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 Cream Cheese Spread Pumpkin 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 Orange Vanilla (Blended) Cheesecake (tentatively a.k.a. Baked Orange Xtremesicle Cheesecake)—Prototype 1:   For some time, I had been dreaming of making a cheesecake with a flavor based on a well-known, frozen, orange-and-vanilla-cream pop, extensively referred to by the trade name of "Creamsicle", but often called "Dreamsicle" as well (an apt reference—after all, as I just mentioned, I had been "dreaming" of a cheesecake with this flavor). So after attempting a couple of vanilla prototypes and updating my orange ones, I felt that the time had finally come for a cheesecake combining these two flavors. Rather than going with two separate flavor layers (as I have done with many other combos, such as chocolate and peanut butter), I chose to blend them together. The crust's formulation for this prototype is based on Prototype 2 of my vanilla cheesecake, except that regular All-Bran is used instead of Bran Buds (click here for more information on this replacement). The batter's formulation is an even, 50-50 mix derived from that same vanilla prototype (except that the cottage cheese used there is directly replaced with additional yogurt cheese here) and Prototype 5 of my orange cheesecake (proportionally halved from "double-sized" there to match the vanilla's single size here). This is why the amount of granulated sugar indicated for the combination batter is "1 1/2 cups + 2 teaspoons".   Yogurt Cheese: Prepare ahead of time 3 pounds of yogurt cheese, derived from three 32-ounce containers of nonfat yogurt. If the resulting yogurt cheese falls below 48 ounces, add back enough of the whey (that was strained out from the yogurt) to make up the difference. Crust: 2 oz. melted, white chocolate 8 oz. (1 cup) yogurt cheese (see above) 1/4 cup granulated sugar 1/4 cup brown sugar 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1 teaspoon vanilla 2 oz. All-Bran, ground up Gently pour this crust mixture into bottom of 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 1/2 cups + 2 teaspoons granulated sugar 1/4 cup orange juice 2 teaspoons grated orange peel 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 3 tablespoons arrowroot 40 oz. (5 cups) yogurt cheese (see above) 4 teaspoons vanilla 4 eggs Pour the batter over the crust and bake this cheesecake in a tub at 300 degrees for 100 minutes (if using a 9 1/2" pan). Then cool the cheesecake 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 100 minutes, then remove from pan and refrigerate. Where's the Orange? More emphatically, where's the vanilla?? All I got was some tartness, but I suspected that was largely because of the yogurt cultures and hardly because of the orange itself. I thought I had struck a reasonable balance between the cheesecake taste and the orange flavor in an orange cheesecake—and likewise with the vanilla flavor in a vanilla cheesecake. But upon merging those two batters, what went wrong? Maybe it was because, in this merger, I ended up actually doubling the "cheese" taste. I certainly did not double the orange or vanilla ones (in the flavor-specific sense). Nevertheless, this cheesecake fared well among a modest assortment of other sweet treats at Living Hope Church, on a day so hot that services were held in the air-conditioner-equipped fellowship hall rather than the sanctuary (due to that area lacking a cooling system).   Baked Orange Vanilla Cheesecake—Prototype 2:   Double the orange. Double the flavor-specific vanilla. What does that mean? The batter of my most recent plain cheesecake—its 11th prototype as of the current orange vanilla one presented here—called for 2 teaspoons of vanilla. In my previous orange vanilla cheesecake, I used 4 teaspoons for its batter. With 2 associated with the basic cheesecake, that would leave 2 linked directly to the vanilla flavor effort. So the doubling is done on these 2 flavor-specific teaspoons for the prototype presented here. That's 4 flavor-specific teaspoons. When added to the basic cheesecake's 2 teaspoons, the result is 6 teaspoons—or 2 tablespoons—for the batter. And lower the tartness a bit, by switching the cheese base to the milder 2-1 yogurt-cottage combo. In looking back on preparing this cheesecake, chances are higher than 99% that I erred on the amount of granulated sugar used in the batter. I was supposed to use 1 1/2 cups plus 2 teaspoons of this sugar. But assuming my memory to be correct as of this writing, I used 1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons. From what I best recall, the expression "1 5/8 cups" was on my mind when I measured out this ingredient, and I likely wondered why I didn't write the measurement that way. So this amount is reflected in the recipe shown here.   2-to-1 Blend of Yogurt Cheese and Cottage Cheese: Prepare ahead of time 32 ounces of yogurt cheese, derived from two 32-ounce containers (that's 64 ounces altogether) 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 one 16-ounce container of whipped, lowfat cottage cheese. Crust: 2 oz. melted, white chocolate 8 oz. (1 cup) 2-to-1 blend of yogurt cheese and cottage cheese (see above) 1/4 cup granulated sugar 1/4 cup brown sugar 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1 teaspoon vanilla 2 oz. All-Bran, ground up Gently pour this crust mixture into bottom of 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 5/8 cups granulated sugar 1/2 cup orange juice 4 teaspoons grated orange peel 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 tablespoons vanilla 4 eggs Pour the batter over the crust and bake this cheesecake in a tub at 300 degrees for 105 minutes (if using a 9 1/2" pan). Then cool the cheesecake 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.   