Sweet Swap!

It's time for the 1st ever Bring on the Lloyds... Sweet Swap!

I thought it would be fun to get together with my girlfriends and do this as a real live swap, but most of us have young kids and therefore are very busy. Plus, I wanted a way to include friends who aren't within driving distance. Hence the virtual Sweet Swap!

So, what do you need to do to participate?! Glad you asked...

1. Post your favorite sweets recipe on your blog. It can be cookies, cake, brownies, fudge, etc.
(if you don't have a blog, feel free to leave your recipe in the comments!)

2. Copy the permalink from your recipe entry.
(A permalink is the special link/url to one particular post, rather than the main url to your whole blog. You can usually get to that page by clicking on the title of your post or clicking on one of a variety of links that are automatically generated. Mine happens to be the time stamp. You should be able to find it by moving your cursor over the links...one should say 'permalink' in a tiny box near your cursor. If you run into trouble - email me!)

3. Come back here and enter your name along with the name of your recipe and permalink in the Mr. Linky box! (at the very bottom of this post)

here's an example:
Name: Bring on the Lloyds... (chocolate cheesecake)
Link: *your link here*


Here's my favorite cheesecake recipe, adapted from the Fudge Truffle Cheesecake recipe on AllRecipes.com



Chocolate Cheesecake

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups crushed chocolate graham crackers
  
• 1/4 cup margarine, softened
• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 3 (8 ounce) packages low fat cream cheese
• 1 (14 ounce) can low fat sweetened condensed milk
• 3 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix together crushed chocolate graham crackers and margarine by hand. Press ingredients into a 9 inch springform pan.
3. Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave for approx 1 1/2 minutes or until melted. Stir every 30 seconds.
   
4. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy with an electric mixer. Gradually beat in condensed milk until smooth. Mix in melted chocolate, eggs, and vanilla. Beat with electric mixer on low speed until the ingredients are thoroughly blended. Pour the filling into the prepared crust.
5. Bake at 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) for 60 minutes. Turn the oven off, open the door slightly and allow cheesecake to set in oven for another hour. Then remove from oven and place in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.
   
6. When cutting the cheesecake, be sure to clean the knife between each cut.