What Shall We Bake Today?

Uncategorized 2 Minutes

Today’s recipe is a little complicated, but oh-so-worth it!! Oreo Cheesecake!

Ingredients

Crust:

Baking spray with flour

28 chocolate sandwich cookies (such as Oreo)

2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

1/4 tsp. kosher salt

Cheesecake:

3 (8-oz. each) packages cream cheese, at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp. kosher salt

3 large eggs, at room temperature

1 Tbsp. vanilla extract

1/2 cup sour cream, at room temperature

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

16 chocolate sandwich cookies (such as Oreo) chopped (about 2 cups), plus more for garnish

Sweetened whipped cream, for serving

Directions

Prepare pan:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Wrap the exterior of a 9-inch springform pan with aluminum foil (see Note). Lightly coat pan with baking spray, and line bottom of pan with parchment paper. Lightly coat parchment paper with baking spray, and set aside.

Prepare Crust:

Put cookies in a Ziploc bag and using a rolling pin, crush the cookies.

Add butter to cookie crumbs:

Add melted butter and salt; mix with crumbs.

Press Crust into pan, and bake:

Spoon crumb mixture into prepared pan. Press firmly into bottom and about 1 1/2 to 2 inches up sides of pan. Bake in preheated oven until set and fragrant, about 12 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack, about 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325°F.

Meanwhile, prepare the Cheesecake:

Beat cream cheese, sugar, and salt with a mixer on medium speed until smooth, light, and fluffy, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl as needed, 2 to 3 minutes.

Add eggs and vanilla:

With mixer on low speed, add eggs, one at a time, beating until just combined after each addition. Beat in vanilla until combined.

Add sour cream and flour:

Add sour cream and flour; beat on medium-low speed until combined, 15 to 30 seconds.

Add cookies:

Fold in chopped cookies until evenly distributed.

Add batter to pan:

Pour batter into cooled crust, and spread into an even layer. Place springform pan in a large roasting pan, and pour hot water into roasting pan until it comes halfway up sides of springform pan.

Bake cheesecake:

Bake at 325°F until edges are set and top appears mostly dry but cheesecake still jiggles as a whole, 50 to 55 minutes.

Cool cheesecake in oven:

Turn off oven, and crack oven door open; allow Cheesecake to cool in oven 1 hour. Remove from oven, and let cool at room temperature on a wire rack 1 hour.

Refrigerate cheesecake:

Refrigerate, uncovered, until set, at least 4 hours or up to 12 hours. (Loosely cover with aluminum foil only when completely cool to prevent condensation buildup.) Run a small offset spatula around edges, and remove Cheesecake from pan.

Top with whipped cream, and garnish with additional chopped cookies.

ENJOY!

Unknown's avatar

Published by pat frederick

Published

77 thoughts on “What Shall We Bake Today?”

  9. Based Jessica

    @RealJessica

    It’s the Mamdani effect. 🤮 “Honestly, there’s no way that people are actually visiting New York City, or people live in New York City, and they enjoy living here. I have lived in New York City my entire life.”

    “I have never seen something like this. EVER. I’ve lived here 26 years. I’m currently driving through Canal Street. It literally looks like I just entered a third-world country. Streets are absolutely disgusting. There’s garbage everywhere.”

    “There’s like cops just swarming the streets for no reason because they’re not even doing anything. It literally looks like a cesspool full of people that are like imported here and placed here to ruin the city. It’s like so disgusting.”

    “And then on top of that, you guys went and voted for an absolute imbecile to run the city who is going to do nothing except make the city worse. So, enjoy New York City. This is definitely not the Big Apple anymore.”

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  11. EXCERPT: “At New York City’s Interfaith Breakfast last week, Mayor Zohran Mamdani did not merely criticize federal immigration enforcement — he reframed it as a religious and moral transgression. Invoking the Islamic doctrine of hijra, he urged New Yorkers to “stand alongside the stranger” in permanent, unqualified solidarity, elevating prophetic example above constitutional sovereignty. 

