A little brown sugar, along with cinnamon, chili and chocolate, adds an appealing hint of heat to velvety cool cream cheese. Top Spiced Chocolate Cream Cheese Spread with chocolate curls and cocoa powder then serve with ginger snaps or shortbread cookies for a pretty deconstructed cheesecake to share with friends.

Down the Tracks

On a recent visit to my hometown I had some time to visit the county seat. It was nice to spend some time walking around the courthouse square. For a full morning I lingered, retracing my steps and stirring memories. I walked through the courthouse and around the block where I took my driving test in Aunt Betty‘s old Chevy when I was sixteen. On Main Street, along the railroad tracks was the diner where I ate lunch with Dad and Pappaw after making arrangements for Mom at the local funeral home. Not far beyond was the street where one of my best friends lived and where I met my first boyfriend.

Across from the courthouse I visited the County Historical Society, then browsed through the shops around the courthouse square. Camera in hand, I admired a few architectural details that had escaped my attention in my younger years. I studied the railroad tracks in the middle of Main Street, a feature of interest both then and now. Looking down the tracks to where they curved out of town and into the distance, I couldn’t help but think of all they had carried to and from this small town over the years. I even joined with the tourists in hoping for a train to pass by.

All Things Old are New Again

Of course many things have changed. The dentist office at the end of the block on Main Street is gone. The dime store across the street, where I shopped for Christmas gifts as a child, no longer offers its affordable treasures. In the place of those offices and shops I remember, others have sprung up or moved in. There are now art studios and antique stores in their place. There is even a nice local bookstore and coffeehouse to look through in search of hometown history and color.

I found one or two books of interest. Concluding my purchase, I noticed the gift items near the cash register. There I found a collection of vintage silver flatware stamped with whimsical phrases from Sycamore Hill. Not only were these nostalgic spoons, forks and spreading knives tempting period pieces on their own but they were adorned with the object of my ultimate weakness, the written word. After looking through the entire collection I found my favorite. I purchased a small butter knife with the words “spread the love” stamped on the blade.

The Spice of Life

When I got home I searched for a recipe to feature my Sycamore Hill spreader. The one I came up with also has its origins in an earlier time and place. It is based on a recipe I cut from a magazine shortly after I was married. Back then I thought of it as a simple reference to Cheesecake, a dessert I had just discovered and loved to make.

I adapted the original recipe slightly, to spice things up and to add a personal stamp. I substituted brown sugar for white, to add a caramel note to the flavor. Then I included one of my favorite artisan chocolates, Olive and Sinclair’s Mexican-style cinnamon chili chocolate bar, to bring an appealing hint of heat to the velvety cool cream cheese. (Feel free to experiment with your own favorite flavored chocolate or simply use an equivalent amount of chocolate chips.)

No baking is required here. The ingredients are simply mixed, then molded and chilled. Adorn the spread with a dusting of spiced cocoa powder and chocolate curls. Then add a side of ginger snaps or shortbread cookies to create a pretty deconstructed cheesecake to share with friends. What better way to “spread the love”!

Enjoy!