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 Vanilla Cheesecake—Prototype 1:   Vanilla often seems to be portrayed as "plain" or "neutral". Perhaps this is due to its being very mild. In fact, this vanilla cheesecake debut is very similar to my latest plain cheesecakes, but with the vanilla extract obviously being increased—in hopes of a more "cream-like" taste. Other differences include the lower-tart cheese blend to match the mild vanilla and—likely for the first time in my baked cheesecakes—the omission of salt from the batter. Sometime in the past, my attention was drawn to the sodium content of my cheesecakes. If I remember well enough, this occurred more than two years ago, during the winter of 2011, likely with my cousin Robin bringing up this issue. Anyway, I ended up questioning the addition of salt in my cheesecake recipes. This usage stemmed from the initial recipe out of The American Heart Association Cookbook that I started my cheesecake prototypes with, back in the 1980's. I assumed that the salt in that recipe was there for good reason. But several years later, I felt that perhaps I could get away with cutting back on the salt, e.g., cutting it in half, without adversely affecting the taste. So I made this move, beginning likely with Prototype 10 of my eggnog cheesecake. Since then, I have looked at many cheesecake recipes on the Internet. In my reviewing these for added salt, it was omitted from an overwhelming majority. So I more recently felt that it was time to do away with whatever salt I was still adding to the batters in my cheesecake recipes. I do not know why the salt was included in that American Heart Association recipe in the first place. But then again, I found that recipe to be overwhelmingly lemony as well. My cheesecake prototypes have come a long, refined way since then—over 100 baked at this point!   2-to-1 Blend of Yogurt Cheese and Cottage Cheese: Prepare ahead of time 16 ounces of yogurt cheese, derived from one 32-ounce container of nonfat yogurt. If the resulting yogurt cheese falls below 16 ounces, add back enough of the whey (that was strained out from the yogurt) to make up the difference. To this yogurt cheese combine 8 ounces (1 cup) of whipped, lowfat cottage cheese. Crust: 1 oz. melted, white chocolate 4 oz. (1/2 cup) 2-to-1 blend of yogurt cheese and cottage cheese (see above) 2 tablespoons granulated sugar 1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 1 oz. Bran Buds, ground up Pour this crust mixture into pan (9 to 9 1/2 inches) and pre-bake without tub at 300 degrees for 5 minutes, then cool enough to comfortably touch at least the pan's upper sidewall. Batter: 2 tablespoons melted or softened butter 5/8 cup granulated sugar 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1 1/2 tablespoons arrowroot 20 oz. (2 1/2 cups) 2-to-1 blend of yogurt cheese and cottage cheese (see above) 2 teaspoons vanilla 2 eggs Pour on top of crust. Then bake in tub at 300 degrees for 60 minutes (if using a 9 1/2" pan), cool (outside of oven and tub) for an hour, remove from pan and refrigerate. This was only a "single-sized" cheesecake, and it was gone (among a modest snack selection) in less than 15 minutes at Living Hope Church. But I felt that this prototype was not sweet enough (especially the crust, whose taste here, if I ate it alone, put thoughts of—unfortunately—cardboard in my head). I also felt that this cheesecake could use a little more vanilla. Furthermore, I got a bit doubtful about my choice of the 2-to-1 yogurt-cottage blend (as opposed to all-yogurt) for the batter, at least if I tasted that alone, although I afterward somehow picked up a slight "tang" if I ate both the batter and crust together. Perhaps chocolate batter was a good fit for the 2-to-1 cheese (see Baked Chocolate Cheesecake—Prototype 15 for more information on this). But maybe I needed to go all-yogurt for some "mellow" flavors like vanilla, not just plain or citrus ones.   Baked Vanilla Cheesecake—Prototype 2:   More sweetness, more vanilla! But instead of going all-yogurt with the cheese, hold on to the 2-to-1 yogurt-cottage blend for now (actually, this was in order to use up the remaining half container of cottage cheese that I had left over from Prototype 1, as well as avoiding the need to utilize half of a container—as opposed to a whole one—of yogurt to make up for the cottage cheese's absence in an all-yogurt situation).   Repeat Prototype 1, but make these changes: For the crust, increase the brown sugar by 1/2 tablespoon, to 2 tablespoons (note the usage here of both brown sugar and regular, i.e., granulated, sugar at 2 tablespoons apiece). For the batter, increase the granulated sugar by 1/4 cup, to 7/8 cup, and increase the vanilla by 1 teaspoon, to a full tablespoon. A disappointing surprise broke out on me. As I poured the batter over the crust, the middle of it erupted upward. I did pre-bake earlier that crust for about 5 minutes. Maybe I needed to pour the batter more slowly in the future. But if I were to pour it too slowly, it would likely dribble on me. Perhaps using a rubber spatula would be helpful in deflecting such a mess. This time, the batter turned out sweet enough and had what I somehow sensed to be a reasonable, "creamy" vanilla presence. Improvement was found in the crust's taste as well. But I also felt that a little more tanginess should be used (thus setting in order an all-yogurt plan) in the future. This cheesecake did okay at Living Hope (among a somewhat small selection of refreshments, but also with perhaps a smaller than average crowd). There was some leftover.   Baked Vanilla Cheesecake—Prototype 3:   Presented here is a doubling of the previous prototype, although the Bran Buds got replaced with the regular All-Bran as well.   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 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 (2 cups) 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 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 3/4 cup granulated 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 tablespoons vanilla 4 eggs Wrap the pan in foil just before adding the batter (to minimize the foil's disturbance and therefore its leakage risk, do not put it on any earlier). Next, pour the batter over the crust and bake this cheesecake in a hot water 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. This one featured a nice, sweet taste, not too tart. It was about 3/4 of the way gone after roughly 30 minutes, having been served among a moderate selection of snacks at Living Hope Church. Someone later on took one of the remaining slices, and I took home the rest.   Baked Vanilla Cheesecake—Prototype 4:   It has been a long while since I last made a vanilla cheesecake. This one would get a 2019 update.   3-Cheese Blend (3CT-1NC-2YG): Prepare ahead of time 16 ounces of yogurt cheese, derived from one 32-ounce container of nonfat yogurt. If the resulting yogurt cheese falls below 16 ounces, add back enough of the whey (that was strained out from the yogurt) to make up the difference. To this yogurt cheese combine 24 ounces of whipped, lowfat cottage cheese and 8 ounces of softened Neufchatel cheese ("light cream cheese"). Grease a 9 1/2" (or 9") pan, but do not wrap foil around it until just before the batter is added (spreading the crust in an already wrapped pan can result in greater disturbance to the foil, thus increasing leakage risks). Crust: 2 oz. melted, white chocolate 8 oz. (1 cup) 3-cheese blend (see above) 1/4 cup granulated sugar 1/4 cup brown sugar 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 1/2 teaspoons 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: 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar 40 oz. (5 cups) 3-cheese blend (see above) 2 tablespoons vanilla 1 1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum 6 eggs Wrap the pan in foil at this point. Carefully pour the batter over the crust and bake this cheesecake in a hot water tub at 300 degrees for 90 minutes (if using a 9 1/2" pan). Then shut off oven and cool cheesecake down while still in it (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 two hours, then remove from pan and refrigerate. This one was served along with a moderate selection of snacks on Mother's Day in 2019 at Living Hope Church. The cheesecake was a modest slice shy of completely gone after probably close to 25 minutes (the table containing the refreshments was cleared off around then). I took that remaining slice home.