by Cristina White
INGREDIENTS
- CRUST:
- 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
- APPLE TOPPING:
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 dash ground nutmeg
- 6 Granny Smith or baking apples - peeled, cored and thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- FILLING:
- 3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
- 3 eggs
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS
Combine crust ingredients; press into bottom and 1-1/2-in. up sides of a 9-in. springform pan. Refrigerate. For topping, place sugar, lemon juice, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg in Dutch oven; mix well. Add apples. Bring to a boil; cover and simmer 15 minutes or just until apples are tender. Gently stir as needed. Remove from heat; carefully stir in pecans. Cool to room temperature. Set aside 3 tablespoons of topping; refrigerate the rest until serving time. For filling, combine cream cheese, eggs, sugar and vanilla in a large mixing bowl; mix until well blended. Pour filling into crust. Bake at 350 degrees F for 50 minutes. Turn oven off, but leave cheesecake in oven with door ajar for another 1 hour. Cool to room temperature; chill at least 4 hours. Before serving, top with Apple Topping.
