Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Homemade Cheesecake... (you can really make this!)

I'm making you all an oath right now that I will only post recipes that are tried and true, super duper yummy, and easy!

Here's the original recipe:

1 1/2 cups crushed Oreos (18-21 cookies)
2-3 Tbsp. melted butter
--->Spray a springform pan with Pam. Wrap the outside of the pan with a sheet of aluminum foil to prevent leaks. Mix the Oreos and butter and pat into the bottom of the springform pan with a measuring cup. If you want the crust to come up on the sides of each slice then use the measuring cup to help.
3 (8oz.) full fat cream cheese at room temperature
1 (14oz.) can no fat sweetened condensed milk
3 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
--->Beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk until smooth. Add egg and vanilla and mix well, until it looks like this:
Mix any mix-ins by hand and pour the mixture onto the crust.
Bake 1 hour at 300 degrees. Bake until the center springs back and the edges just start to turn brown. The center will look really soupy, but will be firm to the touch. While hot, run a knife around the edges. Cool in pan at least 1 hour. Chill in refrigerator at least 10 hours.

The great thing about this recipe are all of the different ways you can make it.

Crust Variations:
  • Shortbread
  • Oreo (try the different Oreo varieties too... Peanut Butter Oreos, Mint Oreos...)
  • Gingerbread
  • Ginger Snaps
  • Graham Cracker (try Cinnamon Graham Crackers too!)
Mix-In Variations:
  • Oreo
  • Mini Chocolate Chips (mix these with 1 tsp of flour to help them stay on the top)
  • Original topped with fruit
  • Peppermint Bark
  • Candy Cane
  • Egg Nog
Topping Variations:
  • White Chocolate Snowflake (print a snowflake picture and cover it with wax paper then melt white chocolate and put it in a plastic bag with the corner snipped. Pipe the white chocolate on to the wax paper following the form of the snowflake you printed out and let it sit until hardened.)
  • Fresh fruit (blueberries, strawberries, baked apples, peaches, pears, etc.)
Enjoy!!