Tasty Trees

From Family Fun magazine. I borrowed their picture because I lost my camera. I'll post mine if I can find it later.

Ingredients

* 3 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup butter, softened
* 2 cups sugar

* 2 eggs
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* Wooden craft sticks
* 2 or 3 tubes green icing
* M&M's Minis

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Instructions

1.

Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium-size bowl. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar, then stir in the eggs and vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture, one third at a time, mixing well after each addition. Gather the dough into a ball, wrap it in plastic, and chill for at least 2 hours.
2.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Roll the dough into a 1/4-inch thickness between sheets of waxed paper. Remove the top sheet. Use a butter knife to cut out 3-1/4-inch-tall triangles.
3.

Place the triangles on lightly greased cookie sheets 1 inch apart. Insert a craft stick three quarters of the way under each cookie. Bake for about 10 minutes or until the cookie edges turn light brown. Let the cookies cool for a few minutes on the pan, then transfer them to a rack to cool completely. Now your kids can decorate the tree pops with piped-on icing and candy "lights". Makes 5 dozen.

Coconut Cheesecake

Crust:
1/4 c butter
16 oreos

Filling:
3 pkg cream cheese, softened (8 oz each)
2/3 c sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp coconut extract
1/2 tsp rum extract
2/3 small can Coco Lopez
3 Tbsp rum
2 handfuls toasted coconut (approx 3/4 cup)

Topping:
3 squares white chocolate
2 tsp shortening
toasted coconut

Crush Oreos in food processor. Combine with butter and press onto bottom of 9- or 10-inch springform pan. (I usually put parchment on the pan first, but I don't know if it makes a difference.)
Combine all filling ingredients in mixer. Mix well.
Pour onto crust. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, then reduce to 200 degrees and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Turn off oven and let sit for 30 minutes. Refrigerate overnight.

Melt white chocolate and shortening in microwave. Toast coconut in oven. Spread melted chocolate over the top and sprinkle coconut over the top. Refrigerate until serving time.

Ginger Cheesecake

From Rachael Ray

* 1 1/2 cups finely crushed gingersnaps (about 6 ounces)
* 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
* 1/2 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
* 1 pound cream cheese (two 8-ounce packages), at room temperature
* 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
* 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
* Pinch salt
* 1 egg plus 4 egg whites
* 1 pint sour cream
* 1/2 cup plus 2 teaspoons finely chopped candied ginger

Directions:

1.

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350°. Wrap the outside of a 9-inch springform pan with heavy-duty foil. In a medium bowl, stir together the gingersnap crumbs and butter. Press the mixture evenly in the bottom of the prepared pan and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and lower the temperature to 325°. Sprinkle the hot crust evenly with the chocolate chips and let cool.
2.

Meanwhile, using an electric mixer, beat together the cream cheese, 3/4 cup sugar, the vanilla and salt at medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. Gradually mix in the egg and egg whites, scraping the bowl again. Mix in 1 cup sour cream. Turn off the machine and, using a spatula, stir in 1/2 cup ginger.
3.

Pour the batter into the crust. Place the wrapped pan in a roasting pan and fill the roasting pan with warm water to a depth of 1 inch. Bake until the cheesecake is just set, about 50 minutes. Transfer the cake to a rack, remove the foil and let the cheesecake cool completely. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, 4 hours or overnight.
4.

In a small bowl, combine the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar and 1 cup sour cream, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove the sides of the springform pan and spread the sour cream mixture on top. Sprinkle the remaining 2 teaspoons ginger in the center. Serve cold.