I thought I'd start off today's post with a somewhat obvious observation. Once you start baking (and inevitably sharing all of the diet-busting goodness with those around you) you tend to get a reputation for being "the girl who bakes," which can be a good thing and a bad thing. It's a good thing because once folks learn about your new found hobby, they're pretty willing to sample the results, and often end up being the best providers of honest feedback. This is great in-and-of itself because feedback leads to practice, and practice makes better, right?
However, you may also begin fielding requests to bring baked goodies to every clam bake, birthday party and office function known to man. Now, I love baking, but if I had to whip up desserts every day, our kitchen would never be clean and I'd start to resent my new favorite hobby. So--as I suspect is the plight of many amateur bakers--I've had to perfect the ancient art of "No." In doing so, I've been able to focus on one thing at a time and ultimately make a better dessert, so I like to think it's a win-win for everybody! That leads me to today's recipe, which I used for another office party last month.
The above ended up being a modified version of this Martha Stewart recipe for chocolate cheesecake, minus the chocolate ganache on top and with raspberry garnish instead. The crust I tweaked by adding crushed hazelnuts, which I'm a big fan of. Before you use them, make sure to blanch and toast them a bit to bring out the flavor. Also, make sure to blind bake the crust for about 10 minutes before adding the chocolate filling. Enjoy!
For the Crust:
1 package of Oreo Cookies (8-9 oz.)
1 cup blanched, dry roasted and pulverized hazelnuts
1 stick unsalted butter
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