipped, lowfat cottage cheese. Caramel Sauce: Empty a 14-ounce can of sweetened condensed milk (nonfat recommended) into a container to be used for heating (warning: do not use the can itself for heating, due to the possibility of the high heat causing the can's inner material to react with—or somehow adversely affect—the milk). There is more than one way to heat this sweetened milk until it turns brown. One of them is to microwave the milk at medium power for a few minutes, then cut the power to medium-low and microwave for a few more minutes. Stir the contents frequently while heating. Another option (which takes more time) is to place the container on top of another one which itself contains boiling water. Simmer all this on a stove for about an hour or so, stirring often. Alternatively, put it into an oven at about 400 to 425 degrees—but tightly cover the milk's container (just that one, not the container with the hot water) with foil—and bake about one to two hours, or until the mixture is brown enough. Crust: 2 oz. melted, white chocolate 1 cup (8 oz.) 2-to-1 blend of yogurt cheese and cottage cheese (see above) 1/4 cup granulated sugar 3 tablespoons brown sugar 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 2 oz. All-Bran, ground up Pour this crust mixture into pan (9 to 9 1/2 inches) and pre-bake without tub at 300 degrees for 10 minutes, then cool enough to comfortably touch at least the pan's upper sidewall. Batter: 4 tablespoons melted or softened butter 1 cup granulated sugar 5 cups (40 oz.) 2-to-1 blend of yogurt cheese and cottage cheese (see above) 2 teaspoons vanilla 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 3 tablespoons arrowroot Caramel sauce from 14 oz. can of sweetened condensed milk (see above)—note that this gets blended into the batter (tip: the warmer the caramel sauce is, the softer it is, thus the easier it is to get it blended in) 4 eggs Pour on top of crust. Bake in tub at 300 degrees for 105 minutes (if using a 9 1/2" pan). Then cool down while still in oven (with this oven shut off) and in tub with door slightly ajar for an hour. Afterwards, remove from oven and tub and continue to cool down at room temperature for another 105 minutes, then remove from pan and refrigerate. This one was served among a somewhat modest snack selection at Living Hope Church and was almost completely gone in probably less than 15 minutes. There was just one slice left—no takers for that one. I ended up taking it home myself. I had too much difficulty picking up the caramel flavor. Upon my asking, some other individuals could barely detect it. Back when I started working on this cheesecake, I did contemplate using two cans of sweetened condensed milk but ultimately decided to start my dulce de leche prototypes with just one. On the other hand, I felt that the cinnamon in the crust was too strong. Didn't I cut that one back in another cheesecake somewhere? Yes, it was my first Marshmallow Fluff cheesecake. I would need to remember that for next time—as well as adding that second can of milk.   Baked Dulce De Leche Cheesecake—Prototype 2:   In light of the first prototype's outcome, the sweetened condensed milk would be doubled in order to increase the caramel's presence—and the cinnamon flavor would be reduced. I also considered increasing the cooking time as well, in order to compensate for the increase in liquid.   2-to-1 Blend of Yogurt Cheese and Cottage Cheese: Prepare ahead of time 2 pounds of yogurt cheese, derived from two 32-ounce containers of nonfat yogurt. If the resulting yogurt cheese falls below 32 ounces, add back enough of the whey (that was strained out from the yogurt) to make up the difference. To this yogurt cheese combine 16 ounces (1 pint) of whipped, lowfat cottage cheese. Caramel Sauce: Empty two 14-ounce cans of sweetened condensed milk (nonfat recommended) into a container to be used for heating (warning: do not use the cans themselves for heating, due to the possibility of the high heat causing the cans' inner material to react with—or somehow adversely affect—the milk). There is more than one way to heat this sweetened milk until it turns brown. One of them is to microwave the milk at medium power for a few minutes, then cut the power to medium-low and microwave for a few more minutes. Stir the contents frequently while heating. Another option (which takes more time) is to place the container on top of another one which itself contains boiling water. Simmer all this on a stove for about an hour or so, stirring often. Alternatively, put it into an oven at about 400 to 425 degrees—but tightly cover the milk's container (just that one, not the container with the hot water) with foil—and bake about one to two hours, or until the mixture is brown enough. Crust: 2 oz. melted, white chocolate 1 cup (8 oz.) 2-to-1 blend of yogurt cheese and cottage cheese (see above) 1/4 cup granulated sugar 2 tablespoons brown sugar 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 2 oz. All-Bran, ground up Pour this crust mixture into pan (9 to 9 1/2 inches) and pre-bake without tub at 300 degrees for 10 minutes, then cool enough to comfortably touch at least the pan's upper sidewall. Batter: 4 tablespoons melted or softened butter 1 cup granulated sugar 5 cups (40 oz.) 2-to-1 blend of yogurt cheese and cottage cheese (see above) 2 teaspoons vanilla 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 3 tablespoons arrowroot Caramel sauce from two 14 oz. cans of sweetened condensed milk (see above)—note that this gets blended into the batter (tip: the warmer the caramel sauce is, the softer it is, thus the easier it is to get it blended in) 4 eggs Pour on top of crust. Bake in tub at 300 degrees for 115 minutes (if using a 9 1/2" pan). Then cool down while still in oven (with this oven shut off) and in tub with door slightly ajar for an hour. Afterwards, remove from oven and tub and continue to cool down at room temperature for another 115 minutes, then remove from pan and refrigerate. I seemed to pick up some caramel flavor, if I concentrated hard enough. Maybe my taste buds were too old to distinctively detect this caramel more easily. But I felt content with it at this point. Furthermore, upon making this cheesecake, when I tasted a tiny sample of the caramel sauce (after preparing it from the sweetened condensed milk), I found that the caramel flavor, while it had a reasonably notable presence, did not seem to be all that strong. So maybe the cause of this somewhat "low profile" was the low sensitivity of my taste buds. I also felt that the top of the cheesecake may have been a little too brown. Perhaps I should not have allowed for those extra 10 minutes of baking time (or maybe I should have opted for a 5-minute compromise). But this cheesecake got devoured in probably about 25 minutes at Living Hope Church. There was a somewhat large crowd present. But there were plenty of other sweet treats too. Although they looked deliciously attractive, they hardly seemed to move nearly as fast as the cheesecake.   