Recipe of the week - Ultimate Vanilla Cheesecake

September 7, 2015 by Joanna Harrison

The Ingredients (serves 12)

• 50 vanilla wafers, finely crushed (2 cups)
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon McCormick® Extra Rich Pure Vanilla Extract
• 3 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 eggs 1 cup sour cream
• 1 tablespoon McCormick® Extra Rich Pure Vanilla Extract

The Method

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. For the Vanilla Wafer Crust, mix vanilla wafer crumbs, butter, sugar and vanilla in medium bowl until well blended. Press evenly into bottom and 2 inches up sides of 9-inch springform pan. Set aside.
2. For the Filling, beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on high speed until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each addition just until blended. Add sour cream and vanilla; mix well. Pour into prepared crust.
3. Bake 50 minutes or until center is almost set. Turn off oven. Leave cheesecake in oven 2 hours or until cooled. Remove from oven.
4. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight. Run small knife around sides of pan to loosen crust; remove sides of pan. Store leftover cheesecake in refrigerator.