Now that's more like it! This cheesecake had what I felt to be a reasonable balance of flavors (let's keep the batter's granulated sugar at 1 5/8 cups at this point). This cheesecake was served to a no-so-large crowd at Living Hope Church. It seemed that many regulars were on summer vacation. I found one slice left over after what was probably about an hour. Later on that same day, I felt that I would drive up to Maine and catch some of the grand opening celebration of my favorite grocery chain's very first store in the bushy Pine Tree State. It was Sunday, August 18, 2013 (trivial tidbit: 36th anniversary of my getting my driver's license), and Market Basket (aka "DeMoulas"), the "More for Your Dollar" store to which I looked for a number of my cheesecake ingredients (especially Market Basket's terrific nonfat yogurt), was in its very first day of welcoming shoppers to its new 107,000-108,000 square foot supermarket in the city of Biddeford. An unexpected bonus was that I got to meet in person, shake hands with, and even get a picture taken of myself with, the president himself of Demoulas Super Markets, Inc. (Market Basket's corporate name)—Arthur T. Demoulas—a man highly regarded by this company's employees and customers alike! I am on the left, holding my cheesecake's most important ingredient (Market Basket nonfat yogurt), and Arthur T. is on the right. And it was this encounter with "Artie T." that especially made the long drive to Biddeford, Maine, worth the trip.   Baked Orange Vanilla Cheesecake—Prototype 3:   More than 1 1/2 years have passed since I made the previous prototype for this flavor. The latest one presented here features a change in the crust—replace one of the teaspoons of cinnamon with orange peel.   2-to-1 Blend of Yogurt Cheese and Cottage Cheese: Prepare ahead of time 32 ounces of yogurt cheese, derived from two 32-ounce containers (that's 64 ounces altogether) 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 one 16-ounce container of whipped, lowfat cottage cheese. Crust: 2 oz. melted, white chocolate 8 oz. (1 cup) 2-to-1 blend of yogurt cheese and cottage cheese (see above) 1/4 cup granulated sugar 1/4 cup brown sugar 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 teaspoon grated orange peel 1 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 5/8 cups granulated sugar 1/2 cup orange juice 4 teaspoons grated orange peel 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 tablespoons vanilla 4 eggs Pour the batter over the crust and bake this cheesecake in a tub at 300 degrees for 105 minutes (if using a 9 1/2" pan). Then cool the cheesecake 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, served among a good selection of sweets—particularly sugar cookies—at Living Hope Church, was a little over 3/4 gone within perhaps an hour...and after I devoured about 4 slices myself (because I happened to be more hungry and craving than usual). I felt that this prototype was pretty tasty, with a reasonable balance of flavors. This particular cheesecake was the very first one that I baked in my newly-acquired cooking range, which I bought from my workplace, the Danvers East Home Depot. Remember back when I served my previous orange vanilla prototype, I also took a trip to a Market Basket grand opening in Biddeford, Maine—and got to meet with Arthur T. Demoulas? While I did not take a grand opening trip on the same day as my providing my more recent prototype presented here, I did get to see "Artie T." a second time—more than a year after the Maine trip (and over half a year before I served Prototype 3)—this time at a grand opening in Revere, Massachusetts, a city that was home to my thrifty grandmother, Gertrude Hamilt, in much of her life—including when overlapping with my mine (and she lived near, and shopped at, an independent grocer that happened to be called "Arthur's Supermarket"—no known relationship to Mr. Demoulas, however). Here's a pic of the two of us at the new Revere store, with Arthur T. on the left and myself on the right. Note the banners, shown behind us, with the older combination DeMoulas & Market Basket logo (a favorite of mine for this grocer). That's my late grandmother (on my mother's side), Gertrude ("Gussie") Hamilt. Rest in peace, Nana—I love you! The Revere store was, in fact, the first new Market Basket to open since the one in Biddeford.