    “Islam [is] a religion built upon a narrative of migration,” Mamdani declared. “The story of the Hijra reminds us that Prophet Muhammad … was a stranger too, who fled Mecca and was welcomed in Medina.” He then universalized the narrative into a binding civic command: “The obligation is upon us all … to look out for the stranger.” 

    In this framework, federal enforcement is not lawful authority but cruelty. Immigration officers become “masked agents, paid by our own tax dollars,” who “violate the Constitution and visit terror upon our neighbors.”  

    “If these are not attacks upon the stranger among us, what is?” Mamdani asked. “There is no reforming something so rotten and base.” 

    This is an inversion of moral authority. 

    Mass migration is framed as a moral and civilizational imperative, demanding compassion and openness, while serious pushback on enforcement is recast as intolerant, unjust, or even xenophobic. This framing mirrors elements of the Muslim Brotherhood’s doctrine of tamkeen (institutional entrenchment) outlined in strategic writings such as the 1991 Explanatory Memorandum and the 1982 Project, which describe a phased civilizational strategy built on population presence, parallel institutions, resistance to full assimilation, and long-term influence over policy, law, and public narrative.  

    The result is a classic hypocrisy cost in the weaponization of mass migration: Constitutional states, bound by professed commitments to human rights and compassion, must either enforce borders and absorb accusations of cruelty, or abandon enforcement to preserve a humane self-image — while the advancing cause bears no reciprocal burden of allegiance, assimilation, or responsibility to the political community whose resources it claims…..”

    https://thefederalist.com/2026/02/13/mamdami-demands-u-s-immigration-policy-start-obeying-islam/

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. everyone said it would happen, but they voted (or cheated) anyway.

      the country better wake up to this bullshit.

      and to think it’s happening in NYC–the world trade center was the beginning…and it’s being allowed. they DID forget.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  12. He was the absolute best!!!! I adored that man!!!

    “‘The Intimidator’: NASCAR Honors Legend Dale Earnhardt 25 Years After He Died In Its Biggest Race — In many ways, Dale Earnhardt Sr.’s death is most notable for what it prevented — namely, another fatality within NASCAR in the 25 years since his passing.”

    The Federalist, By: Christopher Jacobs, February 13, 2026

    Dale Earnhardt

    “Just outside the high banks of the Daytona International Speedway, three statues provide a testament to historic figures of the track’s history. Two of the statues depict members of the France family — Bill France Sr., his wife, and their son, Bill France Jr. — who presided over NASCAR and built the Daytona track. 

    But most fans gravitate toward the third statue, of Dale Earnhardt Sr. The second-generation racer, and father of former NASCAR star and broadcaster Dale Earnhardt Jr., died not far from that statue, in a crash in the fourth turn on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. A quarter-century on from that tragic event, fans and the entire NASCAR community will remember and mourn his legacy, including through a Fox Sports special premiering Feb. 12 (after this article was written). 

    Courtesy of Christopher Jacobs

    Emotional Wallop

    Earnhardt’s tragic passing overshadowed what, to that point, had been a historic day for NASCAR. The 2001 Daytona 500 was the first race broadcast on Fox, part of a new television contract that consolidated stock car racing coverage and recognized the sport’s growing popularity. The race itself saw a compelling finish that brought the fans to their feet. 

    On the last lap, Earnhardt helped push Michael Waltrip, who was driving a car Earnhardt owned, to the victory. Earnhardt, normally a hard-charging racer, sat back at the end of this Daytona 500, willing to play wingman for one of his drivers. Waltrip won his first Cup race — breaking a streak of 462 races without a victory — in the biggest stock car race of them all. To top it off, Waltrip’s brother Darrell was broadcasting the race for Fox, calling his brother on to victory. 

    Not long after the older Waltrip witnessed his younger brother take the checkered flag, he quickly followed up with a plaintive wish: “I hope Dale’s okay. I guess he’s all right — isn’t he?” Earnhardt wasn’t. In the multi-car pileup behind Michael Waltrip, he wrecked into the wall, causing massive head trauma that ended his life. 

