Cooper Caviness

By Published On: February 11, 2015

Cooper Caviness of Calhoun City has always said he wants to be a chef. His twin brother, Conner, says he will own a restaurant in New Orleans and Cooper will be the chef.

Cooper, 12, is most famous for his Crack Sticks and Pumpkin Cheesecake. He found the Crack Sticks recipe on the internet when looking for something to make for his mother, Connie, when she was coming home from a business trip. “The church ladies want them. They want them at school. People devour them,” he said.

He likes to make desserts, especially cheesecake during the holidays. In the first grade he made his first pumpkin cheesecake. That was also the year that he wanted a waffle maker for Christmas. Chocolate chip, cinnamon, or powdered sugar on top, are his preferred waffles.  He has always gotten a lot of cooking stuff for Christmas, according to his mother, because people know he likes to cook.

Cooper will eat most anything, and he loves vegetables–including broccoli and asparagus. “There’s not a vegetable he won’t eat,” said his dad, Michael. He likes chicken, roast beef, hot dogs and hamburgers, but not really ham, turkey or bologna. He is not a fan of really spicy food, but did eat alligator gumbo  once in New Orleans. His favorite food is sushi and his mother’s meat loaf, which she says is just plain meat loaf with Heinz ketchup on the top.

Connie says her whole life revolves around the kitchen because of the time they spend there. The boys sometimes have a homemade pizza cookoff, and have their parents pick a winner. They say, “Conner cooks because he likes to eat, but Cooper cooks because he likes to cook.” Cooper spent a lot of time in the kitchen with his late great grandmother, Lillie Darby, and learned a lot about cooking from her. He also likes to watch Bobby Flay and Iron Chef.

On their first Boy Scout camp out as a new troop, Cooper was named cook. On a  budget, he had to decide what they would eat. He said the breakfast cooked in a Dutch oven was their best meal.
When asked about one thing he would like to make, he said, “Creme Brulee. But I don’t have a blow torch.” He commented that he remembered how to separate eggs while looking at a creme brulee recipe. Before the end of the day Sunday, he had made Creme Brulee, and it was good, according to his mother. He used the oven broiler to caramelize the sugar on top, but said, “I can do better with a blow torch, Mom!” She says they will get one.

Crack Sticks
1 loaf of sliced bread
1-8 oz. cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup confectioners sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
3/4 cup butter, melted
Remove crust and flatten bread. In bowl, combine cream cheese and confectioners sugar. In another bowl, combine granulated sugar and cinnamon. Spread cream mixture on bread. Roll up. Dip in the melted butter. “Batter” in sugar/cinnamon mixture. Place on ungreased sheet. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Pumpkin Cheesecake
Gingersnap crumb crust:
1/4 cup butter
1 1/4 cups finely crushed gingersnaps
Filling:
2 blocks cream cheese
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 can pure pumpkin
1/2 tsp. cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and salt.
For crust: Melt butter, press gingersnaps firmly in springform pan. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes. Let cool. For filling: beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each. Add remaining ingredients. Beat well. Spread evenly over crust. Bake for 50-60 minutes until center is set. Run knife along inside edge of pan to allow cake to settle evenly. Place on wire rack until cooled completely. Chill overnight.

Creme Brulee
1 extra large egg
4 extra large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar, plus 1 Tbsp. for each serving
3 cups heavy cream
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 Tbsp. orange liquer
(recommended:  Grand Marnier)
Preheat oven to 300°. In bowl of electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix egg, egg yolks, and 1/2 cup of the sugar together on low speed until just combined. Meanwhile, scald the cream in a small saucepan until it’s very hot to the touch, but not boiled. With mixer on low, slowly add cream to eggs. Add vanilla and orange liqueur and pour into 6-8 oz. ramekins until almost full. Place ramekins in baking pan and carefully pour boiling water into pan and come halway up sides of ramekins. Bake 35-40 minutes, until custards are set when gently shaken. Remove custards from water bath, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate until firm. To serve, spread one tablespoon of sugar evenly on top of each ramekin and heat with kitchen blowtorch until sugar carmelizes evenly. Allow to sit at room temperature for a minute until caramelized sugar hardens.

Oreo Cheesecake
For cookie crumb crust:
2 Tbsp. butter
1 1/2 cup finely chopped Oreos
Filling:
3 blocks cream cheese
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup whipping cream
3 large eggs
1 cup coarsely chopped Oreos
Melt margarine in saucepan and add Oreos. Press firmly in bottom of greased springform pan. Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in large bowl until smooth. Add whipping cream. Beat. Add eggs one at a time beating after each. Fold in chopped cookies. Spread over crust. Bake at 325° for 1 1/4 hours until center almost set. Run knife around inside edge to allow cheesecake to settle evenly. Let stand in pan on wire rack until chilled completely. Refrigerate overnight.

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