Homemade Chocolate Syrup

Yes, it is less convenient than the bottle variety but very tasty and has a deeper chocolate flavor than the off-the-shelf option. I have used this to make chocolate milk for my boys, as an ingredient to bake with, and to pour over ice cream. It is delicious and it a perfect substitute for the name brand.

Serves:4 cups
Start-to-Finish:15 min. cook time + 30 min. cooling time
Recipe By: cdkitchen.com

Ingredients:

1 cup Hershey's Cocoa Powder
2 cups sugar
2 cups water
2 tsp vanilla
dash of salt

Directions:

1.  Combine cocoa, sugar, and salt in a saucepan.
2.  Add water and mix until smooth.
3.  Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat (Stirring frequently, if not continuously).
4.  Allow to boil for one minute, be careful it does not over boil.
5.  Remove from heat and allow to cool (Sauce will thicken as it cools).
6.  When cooled, add vanilla.

Bird's Nests

With Easter coming this is the perfect time to share these cute candy-filled, bird's nests. Similar to rice crispy treats, these bird's nest are made with marshmallows, but also have chocolate chips and butterscotch chips to give the nests a warm brown color. A marshmallow chick would make them even more complete. I used Jelly Belly "Cold Stone" jelly beans for the eggs because the colors were just like bird's eggs but any jelly beans or egg shaped candies would work.

Serves: 12
Start-to-Finish: 40 minutes + cooling
Recipe By: Amber Brunson

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter, cubed
4 1/2 cups marshmallows
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/8 cup chocolate chips
1/8 cup butterscotch chips
1 cup coconut flakes
2 cups chow mien noodles
2 cups rice crispies
24 jelly beans (approximately 1 cup)
marshmallow chicks (optional)

Directions:

1.  In a large saucepan, melt butter and marshmallows over low heat until smooth, stirring occasionally.
2.  Add the peanut butter, chocolate chips, and butterscotch chips.
3.  Stir continually for 2 minutes or until smooth.
4.  Remove from the heat.
5.  Stir in coconut flakes, chow mien noodles, and rice crispies until well coated.
6.  Divide into 12 mounds on a waxed paper-lined baking sheet. (The mixture will be very warm; greasing your hands with butter will help with the heat and keep the nests from sticking to your hands.)
7.  Using your fingers, shape each mound into a nest; press an indentation in the center of nest. (For those of you wondering how rice crispies treats could possible take 40 minutes to make ... well, it happens in steps 6 and 7.)
8.  Fill each nest with three or four jelly beans or candy eggs.
9.  Refrigerate until cool.

Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake Cupcakes

These pretty little cheesecakes are a perfect solution for entertaining. The recipe makes enough for a crowd and the convenience of a cupcake liner means everyone can help themselves to as many as they would like. Believe me they will be going back for seconds. The tart raspberry swirled through the cheesecake batter breaks up the rich sweetness of cheesecake and the pretty raspberry and mint leaf garnish add an elegant flare.

Serves: 32 cupcakes (just short of three dozen)
Start-to-Finish: 5 1/2 hours (1 hour prep and cook + 4 1/2 hours of cooling and refrigeration. This isn't something you just throw together last minute; it requires some forethought.)

Recipe By: Original recipe by Martha Stewart but I made some modifications of my own

Ingredients:

For the crust:
2 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
6 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
4 1/2 tbsp. sugar

For the topping:
6 oz. fresh raspberries (Equals one small pkg of raspberries, so if you want any raspberries to garnish with you either have to buy more or keep some out of the blender.)
2 tbsp. sugar

For the filling:
4 pkgs cream cheese, at room temperature
1½ cups sugar
Pinch of salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
4 large eggs, at room temperature

