Praline Pecan Cheesecake

This cheesecake is decadent and scrumptious. Your life will never be the same once you've tried it.

Crust:

2 cups finely ground graham cracker crumbs
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 stick butter, melted

In a mixing bowl, combine the ingredients with a fork until evenly moistened. Lightly coat the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan with non-stick cooking spray. Pour the crumbs into the pan and pat down into the base and 1-inch up the sides.

Sprinkle with ½ cup praline pecan pieces. (Recipe follows)

Praline Pecans

1 cup pecan pieces
½ cup powdered sugar
Few drops water

Place pecan pieces on a lined cookie sheet. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and toss. Sprinkle with a few drops of water and toss until coated and pecans are sticky. Bake in 325 degree oven for 5 – 8 minutes. Let cool and break into pieces.

After sprinkling crust with praline pecans, drizzle crust with ¼ cup (or more to your liking) of caramel ice cream topping. (I prefer Mrs. Richardson's...so good.)

Place finished crust in refrigerator while assembling cheesecake filling.

Filling:

2 8-ounce blocks cream cheese, softened
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 pint sour cream
dash vanilla

¼ cup Butterscotch-Caramel topping for drizzling

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese on low speed for 1 minute until smooth and free of any lumps. Add the eggs one at a time and continue to beat slowly until combined. Gradually add the sugar and beat until creamy, for 1 – 2 minutes.

Add the sour cream and vanilla. Periodically scrape down the sides of the bowl and the beaters. The batter should be well mixed but not overbeaten. Pour the filling into the chilled crust-lined pan and smooth top with a spatula. Drizzle Butterscotch-Caramel topping over filling and swirl with a knife.

Set the cheesecake pan on a large piece of aluminum foil and fold up the sides around it. Place the cake pan in a large roasting pan. Pour boiling water into the roasting pan until the water is about halfway up the sides of the cheesecake pan; the foil will keep water from seeping into the cheesecake. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes. The cheesecake should jiggle (it will firm up after chilling), so be careful not to overcook. Let cool in roasting pan for 30 minutes. Chill in the refrigerator, loosely covered, for at least 4 hours or overnight. Loosen the cheesecake from the sides of the pan by running a thin metal spatula around the inside rim. Slice into 16 servings with a thin, non-serrated knife that has been dipped in hot water. Wipe dry after each cut. Sprinkle cheesecake with remaining ½ cup praline pecans and drizzle with more Butterscotch-Caramel topping.

Serve and enjoy!

The ingredients for the praline pecans...make this first...you'll need them right away.

Give the pecans a rough chop...you want some good chunkage...

And then dust them liberally with powdered sugar

Then with some water...not too much...get them all sticky-like

This is how they look after you bake them for a few minutes

Everything for a nummy cheesecake

The crust ready to be filled...

Oh my...look at all that swirly goodness

Out of the oven....

Don't you just want to sit in this???