    Earnhardt’s death packed a punch on multiple levels. His accomplishments speak for themselves —76 wins and seven career championships (tied for most all-time). But his role as “The Intimidator,” with his Southern drawl, wrap-around sunglasses, bushy mustache, and good-ol’ boy personality, made him epitomize the working-class, slightly renegade mentality of stock car racing. Love him or hate him, few NASCAR fans could ignore Earnhardt, one of the few personalities who transcended the sport into popular culture.  

    Lasting Effect

    The area around the base of the Earnhardt statue at Daytona contains a small walkway listing his accomplishments. At one end lies a step with the words “February 18, 2001,” the date of his death, symbolizing the close of a life and career that ended far too soon. 

    Courtesy of Christopher Jacobs

    And yet, in many tangible ways, Earnhardt’s legacy lasted far beyond the 200th lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. Following his death, Richard Childress Racing promoted a young California racer, Kevin Harvick, to take Earnhardt’s seat. Less than a month later, Harvick won his first Cup race at Atlanta, beating future Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon in a dramatic last-lap shootout. Harvick’s first career win came in his third Cup race, prompting fans (many choking back tears) to hold out three fingers, commemorating the famous No. 3 that Earnhardt drove. Harvick went on to his own Hall of Fame driving career, moving into the Fox broadcast booth in 2024. 

    When NASCAR returned to Daytona in July 2001 for the first race at the speedway since Earnhardt’s death, none other than his son captured the checkered flag — with Michael Waltrip just behind him, blocking for Earnhardt Jr. just like his father blocked for Waltrip’s win that February. The two celebrated jubilantly in the infield, with Waltrip sharing in the victory party he didn’t get to experience following the elder Earnhardt’s death, and the younger Earnhardt earning a cathartic win that he described as his “fondest moment” as a driver. 

    But in many ways, Dale Earnhardt Sr.’s death is most notable for what it prevented — namely, another fatality within NASCAR in the 25 years since his passing. As an ESPN E60 documentary explored five years ago, on the 20th anniversary of the fatal crash, the Earnhardt incident forced both NASCAR and its drivers to take a longer, deeper look at safety measures. The sport mandated the use of head and neck restraints to prevent the type of whiplash-induced concussions that killed not just Earnhardt but several other stock car drivers in the years leading up to his death. 

    The head and neck restraints, SAFER barriers to absorb energy, and other safety innovations helped Ryan Newman survive his horrific crash in the 2020 Daytona 500, and countless other drivers likewise walk away from their vehicles following similar incidents. Like football, NASCAR has had to face difficult conversations surrounding brain trauma, as Earnhardt Jr. and recent Hall of Fame inductee Kurt Busch both ended their careers early due to concussion-related symptoms. But Earnhardt’s death catalyzed that discussion in a way that (unfortunately) the prior deaths had not, and made NASCAR place a premium on driver safety. 

    A quarter century after NASCAR President Mike Helton somberly informed the press and the world that “We’ve lost Dale Earnhardt,” no official has had to make a similar announcement. That as much as anything speaks to the lasting legacy of stock car racing’s “Intimidator.” 

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

      1. Actually…..they turn left/counterclockwise – otherwise, the driver’s side would be subject to high impacts with the wall…..I didn’t enjoy the superspeedway races (1 – 1.5+ miles) – that does get incredibly boring until the end. But I really loved the short tracks – a lot of bumping and banging and you’re much closer to pit lane and the track itself.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

      1. I’ve pretty well got things situated so that they can’t get to any of the seed feeders so I don’t see nearly so many; plus, they always nested in the cottonwood tree and that’s gone now.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

  19. I decided to switch to Newsmax instead of Fox just to see if they were also focusing almost solely on the Guthrie kidnapping – interesting that it’s not even close…..in one hour, there was ONE update that was 15 minutes long – 1/4 of the show vs. Fox’s 3/4’s of the show. I think I’ll quit on Fox and stick with Newsmax.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  20. Just The News: “The Virginia Supreme Court on Friday cleared the way for Old Dominion Democrats to hold their planned April referendum on redrawing the state’s congressional district maps.