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325˚ F.
2. Line cupcake pans with paper liners.
3. In a small bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and sugar.
4. Stir together with a fork until well blended and all the dry ingredients are moistened.
5. Press graham cracker mixture into the bottom of each cupcake liner. (One packed tablespoon of mixture for each cupcake. Don't press too hard or it will be a solid mass you can't bite through at bottom of your cheesecake.)
6. Bake until just set. (5 minutes.)
7. Transfer to a cooling rack.
8. Meanwhile, make the raspberry puree by combine the raspberries and sugar in a blender.
9. Process until smooth, then pour through a fine mesh sieve to remove the seeds.
10. To make the cheesecake batter, beat the cream cheese and sugar on medium-high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer until fluffy.
11. Mix in the salt and vanilla.
12. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
13. Assemble the cheesecakes by adding 1/8 cup of cheesecake batter, 1/2 tsp of raspberry puree, and another 1/8 cup of cheesecake batter. (You are creating a sandwich here.)
14. Dot another ½ teaspoon of the raspberry puree over all of that. (You dot on the final puree to make the swirling patterns easier and more even.)
15. Then use a toothpick or a wooden skewer to lightly swirl and create a marbled effect.
16. Bake until the filling is set, about 22 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking.
17. Transfer to a wire cooling rack and let cool to room temperature. (They will look quite puffed initially but will return to normal quickly.)
18. Transfer to the refrigerator and let chill for at least 4 hours before serving.
(step by step pictures from annies eats.net)

Brownie Pecan Pie

This pie recipe came with Mike when we got married.  I brought the enchiladas and he brought the pies. Flaky crust, brownie filling, and a toasted pecan top this pie is good enough to eat all by yourself.  So be careful when you make it because if you don't have a lot of people around to help you eat it you are going to find yourself drawn to its irresistible fudginess when you wake up, after jogging, between meals, and around 2:00am. (Yes, I am speaking from experience.)

Serves: 8 slices
Start-to-Finish: 1 hour + 15 minutes
Recipe By: Janet Brunson

Ingredients:

2 squares bittersweet chocolate
¼ cup butter
¾ cup dark Karo syrup
1/8 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup sugar
4 eggs, beaten
1 cup pecan halves
1 pie crust-unbaked

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Using a double boiler, melt chocolate squares with butter.
3. Take mixture off the heat.
4. Mix in Karo syrup.
5. Mix in salt, vanilla, sugar, and eggs. (when mixing in eggs be careful not to cook them by adding them to the mixture when it is too hot. It is always a good idea to add a little bit of the hot mixture gradually to the eggs to slowly raise the temperature before adding the eggs to the hot mixture.)
6. Put one uncooked pie shell in the bottom of a pie pan.
7. Lay the pecans in the bottom of the pie shell in a pretty pattern. (make sure the pecans are facing up.)
8. Pour mixture of ingredients carefully over pecans. The pecans will slowly float to top. (If you pour too hard or quickly you will disrupt the pretty patterns you made.)
9. If any pecans flipped over turn them back and fill in with other pecans where needed. Pecans should not overlap.
10. Bake at 400°F for 15 minutes then turn oven down and continue to bake at 350°F for 30 minutes. (Chocolate will swell up and may crack around edges but when it cools it moves back down and you can't see the cracks. Make sure pie is not wiggly in the center when you take it out of the oven.)
11. Serve with whipped cream.

Adventures in Cake

These pictures aren't the best but at least I got pictures. I was in such a hurry to get it out the door I completely forgot my camera so these were taken with Mike's phone. I made this cake to serve at a friend's son's baptism. The cake is magnificent! Four cake layers with chocolate pudding and strawberry cream filling all topped with a fluffy chocolate whipped topping. I could eat it everyday and lick the plate clean. It is not overpoweringly sweet however, it has a rich chocolate flavor. The cake is extremely moist and the strawberry filling adds a light freshness. Be forewarned, it is a beast to make so if you plan on undertaking don't do it lightly.

