Christmas Tea

Tonight I attended the First Assembly Girlfriend's Connection Christmas Tea.  Had a perfect dinner of Spinach and Artichoke Quiche with a great salad.  The quiche was awesome, I need to find out who made them.  We also had a choice of either Ham & Cheese or Broccoli & Cheese.  I'm a huge spinach fan, so I jumped on that one. Wanted to tuck the whole thing in my nickers and feast on it tomorrow.  I was the hostess at our table, which meant that I provided tableware, the centerpiece and brought the dessert, I also had to behave myself, which was difficult.  I had wonderful guests at my table including my good friend & sister, Judy as well as my good friend Cheri.  It was fun to get to know the others that sat with us, this type of event is great for reaching out and meeting new people, something I don't do enough.  Didn't think the Vanilla Mousse Cheesecake would be such a bit hit, but I was quickly asked for the recipe.  I promised I'd post it on my blog, so here goes, it's deliciously simple.



Vanilla Mousse Cheesecake with Candied Cranberries

40 Vanilla Wafers, crushed (about 1-1/2 cups)
3 Tbs. butter, melted
4 pkg. (8 oz. each) Cream Cheese, softened, divided
1 cup sugar, divided
1 Tbs. plus 1 tsp. vanilla, divided
3 eggs
1 tub (8 oz.) Cool Whip, thawed

Heat oven to 325 degrees.  Mix wafer crumbs and butter; press onto bottom of 9-inch springform pan.

Beat 3 pkg. cream cheese, 3/4 cup sugar and 1 Tbs. vanilla with mixer until well blended.  Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each just until blended.  Pour over crust.

Bake 50-55 minutes or until center is almost set.  Run knife around rim of pan to loosen cake; cool completely in pan.

Beat remaining cream cheese, sugar and vanilla with mixer in large bowl until well blended.  Whisk in Cool Whip, spread over cheesecake.  Refrigerate 4 hours.  Remove rim of pan before serving cheesecake.  Garnish with fresh berries if desired.

I bought a bag of fresh cranberries, made a wash of egg white and a little water, dunked the cranberries in the mixture, then transferred them to a cookie sheet that I had sprinkled sugar on.  I just let the cranberries roll around a bit, then left them alone.  The sugar dried on the berries and added great texture and eye appeal on this scrumptious cheesecake.  Enjoy!

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