We did it the old fashioned way....

Ryan, Lindsay and I have been in the kitchen today. We baked a cheesecake, a batch of snickerdoodles, mexican wedding cookies,Reese Cup peanut blossoms, molasses cookies, and a batch of the Artisan Bread, most of which Ryan stirred by hand...

I was telling Ry that when I was a small child, we didn't have a mixer, and when Mother would bake, Daddy would stir. It's hard work stirring all that batter, but he wanted to give it a try, so he stirred the cookies by hand and the result was creamy smooth cookie dough...

Here's links to what we fixed in case you are interested. I've made the molasses cookies since the boys were little, they are big and moist and really fragrant. The mexican wedding cookies are a family tradition, the Reese Cup Blossoms and the Artisan Bread are new for us this year, and who doesn't love Snickerdoodles.

Just click on the name of the food for the recipe.

King Arthur Flour Snickerdoodles
Reese Cup Peanut Butter Blossoms (I substituted miniature Reese Cups for the Hershey Kisses)
Molasses Cookies from Silver Palate
Mexican Wedding Cookies
Artisan Bread

And the recipe for the Bon Appetit Cheesecake is -
CRUST:
1 package crushed graham crackers
3 Tablespoons sugar
4 Tablespoons butter -- melted

FILLING:
4 8-ounce packages cream cheese -- room temp.
4 eggs
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons vanilla

TOPPING:
2 cups sour cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to
350F. Lightly butter 9 or 10 inch springform pan.

For crust: Combine walnuts, graham cracker crumbs
and butter. Press compactly onto bottom of pan.

For filling: Beat cream cheese in large bowl of
electric mixer until smooth. Add eggs, sugar, lemon
juice and vanilla and beat thoroughly. Spoon over
crust.

Set pan on baking sheet to catch any butter that may
drip out. Bake 10 inch cake 40-45 minutes or 9 inch
cake 50 to 55 minutes. (Cake may rise slightly and
crack in several areas; it will settle again, cracks
will minimize and topping will cover it up.) Remove
from oven and let stand at room temp 15 minutes.
Retain oven temperature at 350.

For topping: Combine sour cream, sugar and vanilla
and blend well. Cover and refrigerate. When cake has
finished baking, spoon topping over, starting at center
and extending to within 1/2 inch of edge. Return to
oven and bake 5 minutes longer. Let cool, then
refrigerate cheesecake for at least 24 hours or,
preferably, 2 to 3 days.

This is wonderful plain, even better with cherry or strawberry
topping...