Serves: 16 servings
Start to Finish: 4 hours
Recipe By: Amber Brunson

Ingredients:

Chocolate Syrup:
3 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
4 1/2 cups sugar
3 cups hot water
dash of salt
2 TBSP vanilla extract

Cake Batter:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
4 eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups chocolate syrup (ingredients above)
1/2 cup water

Chocolate Filling:
1/3 cup flour
3 TBSP sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 3/4 cups 2% milk
1 cup chocolate syrup (ingredients above)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 TBSP butter
1 tsp vanilla extract

Strawberry Filling:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
10 strawberries

Frosting:
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup chocolate syrup (ingredients above)
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Chocolate Syrup:
1. Combine cocoa, sugar, and salt in a saucepan.
2. Add water, and mix until smooth.
3. Bring this mixture to a boil. (Stirring constantly or it will burn.)
4. Allow it to boil for three minutes. (Stirring constantly or it will burn.)
5. Remove from heat, when it cools to room temperature, add the vanilla.

Cake Batter:
6. Preheat oven to 350°.
7. Grease and floured two 9-in. round baking pans.
8. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
9. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each.
10. Stir in vanilla.
11. Combine dry ingredients
12. Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture alternately with syrup and water.
13. Beat just until combined.
14. Pour into two greased and floured 9-in. round baking pans.
15. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
16. Cool for 10 minutes in pans then remove from pans and cool on wire racks. (The second time I made this recipe I left the cakes in the pans to cool completely and them I couldn't get them back out of the pans without crumbling them up. I had to remake them. Lesson learned... don't let them cool completely in the pans.)

Chocolate Filling:
17. In a small saucepan, combine the flour, sugar and salt.
18. Stir in milk and syrup until smooth.
19. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.
20. Cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened.
21. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
22. When cooled sufficiently, stir a small amount of mixture into the egg.
23. Return all to the pan, stirring constantly.
24. Bring to a gentle boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes.
25. Remove from heat; stir in butter and vanilla. Cool to room temperature, stirring often.

Strawberry Filling:
26. Chop strawberries in blender until they are thick and liquidy.
27. Set strawberries aside.
28. Beat heavy whipping cream and vanilla until mixture starts to thicken.
29. Mix in sugar.
30. Fold in strawberries.

Chocolate Frosting:
31. In a bowl, beat frosting ingredients until stiff peaks form.

Cake Assembly:
32. Cut each cake in half horizontally.
33. Place one bottom layer on a serving plate; spread with half of the chocolate filling.
34. Place next cake layer on top and spread with the strawberry filling
35. Place next layer of cake on top and spread with remaining half of the chocolate filling.
36. Top with last cake layer cake.
37. Spread or pipe chocolate frosting over top and sides of cake.
38. Decorate and garnish cake. (Store in refrigerator until time to serve or the whipped frosting will melt.)

Maple Pecan Cheesecake

Combine a pumpkin pie, a pecan pie and a cheesecake. Three desserts in one bring a face lift to old classics.  This is one dessert with ALL the flavors of holidays in one delicious bite.

Serves: 20
Start-to-Finish: 6 hours 35 minutes ( 5 hours cool off and chill)
Recipe By: Anne Thornton

Ingredients:

Cheesecake:
1 1/3 cups graham cracker crumbs (approx 12 graham crackers)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
3 (8-oz) pkgs cream cheese, softened
1 (14-oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (15-oz) can pumpkin
3 eggs, at room temperature for 30 minutes
1/4 cup pure grade B maple syrup (Grade B comes from the color and flavor, not the quality of the syrup.  It simply means it was harvested later in the year so it has a deeper brown color and more earthy flavor.)
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt

Maple Pecan Glaze:
1 cup whipping cream
3/4 cup pure grade B maple syrup
3/4 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

1.  Preheat the oven to 325*.


For the cheesecake:
2.  Finely crush the graham crackers in a plastic bag with a rolling pin or use a food processor.
3.  In a bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter.
4.  Firmly press graham cracker mixture into the bottom of 9-inch springform pan. (You don't need to come up the sides.)
5.  In a mixer, beat the cream cheese until fluffy.
5.  Gradually mix in the sweetened condensed milk until smooth.
6.  Add the pumpkin, eggs, maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt, mix well.
7.  Pour into the springform pan.
8.  Bake until the center appears nearly set, but jiggles a little when shaken, 1 hour and 15 minutes.
9.  Cool for 1 hour.
10. When cooled, cover and chill overnight, or for at least 4 hours.

