Challenge Ingredient: Cream Cheese

This week our challenge ingredient is cream cheese.


What is cream cheese? On About.com we learn:

Cream cheese is an American invention developed in 1872 in New York state. A cheese distributor soon commissioned the enterprising dairyman to produce the cream cheese in volume under the trade name "Philadelphia Brand®." The company was eventually bought out by Kraft Foods in 1928, and still remains the most widely-recognized brand of cream cheese in the United States.

Cream cheese is similar to French Neufchatel in that it is made from cow's milk, but differs in that it is unripened and often contains emulsifiers to lend firmness and lengthen shelf-life.

For cream cheese tips, hints and solutions, click HERE.

To introduce this challenge I was planning on posting my husband's family's super easy no-bake cheesecake recipe, but I'm not sure if it is top secret or not, and I don't want to wake him up to ask, so I'll find out tomorrow and possibly add it to this post. *fingers crossed*

Let's see what interesting things we can do with cream cheese. Please post by Sunday night, and don't forget--there is still time to post your APPLE recipes!