Cranberry Cheesecake

I have a reputation with my children for getting a little bit carried away when I do Christmas baking. A few years ago, I was so excited about having all of our children and grandchildren home for the holidays, I kept adding to the items I just had to make. By the time they all arrived, I had quite a dessert “buffet” that included 18 items. I still haven’t lived that down!

This month’s issue had all the makings for me getting carried away again. It was difficult to stop coming up with recipes. Hopefully, I will have gotten some of the need to bake out of my system before Christmas and can keep the recipes to a reasonable number. Only time will tell.

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Cranberry Cheesecake

Course Dessert

Servings 12

Ingredients

• 1 c. sugar
• 2 T. cornstartch
• 1-1/2 c. fresh or frozen cranberries

Crust

• 1 c. graham cracker crumbs
• 3 T. sugar
• 3 T. butter melted

Filling

• 4- 8 oz. pkgs. Cream cheese softened
• 1 c. sugar
• 3 T. flour
• 4 lg. eggs lightly beaten
• 1 c. eggnog
• 1 T. vanilla

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
• In a large saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch. Stir in cranberry juice until smooth. Add cranberries. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat; set aside.
• In a small bowl, combine cracker crumbs and sugar; stir in butter. Press onto the bottom of a greased 9-inch springform pan. Place pan on a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
• In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add flour and beat well. Add eggs; beat on low just until combined. Add eggnog and vanilla; beat just until blended.
• Pour two-thirds of the filling over the crust. Top with half of the cranberry mixture (cover and refrigerate remaining cranberry mixture.) Carefully spoon remaining filling on top.
• Return pan to baking sheet. Bake for 60-70 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.
• Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer. Refrigerate overnight. Remove sides of pan. Spoon remaining cranberry mixture over cheesecake. Refrigerate leftovers.

Notes

Send us your recipes

We need recipes! Upcoming monthly topics include breads, Asian-inspired dishes, diabetic-friendly and gluten-free recipes. Please email submissions to finestcooking@icl.coop or mail them to Finest Cooking c/o Illinois Country Living, P.O. Box 3787, Springfield, IL 62708. Please include your name, address, phone number (for questions), and the name of your electric cooperative. Recipes not included in the magazine can be found on our website at icl.coop/finestcooking.