For the glaze:
11. In a medium-sized saucepan, combine the whipping cream and pure maple syrup.
12. Boil until slightly thickened, 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
13. Stir in the chopped pecans.
14. Cover and chill until time to serve.
15.  To serve, spoon the glaze over the cheesecake. (I had a LOT of trouble removing the cheesecake from the spring-form pan. My crust was stuck fast to the side of the pan, so really make sure you run your plastic knife along the edges until the sides can break away cleanly or else it will tear the cheesecake.  Mine tore in half; I pushed it back together and covered the tear with the glaze and no one knew :)

Tortoise Cheesecake

It's times like this I wish I was a food photographer so I would be able to take a picture that would really do this cheesecake justice. It is five layers of chocolaty heaven all packaged in a show-stopping presentation. I call this a tortoise cheesecake because, without caramel, it can't be called a turtle cheesecake. The chocolate chips and chopped pecans on top add a nice variation of texture to the creamy cheesecake.

Serves: 16

Start-to-Finish: 2 hours + refrigerating overnight

Recipe By: Audra Burtch (with adjustments to suite my personal tastes)

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups chocolate graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup butter, melted
3 (8-oz) pkgs cream cheese, softened
1 (14-oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs, at room temperature
3 TBSP lime juice
1 TBSP vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate morsels
2 TBSP chocolate flavor syrup
2/3 cup coarsely chopped pecans
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate mini morsels

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300°.
2. Grease 9-inch springform pan.
3. Combine graham cracker crumbs and butter in medium bowl.
4. Press mixture into bottom of springform pan and 1 inch up side of pan.
5. Beat cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk in large mixer bowl until smooth.
6. Add sugar, eggs, lime juice and vanilla extract; beat until combined.
7. Microwave chocolate morsels in medium bowl on HIGH (100%) power for 1 minute; stir. (Morsels may retain some of their shape. If necessary, microwave at additional 10- to 15-second intervals, stirring just until morsels are melted.)
8. Stir 2 cups of cheesecake batter into melted chocolate morsels; mix well.
9. Alternately spoon batters onto crust, beginning and ending with yellow batter.
10. Bake for 70 to 75 minutes or until edge is set and center moves slightly.
11. Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes; run knife around edge of cheesecake.
12. Let cool completely.
13. Drizzle chocolate syrup over cheesecake and sprinkle with pecans and mini morsels.
14. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
15. Remove side of pan and serve.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Strawberries & Cream filling

This dessert is semi-homemade but no one will ever know with how delicious the cupcakes taste and fancy they look. The strawberries and cream filling is a melt-in-your-mouth suprise that adds freshness to the rich chocolate cake and sugary frosting. I like mine super-filled with strawberries and cream so the cupcakes almost burst at the seams, Yum! On a side note: I made a whole batch of fancy ones for pictures but my camera wasn't working and they all got eaten before I could get a good shot. These cupcakes go fast.

Serves: 18 cupcakes
Start-to-Finish: 1 hour
Recipe By: www.TidyMom.net

Ingredients:

Cupcakes
1 box chocolate cake mix
3 large eggs
1/2 cup melted butter (butter not margarine)
1 cup water

Filling
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
6 strawberries

Frosting
½ cup butter, at room temperature
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
½ cup unsweetened cocoa
4 cups powdered sugar
2 TBSP heavy whipping cream

