Cheesecake

This is one of my all time favorite desserts!  It's a creamy New York style cheesecake!  Simple and decadent!  You can make the crust a few different ways.  My favorite is a pecan pretzel crust.  I'll share a few crust ideas and you can choose.

This is best served completely cold, and made the day before you plan to eat it.

Pretzel Pecan Crust:

This is my favorite crust!  Full disclosure:  I don't measure.  I blend a bunch of pecans, then a bunch of pretzels.  I mix them together and see how much I have.  You want about a 1/2 inch covering the bottom of your springform pan.  I use about equal parts of blended pecans, and blended pretzels.  Then I add sugar to sweeten it.  Usually 3-4 tablespoons.  I mix that all together and spread out on the bottom of the pan.  Then I melt 

3-4 tablespoons of butter and pour all over the pecan pretzel mixture.  Then I mix it all together really well, and press it firmly along the bottom of the pan and a little bit up the sides.  Part of the reason I don't measure is because I use different sized spring-form pans.  Your measurements will change depending on if you're using an 8, 9 or 10 inch pan.

These are the amounts I'd start with:

3/4 - 1 cup pecan paste

3/4 - 1 cup pretzel flour

3-4 tablespoons sugar

3-4 tablespoons melted butter

Preheat oven to 325º.  Bake for 9 - 10 minutes.

Simple Crust:

You can also make a simple crust with gluten free cookies and melted butter.  You don't need any added sugar if using cookies.  I have tried store-bought gluten free graham cracker crust.  It works, but I don't like the flavor. 

1 1/2 - 2 cups crushed GF cookies

3-4 tablespoons melted butter

Preheat oven to 325º.  Put the crushed cookies (any kind works) into a spring form pan.  Pour the melted butter on top and mix around.  Press the crust into the bottom of the pan.  Bake for 9 - 10 minutes.

Cheesecake Filling:

4 (8-oz) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons Featherlight flour
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon vanilla

After you have made your crust, turn the oven up to 450º.  

Using a Bosch or other stand mixer, add softened cream cheese, sugar and flour.  Mix well.  Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well, and scraping edges after each one.  

Add sour cream and vanilla, and mix well.  

Pour onto the crust and bake for 10 minutes.  Turn down the temperature of the oven to 250º.  Bake for 1 hour.  Cool completely, then refrigerate.  This is best served when completely cold.  Serve with your favorite toppings. 

Notes:  

I like to serve it with raspberries and raspberry sauce.  To make the raspberry sauce, work softened frozen raspberries through a sieve to get the seeds out.  Sweeten it by whisking in powdered sugar until it's sweetened to your liking. 

We really like the cheesecake served the next day after being refrigerated overnight.