I wanted to make something different for one of our Christmas dinners and I knew that several people there were cheesecake fans. This was my first cheesecake so off to the internet I went in search for a recipe to try and found this one on Pinterest (of course) from Kraft.
It ended up being a simple recipe and oh, so tasty. C’s cousin’s little boy who is one and a half years old kept sneaking a bite while the adults were playing a game. Needless to say, there wasn’t much left at the end of the night and that’s exactly how I like it.
66 Nilla wafers, divided
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar, divided
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
3 pkg. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs
25 Kraft caramels
3 tbsp. milk
1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Completely crush 50 of the Nilla wafers. Mix the crushed cookies with 1/4 cup sugar and butter. Press onto the bottom of a 9 inch spring form pan. Stand the remaining wafers around the edge of the pan, pressing gently into the crust.
Beat the cream cheese and remaining sugar with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the sour cream and vanilla. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating on low speed after each until just blended. Pour the batter over the crust.
Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until the center is almost set.(I baked mine for 55 because my oven cooks a little slow and I was scared the center wasn’t done.) Run a small knife around the rim of the pan to loosen the cake. Cool before removing the outer ring of the pan. Refrigerate for 4 hours.
When you are ready to serve the cake, microwave the caramels and milk on high for 1 minute or until caramels are completely melted. It took about 1 1/2 minutes for mine. Cool slightly then pour over the cheesecake and sprinkle with the toasted pecans.
This finishes up my Sweet Treat month here at Picture Perfect Cooking, but I am sure there will be plenty more to come in the future.
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