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Blend all cupcake batter ingredients together for 5 min.
3. Pour into paper lined cupcake pan.
4. Bake for 20 min.
5. Remove cupcakes from pan and cool on wire rack.
6. Meanwhile, make the strawberry cream filling.
7. Chop strawberries in blender until they are thick and liquidy.
8. Set stawberries aside.
9. Beat heavy whipping cream and vanilla until mixture starts to thicken.
10. Mix in sugar.
11. Fold in strawberries.
12. Once cupcakes have cooled completely, cut out a section from the center of each cupcake. (I used an apple corer, it worked perfectly.)
13. Fill the cupcake hole with the strawberry whipped cream. (Don't worry about covering the hole we are hiding it with frosting.)
14. Make the frosting by placing butter and cream cheese into a large mixing bowl and blend until combined.
15. Add cocoa powder and fully incorporate.
16. Add vanilla and powdered sugar and blend on low speed until combined.
17. Increase to medium speed and beat until mixture begins to get fluffy.
18. Slowly add the heavy cream, a little bit at a time until desired consistency is met
19. Beat until fluffy, about 1 minute.
20. Pipe frosting on to cupakes to cover the strawberry cream filling.
21. Ganish with a fresh strawberry slice and enjoy!

Chocolate Raspberry Cake

Three words: raspberries, chocolate, almonds. Mmmm... a delicious combination of scrumptiousness. This is a rather dense cake (more of a brownie consistency that a cake consistency) with layers of chocolate, slivered almonds, and raspberry jam running through it. It is very tasty; however, I did not feel that it looked very pretty as far as presentation goes. I took my own pictures but ended up using one from the magazine because it looked so much nicer than mine.


Serves: 12 servings
Start-to-Finish: 2.5 - 3 hours (upto 1 hour prep time + 2 hour cook time)
Recipe By: Christine Moore

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup baking cocoa
1/2 tsp salt
3 cups sugar
3 sticks butter, melted
4 large eggs
1 TBSP vanilla extract
2 tsp almond extract
1/4 cup seedless raspberry jam
1/2 cup Semi-sweet chocolate Mini Morsels (I do not advise substituting milk chocolate in this recipe; the raspberry flavors go better with the bitter, darker chocolates)
3/4 cup sliced almonds, divided

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300° F.
2. Grease 9-inch spring-form pan.
3. Line bottom and sides of pan with wax paper and grease wax paper.
4. Sift together flour, cocoa and salt into medium bowl.
5. Combine sugar and butter in large mixer bowl on low until blended.
6. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
7. Add the almond extract and vanilla extract; beat until smooth.
8. Pour into prepared pan, reserving about 1/3 of the batter.
9. Carefully smooth a thin layer of the raspberry jam over the batter in pan.
10. Top with morsels and 1/2 cup of the sliced almonds.
11. Carefully cover with the remaining batter.
12. Sprinkle batter with remaining 1/4 cup of almonds.
13. Bake for 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours or until wooden pick inserted near center comes out clean. (Be aware several others who commented on this recipe found it only needed to cook for 1 hour; so watch it closely! Mine cooked for 1 hour and 45 minutes)
14. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Remove side of springform pan.

Peach Cobbler Cake

Delicious and rich, this cake version of peach cobbler will satisfy even the biggest sweet-tooth. The crumb topping is one of the best homemade recipes I have tried, the toasted almonds add nutty and crunchy. Top the whole thing with a powdered sugar glaze and you have layer upon layer of texture, sweetness, and old-fashioned dessert. This recipe takes some time but is definitely worth the effort. You can mix up the pie filling for cherry or blueberry, whatever your favorite is.

Serves: 15
Start-to-Finish:1 hour + 10 minutes
Recipe By: Amber Brunson

Ingredients:

Cake:
1 pkg white cake mix
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup sour cream
3 eggs
1/4 cup water
1 (21-oz) can peach pie filling

Crumb Topping:
1/2 cup chopped almonds, toasted
1 1/4 cups flour
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick), melted and cooled slightly
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract

Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 TBSP milk

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350ºF.
2. Grease and flour a 13 x 9-inch pan.
3. Beat first 5 cake ingredients with mixer until well blended. (You can use a whisk but the batter gets very thick and heavy, making it difficult to stir.)
4. Pour into greased and floured 13x9-inch pan; top with spoonfuls of pie filling. (Spread the filling out the best you can, if you have pockets it will be soggy there after it has cooked.)
5. Bake 25 minutes on the center rack.
6. Meanwhile, make the crumb topping:
7. Whisk together the almonds, flour, sugar, salt, and cinnamon.
8. Melt the butter in the microwave.
9. Remove butter from microwave and stir in the vanilla and almond extracts.
10. Gradually drizzle melted butter mixture into the flour mixture while continuously and gently tossing with a fork.
11. Continue to toss until all the butter is absorbed and you have a uniformly moistened crumb mixture. (If you over mix it will turn into a lump of dough. Stop when you have just about mixed so you don't have to break up the crumbs manually.)
12. Remove cake from oven and sprinkle with crumb topping. Cook another 10 minutes.
13. Cool 10 minutes
14. Mix sugar and milk; drizzle over cake.
15. Cool completely.

PBC Brownies

These brownies were so much fun to make, I kept sampling everything before it was cooked. They have chocolate, peanut butter, and cheesecake in them. Hello? Could there be a better dessert combination? They are ideal to take to a barbecue or picnic because they are made in cupcake wrappers so everyone gets an individual serving. Inside each brownie is a peanut butter cheesecake. The center is the consistency of cheesecake not peanut butter. They are best if you make them the day you are going to eat them.

Serves: 18 cupcake brownies
Start-to-Finish: 1 hr + 10 min
Recipe By: Kraft Foods Magazine

Ingredients:

1 pkg brownie mix (you will need an additional eggs, water, and vegetable oil to prepare brownie mix according to package directions)
1 (8-oz) pkg cream cheese, softened (you can substitute light cream cheese)
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups Cool Whip, whipped cream topping
72 chocolate chips, optional for garnish

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
2. Prepare brownie batter as directed on package.
3. Spoon half of the mix into 18 paper-lined muffin cups. (The other half will be used to cover the cheesecake centers.)
4. Beat cream cheese, sugar, egg, peanut butter and vanilla with mixer until blended.
5. Spoon 1 rounded Tbsp. into center of batter in each cup, pressing down into batter. (Don't be afraid to press it down into the batter; it has a tendency to creep up to the top when baking.)
6. Top with the remaining half of the brownie mix. (You may have to use a spatula or your finger to get a nice coverage. This was were all the taste testing began.)
7. Bake 30 min. or until centers are set.
8. Allow to cool before removing from muffin pan.
9. When ready to serve, top with whipped cream and chocolate chips or serve as is.

Key Lime Cheesecake

This delicious cheesecake recipe is a copycat recipe from the Cheesecake Factory. I love to find a good copycat so I can make my favorite restaurant foods at home. I have linked to a site that has copycat recipes for a lot of different restaurants. Give it a browse and see if some of your favorite dishes are available. This recipe takes some time to make because it cooks for a hour then cools for a hour but the actual prep time is very quick and none of the steps are difficult.

Serves: 8-10 servings
Start-to-Finish: 2 1/2 hours
Recipe By: Cheesecake Factory

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
5 TBSP melted butter
1 cup sugar
1 TBSP sugar
3 (8-oz) packages cream cheese, softened
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup lime juice
3 eggs

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F
2. Make crust by combining the graham crackers with the butter and 1 TBSP sugar.
3. Stir so that all is coated with butter, but keep it crumbly.
4. Press the crumbs onto the bottom and about half way up the side of an 8-inch springform pan. (You don't want the crust to form all the way up the back of the cheesecake slices. I don't know why but that's how they do it.)
5. Bake the crust for 5 min and set aside until you are ready to fill.
6. In large mixing bowl, combine sugar, vanilla, and cream cheese and blend with electric mixer until smooth.
7. Add lime juice and eggs and continue to beat until smooth and creamy.
8. Pour the filling into the pan and bake for 60-70 min. (If you notice top of cake turning light brown, cheesecake is done.) Remove from oven and cool.
9. When cheesecake has cooled to room temperature, put it into the refrigerator for 45 min.
10. Once cheesecake has chilled, remove the pan sides and cut cake.