I’ve been contemplating whether or not I would update more successfully if I changed to a different format. Maybe a few pictures, a little bit of commentary, and the recipe. I don’t know though. I’ve gotten good feedback on the step by step pictures, and even though it is very tedious to stop and take picture of every single step, and then blog every single one of those steps individually… I LIKE the way this blog is set up. I’d appreciate feedback on this, if you have some.

Either way, I won’t be posting at all if I don’t get to cooking! I have made a list of things I’d like to make and feature on Jenn Cooks in the future, so hopefully I will start checking those off soon! Just need a little free time and spare change

Moving on! Like I mentioned, I made these cookies way back in April and took them to a family gathering, probably Easter? See, it’s been so long, I don’t even remember! Either way, they received really good reviews! At least from those of us who like lemon. And they were super easy to make.

You’ll need: Lemon cake mix, eggs, vegetable oil, 2 lemons, lemon extract, powdered sugar

Start by pouring the cake mix into a large bowl. Add two eggs.

1/3 cup vegetable oil

The zest from two lemons… hard to see, but it’s in there! (Quick note: remember zest your lemons first, then squeeze them for the juice!)

2 Tablespoons of lemon juice

Just in case there wasn’t enough lemon flavor for you, go ahead and add in 1/2 teaspoon of lemon extract.

Stir that all up.

Drop heaping teaspoonfuls into balls. There is no picture of this because this dough is very sticky and messy… it’s not like a traditional cookie dough. Roll those balls in powdered sugar and place on a cookie sheet.

Bake for about 10 minutes at 375 degrees, or until the edges are slightly brown. This was the first pan through the oven, so the edges are more brown than I liked. The others were pulled out of the oven a little sooner. Don’t worry, they were still quite tasty!

Lemon Burst Cookies
Source: Brown Eyed Baker

1 (18.25-ounce) package lemon cake mix
2 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
Zest of 2 lemons
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
½ teaspoon lemon extract
1/3 cup confectioner’s sugar

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.
2. Pour cake mix into a large bowl. Stir in eggs, oil, lemon zest, lemon juice and lemon extract until well blended.
3. Place confectioner’s sugar in a bowl.
4. Drop heaping tablespoonfuls of dough into balls and roll in confectioner’s sugar until lightly coated and place on baking sheet.
5. Bake for about 10 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Cool for 2-3 minutes on the cookie sheet and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

This week, I have a super easy cheesecake that I found over at Buns in My Oven. Cookies and cheesecake? How can you go wrong? I put this together for an ill-fated birthday dinner a couple weeks ago. My mom was supposed to come over for her annual birthday dinner, where she always requests White Chicken Parmesan, but there was rampant sickness in her house. I’d already made the dessert however, so my coworkers got to benefit from Mom’s birthday.

I have to apologize for the quality of the pictures here. My camera went missing a few weeks ago, so all I had available was the camera on my phone. Photo quality aside, this was one tasty cheesecake!

You’ll need: Cream cheese, sugar, eggs, vanilla, butter, oreos

First, crush 28 oreos. I suggest using a food processor, but this can be done with a baggie and a rolling pin if you’re determined.

Add 4 tablespoons of melted butter or margarine and stir until the crumbs are moist.

Press into the bottom of a 9×13 pan. (I lined my pan with parchment paper first, per Bun in My Oven’s suggestion.) Bake crust for 10 minutes.

Put 3 packages of softened cream cheese into a large bowl

Add 3/4 cup sugar

and 1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix until well blended.

Add the eggs one at a time

mixing well after each addition

Crush the remaining oreos by hand. You just want to break them up a little, they don’t need to be pulverized.

Stir the oreos into the cheesecake batter

and pour onto the oreo cookie crust.

Spread the cheesecake layer evenly over the oreo crust layer.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Refrigerate at least 3 hours, or overnight.

Slice and enjoy!

Cookies and Cream Cheesecake
Source: Buns in My Oven

1 package of Oreo cookies
4 tablespoons butter, melted
3 packages cream cheese (24 ounces total), room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Using a food processor, blender, or rolling pin, crush 28 Oreo cookies into crumbs. Pour into parchment or wax paper lined 9 x 13 pan and pour melted butter on top of cookie crumbs. Stir to coat all the cookie crumbs with butter and press into the pan to form the crust. Bake the crust for 10 minutes.
2. Beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until well blended. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing just until blended.
3. Crumble remaining Oreos with your fingers and add to cheesecake mixture. Stir together to combine and pour over cookie crust. Smooth the batter and place in the oven for 30-40 minutes, until the edges are set but the center is still slightly jiggly. Cool on a wire rack and then refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight.

You’ll need: 2 8oz. packages of cream cheese, 1 12 oz. jar of maraschino cherries, mini chocolate chips, 2 eggs, sugar, and a chocolate pie crust.

First, drain your jar of cherries, reserving 2 teaspoons of the juice.

Quarter the cherries, and set aside.

In a separate bowl, put the two packages of softened cream cheese.

Pour in 1/2 cup of sugar.

Add two teaspoons of the cherry juice you reserved in the first step. I may or may not have sneaked a teeny bit extra.

Go ahead and beat those three ingredients together.

Next, add two eggs

and beat them in until just combined.

Add in your quartered cherries

and 1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips.

Stir them in.

Then you need a chocolate pie crust. I suppose you could make your own, but why? (Oooh, did you hear that? It’s the sound of the foodie community screeching to a halt.)

Pour the cheesecake mixture into the chocolate crust. It will be very full!

Finally, bake it at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until the center is almost set. Cool on a wire rack.

And I can’t believe I didn’t get a picture of a slice of the cheesecake. I must have been too busy shoving it in my face. If you can, make it a day ahead of time, so the cheesecake has enough time to rest. This was REALLY good, but since I only made a few hours in advance, I think it could have been much better. But it was my very first cheesecake that didn’t come out of a box stamped Jello, so live and learn!

Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake
Simple and Delicious magazine

1 jar (12 oz) maraschino cherries
2 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
1 chocolate cookie crust (9 inches)

Drain maraschino cherries, reserving 2 teaspoons juice. Cut cherries into quarters, set aside. In a small mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar, and reserved cherry juice. Add eggs; beat until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips and reserved cherries.
Pour into crust, crust will be full. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool on a wire rack.