As you may be already aware, I had recently picked up the latest May 2011 edition of the Food Network Magazine.

I’ve already tested out the magazine’s copycat recipe of IHOP’s New York Cheesecake Pancakes… which turned out quite successfully, I might add. So I figured I’d give another equally sweet dessert recipe a try.

Note: Of course, this implies that I consider IHOP’s cheesecake pancakes a “dessert” and not a breakfast item… which seems logical to me, considering how sinfully rich and decadent those pancakes are! But I digress.

Introducing the recipe for Nutty White Chocolate and Peach Oatmeal Cookies by Food Network chef and host of TV show Cooking for Real, Sunny Anderson!

Sunny’s white chocolate chip cookie recipe was featured in the Food Network Magazine alongside another chocolate chip cookie recipe: Kids’ Candy Cookies by Food Network chef and host of TV show Kid in a Candy Store, Adam Gertier. It’s basically a battle royale between the two cookie recipes, where readers can vote online to help crown “The Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie” champion!

This is how each Food Network chef would describe their cookie creation…

“I’ve always been a kitchen-sink cookie person. I like that each bite is a little bit different.” -Sunny Anderson

“With pretzels, peanut butter, toffee and chocolate in my cookies, how can I lose?” -Adam Gertier

Now, I gotta say I’m a bit biased here since I’ve only tried making Sunny’s Nutty White Chocolate and Peach Oatmeal Cookies… I have yet to attempt making Adam’s Kid’s Candy Cookies.

However, I’ve always been a bigger fan of white chocolate chip macadamia nut cookies vs. candy-coated chocolate chip cookies such as Chips Ahoy… so I knew pretty instinctively that Sunny’s cookies would be my preference! And after actually trying out her cookie recipe, my initial gut feelings were definitely confirmed because the cookies turned out amazingly (see recipe below!).

Anyway, you can go and vote for your favorite on the Food Network Magazine website. I went ahead and voted for Sunny, and this is what the voting results look like so far (as of today, April 21st)…

Looks like Adam has a slight lead over Sunny so far! If you’re interested in following this “cookie battle,” you should definitely pick up the latest issue of the Food Network Magazine and give both cookie recipes a whirl. If you do, let me know how Adam’s cookies turn out!

Here is the recipe for Sunny’s Nutty White Chocolate and Peach Oatmeal Cookies. I should mention though that I did make a few adjustments.

First off, my neighborhood grocery store only carried dried peaches in the gourmet dried fruits and nuts aisle… where a tiny container of dried peaches was priced at $9! I decided to replace that ingredient with dried apricots instead, comparatively priced at $3 for the same weight. I mean, I love cooking gourmet but the frugal side of me still takes over once in a while!

Also, I opted to double the recipe right away. If you were to follow Sunny’s recipe as-is, you would be able to make approximately 20 cookies. I figured if I was already going through the process of baking the cookies, I might as well double the number of cookies made… especially since cookies keep well. I ended up with 45 cookies, and it turns out the cookies tasted even better the day after! So I definitely recommend doubling the recipe.

So I know this is going to sound completely contradictory (seeing how I had just written a blog post last week ranting about America’s obsession with bacon)… but this past weekend, I made the decision to cook a Sunday morning brunch based around my attempt at recreating IHOP’s New York Cheesecake Pancakes.

What exactly are IHOP’s New York Cheesecake Pancakes, you ask? Is it a breakfast item? Is it a dessert? Well, let’s refer to the official IHOP website to find out!

“Fluffy buttermilk pancakes loaded with creamy, rich cheesecake pieces and crowned with cool strawberries, powdered sugar and whipped topping.” -IHOP website

Yup, that’s right. I’m talking about IHOP’s “Frankensteined” concoction of cheesecake and pancakes combined into one… now commonly referred to as “Pancake Stackers” at your neighborhood IHOP restaurant.

So yes, I have to admit the idea of eating IHOP’s New York Cheesecake Pancakes on a regular basis would be a recipe for guaranteed obesity. But since I’m a Canadian, I don’t have the luxury of being able to saunter into a nearby IHOP restaurant and ordering their Pancake Stackers anytime I want. The nearest IHOP to where I live would be in the Niagara Falls/Buffalo region… which is a good 1 1/2 to 2 hours drive away by car, and across the U.S./Canada border!

Once in a while, my husband and I do find ourselves going on road trips to the States… and usually if we happened to swing by Buffalo, we’d stop at an IHOP for brunch.

During one of our recent visits, I did find myself trying their New York Cheesecake Pancakes. And yes, I do admit they were sinfully delicious. But I most definitely would not have them more than once in a blue moon, that’s for sure! I mean, according to this article on the “Scariest New Restaurant Food,” IHOP’s New York Cheesecake Pancakes ranks #4 with a whopping total calorie intake of 1,270 per meal… that’s the calorie equivalent of 28 McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets!

Anyway, why am I all of a sudden blogging about IHOP’s Pancake Stackers? Well, I just purchased the latest May 2011 edition of the Food Network Magazine… and guess what was on the cover? If you guessed IHOP’s New York Cheesecake Pancakes, then you would be correct!

Seeing how I have a thing for trying out copycat restaurant recipes, I was highly curious as to whether or not I’d be able to accurately reproduce IHOP’s New York Cheesecake Pancakes… which is why I decided to give the Food Network Magazine‘s “Almost-Famous Cheesecake Pancakes” recipe a try (that’s the name they gave to their copycat recreation of IHOP’s “top secret” recipe).

I gotta admit, it was fun making these cheesecake pancakes. Ridiculously rich, of course… and I’m likely to never make them again. But I can now say I’ve successfully attempted recreating IHOP’s New York Cheesecake Pancakes… because they did indeed taste pretty darn similar to the original!

A couple notes, for those of you would are also interested in giving this recipe a whirl. The recipe calls for “2 cups of chopped frozen cheesecake.” I had purchased a 600g circular frozen cheesecake that’s approximately 5 1/2″ wide in diameter, and 1 1/2″ tall. I found that 2 cups of chopped cheesecake loosely translated to half of the frozen cake.

Also, the recipe calls for 2 tbsp of jam and 2 tbsp of warm water be mixed with 1 1/2 cups of sliced strawberries in order to make the strawberry sauce. I found that adding 2 tbsp of warm water was too much, and made the sauce very “liquidy” and diluted. I’d recommend maybe dividing the amount of water by half, and slowly adding more if needed.

Without further ado, here’s the copycat recipe below! Cheers.