New York Style Cheesecake- Guest Post

I'm so grateful to Amanda for guest posting for me today. I hope you'll take a minute to visit her blog! I'm still visiting my family in Florida and will be back to blogging later on this week. Check out this delicious cheesecake, one of my favorite desserts!

Hi! My name is Amanda and I blog over at Kids and Cabernet.  I blog about my kids, life, and my favorite wine finds - sometimes a mamma just needs a bottle glass of wine ;).  I was so honored when Christina asked me to guest post!  I love her blog - her recipes always look SO good.  Let's see if I can hold a candle to her baking skills!

I'm not a huge dessert person, but one thing I'll never turn down is cheesecake!  I was so happy when my mother-in-law shared this recipe that she's been making for years.  It is a very easy recipe to make.  The only trick that I've learned when making a cheesecake is that you really need to make sure that it's blended really good so that your cheesecake doesn't come out lumpy.

New York Style Cheesecake

Ingredients

4 – 8oz cream cheese squares

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups sour cream (add last)

Crust

1 cup gram cracker crumbs

2-3 tbsp melted butter

1/8 cup sugar 

Mix all together and press into bottom of 10” spring form pan

Preheat oven to 350*.  Put graham cracker crust at bottom of greased and floured pan. Combine all ingredients except sour cream in large bowl and mix until smooth (it won’t be totally smooth, but pretty close).  Add sour cream and blend.  Pour into pan and bake until edges of cake are golden brown and center is moist (about 1hr. 15min.).  Let cool completely and then refrigerate over night.  Add topping if desired.  

For the topping I like to take berries, add sugar, cover and let it sit for a few hours.  This draws the liquid out of the berries and makes for a delicious, fresh and sweet topping. 

I hope you all enjoy this recipe as much as I have!

Pumpkin Butterscotch Cheesecake Bars

Oh hello there before-Thanksgiving-prep-day.

I'm so glad I had the day off. I can't imagine running around my house like a turkey with it's head cut off (haha) the day of. I've got my turkey brining, the house is relatively clean, and dessert is done! Tomorrow I'll make the sweet potatoes and set the table. 

I thought I'd share these with you now justincase. You know, in case you want to add another dessert and make another trip to the store. These bars smelled amazing as they were baking and even better after they came out of the oven. Once they cooled I had to test them and see if they were good...let's just say, I don't think I'll have any left over tomorrow!

Source: Beantown Baker
Servings: 24

2 cups flour
1/2 + 1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup of dark brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup cold butter
11/2 cup quick cooking oats
3/4 cup pecans, toasted and finely chopped
1 8 oz package of cream cheese
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin puree
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp ground allspice
pinch of cloves
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup butterscotch chips

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 13×9 pan with parchment paper.

In a bowl mix flour, 1/2 cup sugar, brown sugar; cut butter into mixture with a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in oats and pecans. Remove 3/4 cup of mixture and add in butterscotch chips. Set aside and reserve for topping. Press remaining mixture into bottom of parchment lined pan. Bake for 15 minutes.

Combine cream cheese and pumpkin; add remaining sugar, cinnamon, ginger, all spice, cloves and vanilla and mix until well blended. Pour over crust and bake for 15 minutes. Sprinkle reserved oat crumb mixture and continue to bake for another 15 minutes.

Cool in pan for 10 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack. Let cool completely before storing. Cut into 2×2 squares and serve.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!