    The Friday ruling did not address the merits of the legal challenge, but instead simply permitted the Commonwealth to hold the referendum while the case proceeds.

    2026-02-13-Order-.pdf

    Democrats have sought to redraw the state’s district maps in a bid to cancel out redistricting efforts by Republicans in other states ahead of the 2026 midterms. The Democratic proposal is widely expected to shift the state’s congressional delegation in favor of that party.”

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  24. Steve Hilton @SteveHiltonx 🚨

    NEW FROM CAL DOGE: Our first Fraud Report. $370 million in Cannabis Tax money that was supposed to be used for “substance abuse prevention” siphoned off into a Democrat voter registration slush fund.

    DETAILS: 1. Californians voted to fund youth drug prevention through the Cannabis Tax. Instead, $370M in revenue is bankrolling leftwing activism.

    2. The money flows through a single unelected nonprofit – The Center at Sierra Health Foundation’s Elevate Youth program.

    3. The Center has gotten rich off this arrangement – growing from $11.8M in 2018 to $197M in 2024. The CEO makes over $600K.

    4. The Center runs Prop 64 dollars through to a web of NGOs, including the Jakara Movement, Young Invincibles, and Asian Refugees United – for activism, organizing, and voter registration.

    5. This is not drug prevention – it’s a taxpayer funded pipeline from the governor’s office to leftwing political organizing. Read the full report from CAL DOGE – link below in next post 👇

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  26. Like

    Reply

  30. “In April of 1941, routine maintenance work at the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument led to an unexpected discovery. While digging a trench near Last Stand Hill, National Park Service workers uncovered a crude enclosure made of cottonwood logs. Beneath it lay the long-buried bones of cavalry horses killed during the Battle of the Little Bighorn in June of 1876.

    The find revealed an early and largely forgotten effort to collect and bury the remains of the Seventh Cavalry’s mounts. After the battle, hundreds of dead horses were left scattered across the battlefield. Their equipment was recovered, and their bodies were later gathered into burial areas to clear the ground and preserve the site. Over time, the exact locations of these horse cemeteries faded from memory.

    The discovery highlights the critical role horses played in nineteenth-century warfare. Cavalry horses were not simply transportation — they were essential to movement, combat, and survival. Speed, endurance, and training could determine the outcome of a battle, and wounded horses rarely survived the chaos of combat.

    This reality is underscored by the story of Comanche, the Seventh Cavalry horse who survived the battle. Badly wounded but alive, Comanche became a powerful symbol of the conflict and a rare reminder of the hundreds of horses that did not leave the field.

    This video examines the 1941 discovery, the importance of horses in battle, and how the legacy of Comanche helps us understand the Battle of the Little Bighorn through the lives — and deaths — of the animals that carried it.”

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  31. “You really hardly ever see a good headline that includes the phrase ‘Florida Man.’ It’s always a running joke about the stupid shit guys here in the Sunshine State do, but this time is much different, with a much better outcome. A passerby jumped into a frigid Florida pond to save a pregnant woman from her sinking car recently – giving her the opportunity to safely birth her baby hours later.

    Sheldy Apollon of Florida’s Port St Lucie community was 34 weeks pregnant, with pre-eclampsia, and driving to a prenatal massage arranged for her by her fiance on the morning of 6 February when she began feeling dizzy. Apollon, who was also celebrating her birthday that day, stopped to try to let it pass before resuming her trip. When she realized she wasn’t feeling better, she attempted to pull over again.

    Only that time she inadvertently plunged headlong into a pond. “I started to feel some water on my feet, so I started to panic a little,” Apollon said when her vehicle started sinking into the pond.

    Fortunately for her, Logan Hayes, of nearby Sebastian, was running errands in that area at the time. He saw Apollon’s car barrel into the pond and – despite temperatures in the low 40s  – he instinctively dove into the water. The only door Hayes could open once he reached the vehicle was the rear passenger. All the other doors were submerged.

