The oatmeal raisin chocolate chip cookie that never was...or, the monster granola bar that could feed a very small village

This is what happens when one erroneously considers themselves to be a baking savant, a sort of cookie Rainman, if you will. Spitting in the face of early onset Alzheimer’s (see previous post), I set out to make oatmeal raisin chocolate chip cookies without a recipe.

People – baking is a science. There’s not a lot of room for mistakes in terms of how many cups of flour and eggs a recipe calls for, or a teaspoon versus a tablespoon of baking soda or baking powder. That kind of stuff matters. A lot. In all honesty, they're not too bad. They’re just a little flat and stuck together. So let’s just say these aren’t cookies. Let’s call it a big oatmeal raisin chocolate chip granola bar! A monster granola bar that can feed approximately 15 people.

This crazy exercise reminded me of the time I developed an unhealthy obsession with baking cheesecake. The summer before my grandma had her stroke - I think I was about 8 at the time – she became my partner in cheesecake crime. And man, did we commit a lot of crimes against the baking world. We didn’t have a cookbook – geez, we didn’t even have the right tools like a mixer or measuring spoons. What we did have was the recipe off the back of a cream cheese package and some blind ass faith. To be fair, desserts weren’t a common thing in my Asian household. Fruits were/are our dessert, because nothing motivates one more to finish their food than a nice big banana and some orange slices.

But this was America and I wanted cheesecake. Grandma and I turned out disaster after disaster. Graham cracker crumbs as a crust? Never grounded fine enough. Cream cheese? Never beaten until smooth. I don’t know how exactly, but one version came out gelatinous. And what the hell was a springform pan? I didn’t even know what that was until college. These things did not jive with my 8-year old brain and my grandma’s old world cooking sense.

One weekend we got it right. It was a little thin (we used a 9x13 pan) and tinted a strange violet color (canned blueberries), but it was the right consistency and tasted like real cheesecake! Victory was ours. It's one of my most favorite memories ever. We didn’t have another baking summer like that again after she got sick.

As an adult in today's modern society that includes such things as the Internet and an iPad to take into the kitchen with me - and as someone in possession of the right baking equipment, I realize I don’t have to subject myself to this kind of experimentation anymore. I can do other things to keep my brain healthy and active…like play more chess or learn to read and write Chinese. But this was fun, and it reminded me not only of grandma, but of a time in my life when I didn’t give up until I got the results I wanted. Where did that me go? Time to find her.

So let’s see where this takes me…more blind ass faith baking to come!

Mini-cheesecakes caught on camera...

Cameras are being installed in our office! For security purposes, supposedly, but I know what they're trying to do. They're trying to monitor how much work isn't getting done because I'm too busy looking up dessert recipes and weight loss before and after pictures. Well! Had I not delved into the world of mini-cheesecakes (not the kind where you stick a Nilla wafer on the bottom of a cupcake liner), I never would have been able to create these:

This was my second attempt at this madness (the first batch came out lumpy and was quickly introduced to la basura). The graham cracker crust was a bit too crumbly for my liking this time around, but the consistency was lump free (room temperature cream cheese, people...room temperature cream cheese).

MINI VANILLA CHEESECAKES

Adapted from cakeonthebrain.blogspot.com who adapted it from the Williams Sonoma recipe on the back of the bakeware box (I used a Chicago metallic mini-cheesecake pan, but didn't like the recipe on the box)

For the Crusts: 1 cup (114 g) chocolate cookie or vanilla wafer crumbs (I blended up some graham crackers)
2 T sugar
pinch of salt
2 T unsalted butter, melted

For the Filling: 16 oz (500 g) cream cheese
2 eggs
1/4 cup (60 ml) heavy cream
1/2 cup (125g) sugar (I added 1 tsp of pure vanilla)

pinch of salt

For decoration: I used strawberries with dark chocolate shavings and blueberries with white chocolate shavings

1. Have all the ingredients at room temperature. Preheat oven to 350degreesF. Lightly grease the cups of the 12-cup cheesecake pan.

2. To make the crusts, stir together the cookie crumbs, sugar and salt in a small bowl. Add the melted butter and stir until combined. Divide the mixture evenly among the cups and using your fingertips, press it evenly into the bottom (it's probably a good idea to measure out the crumbs so you get consistent looking mini-cheesecakes, to be perfectly honest with you. If you don't measure, you will end up with wonky looking cheesecake botoms like mine)

3. Bake until the crusts are set, about 10 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool completely. Reduce the heat to 300degreesF.

4. To make the filling, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat the cream cheese on low speed until smooth, 2 to 3 minutes. Increase the speed to medium-low and add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the cream and beat until incorporated, about 1 minute. Add the sugar and salt and beat until incorporated, about 2 minutes, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

5. Pour the batter into the crusts, dividing it evenly among the cups (the batter should be looking pretty smooth operator at this point). Bake until the cheesecakes are set, about 18 minutes (the recipe says 20 minutes, but the first time I did that they came out overdone. Every oven is different though, so just watch for it. A little jiggly-ishy on top doesn't necessarily mean it's undercooked. These things will still continue to cook for a little bit even after you pull them out of the oven).

6. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool completely. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours beore unmolding (I overnighted these babies).

7. To unmold, gently push up to remove the cheesecake from the cup (carefully, carefully). Use a small spatula or butter knife to remove the cake from the metal bottom. If the cheesecakes are sticking to the pan, gently run a toothpick around each cheesecake to loosen it before pushing it out of the cup. Makes 12 mini cheesecakes.

Special thanks to my good friend Bebe B. for the photo shoot at the office today. We make HR fun.