Old Fashioned Cheesecake

Name: Old Fashioned Cheesecake
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon Vanilla Bean Paste; 1 and &frac14 cups Sugar; 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract; 3 Large Eggs; 1 cup Sour Cream; &frac18; teaspoon Salt; 1 pound cream cheese; 1 and &frac12 cups finely crumbled graham crackers; 6 tablespoons melted butter; &frac14 cup sugar

Deliciously simple cheesecake that can be a canvas for your creativity. Try topping this with crumbles of your favorite candy bar, or make it fancy with a sweet berry puree.

Spices

Featured in this Recipe

Ingredients

1 tablespoon Vanilla Bean Paste
1 and ¼ cups Sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
3 Large Eggs
1 cup Sour Cream
⅛ teaspoon Salt
1 pound cream cheese
1 and ½ cups finely crumbled graham crackers
6 tablespoons melted butter
¼ cup sugar

Preparation Instructions:

Prepare graham cracker crust - mix together with a fork until all ingredients are moistened.

Spread the mixture evenly in 10 inch pan. Using your fingertips or the flat bottom of a drinking glass, firmly press the mixture over the bottom and ½ inch up the sides of a pan. Freeze for 20 minutes.

For a crunchier crust bake in a preheated 350 degree oven until lightly browned, 10 to 15 minutes instead of freezing it.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese until creamy, about 30 seconds. Do not over beat.

Gradually beat in 1 cup sugar and vanilla extract. Beat in 1 egg at a time, just until incorporated, scraping the sides of the bowl and the beater after each addition.

Scrape the batter into the crust and smooth the top. Place on a cookie sheet. Bake until the center just barely jiggles when the pan is tapped, 45 to 55 minutes.

Turn off the oven, prop the door ajar with a folded hot pad or the handle of a wooden spoon, and let the cake cool in the oven for ½ an hour.

Remove from oven and continue to cool in the pan on a rack for at least 1 hour. Combine sour cream, ¼ cup sugar, vanilla bean paste and salt in a small bowl.