    Hayes said that Apollon was frantic in the driver’s seat when they saw each other. She was asking how to get out when Hayes said: “You have to come with me.”

    Apollon climbed between the two front seats into the back of her car as the vehicle started tilting, causing more water to flood the car. After she managed to get out, Hayes wrapped his arms around her hips to help her swim to shore.

    That is a great Florida Man – any Man – for that matter. Well played, Logan. You get a star from the teacher for that one…”

    Like

    Reply

  34. Extraordinary Entrance

    Rest a minute here on my arm

     Banded Kingfisher

    “Unlike most kingfishers, it prefers dense forests over open rivers, quietly perching on branches while scanning for prey below. Its powerful bill allows it to catch fish, frogs, insects, and small reptiles, striking with lightning-fast precision.”

    Like

    Reply

  36. “The EPSTEIN Affair: Like It or Not, This Is How I See It”

    Michael T. Flynn LTG USA (RET), Feb 13, 2026

    “The Epstein affair, long the subject of being a sophisticated intelligence operation designed to compromise global elites through blackmail (i.e., grotesque, demonic, pure evil “honey traps”) in order to control what they do and how they behave, now appears to be another “conspiracy theory” turned true.

    SO PUHLEEEZE, stop telling me and everyone else in the nation to move along, nothing to see here. AND our own intelligence community via a certain intelligence agency is clearly implicated along with their counterparts in other nations.

    FOR ALL—WHAT THIS IS ABOUT!!!

    This “AFFAIR” is about CLEAR sexual abuse of CHILDREN; murder, rape, mutilation, other weird psycho sh!t behavior by people who clearly believe they are untouchable. The overwhelming evidence (and more to come out) also paints a horrific picture that Epstein did not act alone.

    He was a critical node in a dark web of predatory intelligence activities aimed at compromising the global elites (and many were easy prey because of their sick existing proclivities for child & other human and non human sacrifice).

    It is impossible without even more transparency to determine the full scale and scope of the compromise. Is every world leader compromised? Doubtful, but…

    Controlling the world takes a lot of effort, and that is the ultimate goal of Satan (or whichever of this elite club wears that hat currently—someone does). All of this madness and moral depravity highlights how influence and espionage often blur in elite circles. But when they want to get you, they will unless you understand what they’re doing and are able to stand against it.

    I have said in warfare a commander should NEVER state a RED-LINE…it gives away an option an enemy will exploit and that is true in the annals of warfare. However, in life, a RED-LINE (and my personal red line) for humanity MUST be to protect children at all costs from those who would commit grotesque criminal acts against them.

    It’s time for good men and women, at least in the United States of America, to stand against this abuse of children. We must!

    What is it the Bible says about placing a millstone around someone’s neck?”

    Like

    Reply

  38. Good Things

    Looks like a scene from an original James Bond movie.

    Quirky house, Bisbee, Cochise County, Arizona.

    One of these days….

    Among other signs…

    Like

    Reply

  39. A protective pattern was spread across a farm near Walsh, Colorado by a farmer using two tractors (upper right) during the Dust Bowl. Photo by Margaret Bourke-White, 1954.

    A Roman grave marker for pouring libations (wine, milk, honey, water or oil) into the grave

    A group of camels against a backdrop of burning oil fields, sabotaged by Iraqi troops. Gulf War, Kuwait, 1991. Photo taken by McCurry. 

    Like

    Reply

  40. Union Boss Jimmy Hoffa flipping off attorney Robert Kennedy during a Senate committee hearing in 1957.

    George, a white cat who lives at the top of one of the pylon supports of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, keeps a watchful eye on the city below. 1957

    Pregnant Jackie Kennedy enjoying a cigarette, 1963

    Maori chief Tomika Te Mutu, between 1860 and 1879

    The USS Missouri barely squeezing through the Panama Canal.

    Like

    Reply

Leave a comment