Baked Dulce De Leche Cheesecake—Prototype 3:   For this latest prototype, instead of blending the caramel sauce fully into the batter, I decided to "give it a swirl"!   2-to-1 Blend of Yogurt Cheese and Cottage Cheese: Prepare ahead of time 2 pounds of yogurt cheese, derived from two 32-ounce containers of nonfat yogurt. If the resulting yogurt cheese falls below 32 ounces, add back enough of the whey (that was strained out from the yogurt) to make up the difference. To this yogurt cheese combine 16 ounces (1 pint) of whipped, lowfat cottage cheese. Caramel Sauce: Empty two 14-ounce cans of sweetened condensed milk (nonfat recommended) into a container to be used for heating (warning: do not use the cans themselves for heating, due to the possibility of the high heat causing the cans' inner material to react with—or somehow adversely affect—the milk). There is more than one way to heat this sweetened milk until it turns brown. One of them is to microwave the milk at medium power for a few minutes, then cut the power to medium-low and microwave for a few more minutes. Stir the contents frequently while heating. Another option (which takes more time) is to place the container on top of another one which itself contains boiling water. Simmer all this on a stove for about a couple of hours or so (or until the contents are noticeably thick and/or show a light brown or caramel-like color), stirring often. Alternatively, put it into an oven at about 400 to 425 degrees—but tightly cover the milk's container (just that one, not the container with the hot water) with foil—and bake about one to two hours, or until the mixture is brown enough. Crust: 2 oz. melted, white chocolate 1 cup (8 oz.) 2-to-1 blend of yogurt cheese and cottage cheese (see above) 1/4 cup granulated sugar 2 tablespoons brown sugar 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 2 oz. All-Bran, ground up Place the resulting mixture in the greased pan and pre-bake without tub at 300 degrees for 5-10 minutes, depending on the mixture's thickness (closer to 10 minutes if thin enough to be fully distributed across the pan's bottom by gentle shaking, closer to 5 minutes if thick enough to require spreading out this mixture by pressing on it with a utensil and/or fingers), then cool enough to comfortably touch at least the pan's upper sidewall. Batter: 4 tablespoons melted or softened butter 1 1/4 cups sugar 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 3 tablespoons arrowroot 40 oz. (5 cups) 2-to-1 blend of yogurt cheese and cottage cheese (see above) 2 teaspoons vanilla 4 eggs Expect about 7 cups of the resulting batter (of course, that's before adding any caramel sauce), but do not add this to the pan all at once. Rather, this needs to be done in five installments. Wrap the pan in foil just before adding the first installment (no earlier than that—the goal here is to minimize the foil's disturbance in order to minimize its leakage risk). For each of the first four installments, gently scoop about 1 1/2 cups of batter into the pan. Spoon about 1/4 of the caramel sauce in scattered areas on top of the batter. Then swirl this sauce with a knife—carefully (try to keep its tip from going below the batter installment being added at that point). After adding an installment, bake the pan with its contents for 15 minutes. For each of the first three installments, bake at 325 degrees. For the fourth installment, reduce the temperature and bake at 300 degrees. For all four installments here, bake with the pan in a tub filled with at least 1/4 to 1/2 inch of boiling water, but (to reduce spillage risks) do not fill the tub all the way at this point, because the whole tub-and-pan assembly is going to need to be removed from the oven (in order to comfortably add contents to the pan) between installments. After all this is done, there should be about a cup of batter left, with 60 minutes of baking time reached at this point (15 minutes for each of the first four installments). Now comes the fifth installment—carefully add the last of this batter (do not add any more caramel sauce at this point) on top of the pan's other contents. Try to fully coat the entire surface, especially wherever any caramel sauce may be showing. Next, return the entire pan-and-tub assembly to the oven. At this point, fill up the tub generously with boiling water. Resume baking at 300 degrees for another 55 minutes (based upon usage of a 9 1/2" pan). Afterward, shut the oven off, and leave its door slightly ajar, with the cheesecake still inside—and in the tub—for an hour. Next, remove the cheesecake from the oven and tub, and—for a bit of a "turtle effect", if desired—add a border of chocolate chips around the edge of this cheesecake. Continue to cool it down at room temperature for another two hours. After doing so, remove the cheesecake from pan and refrigerate. This one came out too soft. The cheesecake seemed almost ready to come apart if I removed it from the pan's bottom. The baking times that I used were based on a couple of "cookie" cheesecakes that I made in the past, namely Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough—Prototype 3 and Cookies+Creme—Prototype 9. Perhaps the caramel sauce was too wet (thus reducing the batter's stability), in comparison with the cookies. I also felt that I cooked the sweetened condensed milk for too long, making the resulting caramel sauce too thick. It was difficult for me to swirl it around within the batter. At least I could pick up a little noticeable caramel taste. This cheesecake was served at Living Hope Church among a number of refreshments, including small, lunch-type sandwiches. The fellowship hall activities included an annual church meeting at some point (maybe close to an hour) after worship services. Less than one eighth of the cheesecake remained as of what was probably about a couple of hours after the services ended.