Leprechaun Cheesecakes Food

LEPRECHAUN CHEESECAKES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°F LIne 12 cups in muffin pan with paper or silicone liners. Place a cookie in the bottom of each cup, trimming to fit, if necessary.
• In a bowl, using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar until fluffy. Beat in cornstarch, egg, cream and vanilla until smooth. Stir in lemon zest and lime zest and food coloring, if using, tinting to the desired shade of green.
• Spoon cream cheese mixture on top of cookies in muffin cups and smooth tops. Bake for 15-20 minutes or just until puffed and set. Let cool in pan on a rack. Refrigerate for about 1 hour or until chilled.
• SPARKLY CREAM: In a chilled bowl, using an electric mixer, whip cream untl soft peaks form. Beat in icing sugar and cornstarch just until stiff peaks form.
• Fold in 2 tablespoons of the green sugar, leaving ribbons of color. Dollop cream on top of each cheesecake and sprinkle with remaining green sugar (decorated cheesecakes can be loosely covered and refrigerated for up to 8 hours).
• COOKING TIP: If you need to trim the cookies, warm them in the oven for a few minutes to soften them and carefully cut with a cookie cutter or serrated knife.
• To make cheesecakes ahead, place cooled cakes in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze for up to 3 months. If frozen, let thaw in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours. Decorate with sparkly cream the day of serving.

LUCKY LEPRECHAUN COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes or until easy to handle., Preheat oven to 350°. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4-in. thickness. For leprechauns, cut out dough with lightly floured 5-in. gingerbread boy cookie cutter. If desired, trim leprechaun's body for a thinner shape. , For each hat, cut a 1-1/4-in. square and a 1-3/4x1/4-in. brim from dough scraps. Place leprechauns 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Place hat squares and brims above heads, shaping gently to touch the heads., Bake 10-14 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool 1 minute before carefully removing to wire racks to cool completely., Tint small amounts of Royal Icing pink, skin tone and black. Leave a small amount plain (white). Tint remaining icing Kelly green, leaf green green and orange. Frost leprechauns; if desired, decorate using shamrock sprinkles on hat and gold sprinkles as buttons, use edible marker to draw freckles.