Meg’s Cheesecake

Crust:
1 ½ Cup cookie crumbs (I usually use my blender to make crumbs, would use a food processor if I had one…)
1/3 tablespoon melted butter
1/3 Cup white sugar

Mix all ingredients above, and then press into a springform pan, covering the seam of the pan, and up the sides as high as you would like.

Cake:
Two 8 ounce packs Philadelphia Cream Cheese (don’t pick a generic- they stay lumpy, Philadelphia gets smooth)
1 C white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs
Blend all ingredients above (I use an electric hand mixer), and pour into crust.

Bake for 20 minutes at 375 degrees.

Bake for 10 minutes at 425 degrees.

Tips:
I will often wrap tin foil around the bottom of the pan so that if any cake wants to escape, it doesn’t run into the oven.

Additions:
Peanut Butter cheesecake: Use peanut butter cookies for the cookie crumb crust, add 1 cup of creamy peanut butter (or more if you want it more peanut buttery) to the cake batter. If you can find peanut butter chips, these are a great addition!

Chocolate chocolate chip cheesecake: Use chocolate graham crackers for the cookie crumb crust, add ½ cup of unsweetened cocoa powder to the cake batter and 1 cup of chocolate chips.

Christmas cheesecake: Any type of cookie (Barbara prefers Oreos), crush candy canes to taste and add those to the crust and a layer either in the cake batter or before you pour the cake batter into the crust.

Lemon cheesecake: lemon cookies or vanilla wafers for the cookie crumb crust and about 1 tablespoon of lemon zest, add ½ cup lemon juice and 1 tablespoon lemon zest to the cake batter. Top with various fruits and a lemon curd glaze.

Chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecake: Use chocolate chip cookies as the cookie crumb crust, add balls of raw cookie dough to the cake batter.

Have fun! What are your favorite ingredients? Try them out!