Trick... or treat? For the latest Chow Bella showdown, our writers whipped up a dessert reminiscent of, or incorporating, their favorite Halloween candy. Check back all week for recipes; on Friday our critic Laura Hahnefeld will pick her favorite.
Today: Katie Johnson's Twix Cheesecake Pie
I've never been much of a whiz in the kitchen (unless you count burnt as a spice and partially frozen as a lowbrow form of molecular gastronomy). So when the challenge of making a Halloween-inspired dish using our favorite commercial candies presented itself, I took the easy way out: Twix Cheesecake Pie.
See also: - Make Your Own Candy Corn - Make Your Own Candy Sushi
Yeah it sounds fancy what with the three part name and all, but honestly it's nearly impossible to screw up cheesecake, plus when I went recipe hunting on ye old inter webs I found a recipe on Recipe Girl that had supposedly won a blue ribbon in a local bake-off and incidentally, had been made by a 9-year-old boy (just the skill level I was hoping for).
What you'll need:
9 in pie dish 1 very large bag (around 30 count) of fun-sized Twix bars (why this size of candy bar is call 'fun' is beyond me. What's so fun about getting ripped off on chocolate? Answer me that, Mars Corporation) 1 package of regular single stuffed Oreos 2 8oz. packages of Philadelphia Cream Cheese (the 8 oz packages come in the foil bricks not the tubs) 4 tbsp. unsalted butter 2 Large eggs. Chicken eggs. (Just in case you weren't sure) 1/2 Cup White granulated sugar Jar of caramel sauce Jar of chocolate sauce (you will not even come close to using up either of these jars, so if already have a little leftover lying in your fridge, you're golden)
Last but not least, willpower -- lots of it.
What you'll need to do: Step 1. Take out about 25 Oreos from the package (the original recipe calls for 20 but I found that you'll lose some along the way - you'll see why). Seal them in a large Ziploc bag and beat the shit out of them with something heavy like a rolling pin or a cleaver. You could also grind them up using a Cuisinart, but my kitchen is devoid of such modern technologies. Once you've created a refined crumb substance, empty the Oreos into a mixing bowl.
Note: the cream filling in the Oreos will cause some of them to stick to the inside of the plastic bag (or Cuisinart if you're fancy), don't bother trying to scrape those remaining cookie entrails out. This is why you threw in a few extra cookies to begin with.
Step 2. Melt the butter and mix it in with the bowl of Oreo crumbs. Add the gritty chocolate substance to the pie dish and press it in evenly so that it forms a level pie crust at the base of the dish. Place the pie dish in the freezer and let it chill for about 30 minutes.
While you're waiting, take the cream cheese out of the fridge and let it get to room temperature. Also, now would be a good time chop up all the mini Twix bars (you can get at least 4 cut sections out of one mini bar). Good luck not eating one every 30 seconds while you do this.
Step 3. When the crust is cold and firm you can preheat your oven to 325 and begin making your pie filling. Beat together cream cheese, eggs, and sugar until they become a nice creamy texture. I chose to add cream cheese first, then eggs, then gradually sugar (that way thing have a better chance of blending evenly). Once you have your creamy texture, mix in 2 cups of chopped up Twix.
Step 4. Pour your filling into the pie dish and distribute it evenly with the help of a spatula. Put the pie in the oven and let it bake for 35-45 minutes (my oven took 45 minutes, because like me, it takes forever to get ready)
Step 5. When you're cheesecake pie is done, drizzle caramel sauce and chocolate sauce over the top, then sprinkle the remaining chopped up Twix bars. I guess you could wait until the pie has cooled down a bit before you do this, but I kind of like how the topping of Twix bars melts into the pie a bit.
Step 6. Let the pie cool, then leave it in the fridge until it's ready to be eaten- hopefully not entirely by you.