New York Style Cheesecake (Michigan Edit)

Modified several recipes and came up with an excellent NY style cheesecake. HELPS IF YOU GET CREAM CHEESE AND OTHER COOL INGREDIENTS UP TO ROOM TEMPERATURE!

Unbalanced

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Step 1

Pre-Heat Oven to 325 and lightly grease springform pan.

Step 2

Blend 20-24 Oreo cookies in a food processor. Add 5 tbs of melted unsalted or salted butter and mix by hand. Press into a greased springform pan and bake at 325 for 8-10 minutes.

Step 3

While crust is baking, begin making cream cheese mixture. Cream cheese should be near room temperature. Blend 3 - 8 oz packages of cream cheese in a large mixer until smooth. I have never used fat free or reduced and I don’t imagine it would taste as good.

Step 4

Add 1 c. yogurt, 1 tsp. vanilla, and 1 c. sour cream, 1 cup of sugar and mix slowly until smooth.

Step 5

Add 1/2 c. flour and zest from one lemon blend. I have used some of the lemon juice as well, but not more than 1/4 of the lemon. Add 3 room temperature eggs, one at a time while blending.

Step 6

Add 1/4 c. of heavy whipping cream and continue mixing slowly then add second 1/4 c. Until fully blended.

Step 7

Refrigerate mixture until crust is done baking and has cooled for about 10 minutes. Add a three inch tall ring of parchment paper around the outside of the springform pan where mixture will touch the pan. It helps if you add a few drops of water to encourage the parchment paper to stick to the sides if you did not grease the pan enough. Pour blended mixture into the pan and smooth with a spatula. I’ve read online where some recipes say to double line the pan with tin foil so it is water proof and set your springform pan into a large 9x13 baking dish or pan with an inch of water before placing into the oven. It can help cracking but I don’t care what it looks like and if it leaks you’re screwed.

Step 8

Bake at 325 for about 1h 15m (it will crack a bit when cooling) While cheesecake is baking, have your assistant clean the kitchen and you can check social media. If you are all caught up, begin making the optional raspberry topping.

Step 9

RASPBERRY TOPPING Heat 1/2 pint of raspberries in small pan/pot with 1/4 cup of water. After boiling for 3-5minutes, remove from heat and strain out seeds if needed. (Nothing stopping you from making strawberries or cherries or Nutella as a topping. Be creative and try something new!)

Step 10

Return berry mixture to pot and add 1/4 cup sugar. Mix 1/4 of water with 2 tsp of corn starch and add to pot. Bring to a slow boil, stirring constantly.

Step 11

After it thickens, remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes. Taste test for sweetness. If it appears too thick, you can thin it a bit with a tsp of water.

Step 12

After cheesecake has cooked for 75 minutes at 325, check to see that it is done - it should still jiggle/move a bit but you should not see any liquid. It should not start browning but that does not hurt it. Remove and cool for at least 15 minutes before adding your raspberry topping. It should cool in refrigerator for at least one hour and preferably two before removing from springform pan.

Step 13

Cut and serve with whipped cream, dark chocolate chips fresh berries or extra Oreo cookies, peanut butter cups, or whatever!

Step 14

Giddy up!