Creamy Vanilla Cheesecake with Butter Cookie Crust

Here's What You Need:

Cheesecake

• 16 oz cream cheese at room temperature
• 16 oz sour cream
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract

Crust

• 2 1/2 cups of finely ground butter cookies (I really like Danisa Butter Cookies.  I grew up with these and they are buttery delicious) (see picture #1)
• 1/4 cup of melted butter

Sour Cream Topping

• 16 oz sour cream
• 1/3 cup of sugar
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract

Here's What You Do:

Let's Start With the Foundation

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F
2. 1/4 cup melted unsalted butter
3. Evenly spread the cookie crumbs out on a baking sheet and place in the oven (see picture #2)
4. Toast crumbs for 5 minutes until golden brown (see picture #3)
5. While the crumbs are toasting, line the bottom of a 9 in. springform pan with parchment paper (I am a big Alton Brown fan, so if you are interested, here is a great technique on how to line a round pan)
6. Take the cookie crumbs out of the oven and pour it into a mixing bowl
7. Reduce temperature of oven to 325 degrees F (or 350 degrees F with a conventional oven)
8. Mix in the 1/4 cup of melted butter.  The crumbs should be moist and should stick together when squeezed between your fingers (see picture #4)
9. Pour cookie crumb mixture into the springform pan and press down evenly onto the bottom of the pan (see picture #5)
10. Refrigerate crust for 5-10 minutes (it is ok if the crust stays refrigerated a little longer as you make the cheesecake mixture).

For the Topping

1. Mix sour cream, sugar, and vanilla extract together until smooth
2. Refrigerate mixture

And Now For the Star

1. Heat about 4.5 qt of water in tea kettle (or any other mechanism you choose).  We are going to use this for the water bath
2. In a mixer, mix the cream cheese on low for about a minute until smooth
3. A an egg into cream cheese and continue mixing.  Add next egg after previous egg is incorporated until you have added all three eggs
4. Next slowly pour in the sugar and continue mixing until incorporated
5. Add vanilla extract and sour cream and mix until fully incorporated (see picture #6)
6. Take the pan and crust out of the refrigerator and wrap outside of pan in a layer of heavy duty foil (or a double layer of standard foil) (see picture #7)
7. Pour the cream cheese mixture into the pan (see picture #8)
8. Use a spatula to smooth out the surface
9. Place pan into a 16 inch roasting pan and pour hot water into roasting pan until water rises half way up spring form pan (about 2 inches) to make a water bath (see picture #9)
10. Carefully transfer roasting pan into the oven and bake for 45 minutes until center still slightly jiggles and the edges are slightly firm (see video #1)
11. Take the sour cream topping out of the refrigerator and carefully pour on top of the cheesecake.  Smooth out surface with a spatula. (see picture #10)
12. Bake for another 5 minutes
13. Carefully take the cheesecake out of the oven and place on a wire rack for at least 30-45 minutes until it is room temperature (see picture #11)
14. Cover and refrigerate cheesecake at least 4 hours

Enjoy!

Picture #1

Picture #2

Picture #3

Picture #4

Picture #5

Picture #6

Picture #7

Picture #8

Picture #9

Video #1

Picture #10

Picture #11

Ooey Gooey Rice Krispie Treats

Aidan and Brooke made these (except for the stirring because "My arm is so tired, Mommy!" and they turned out great! Super ooey and gooey just like the packaged version which was what we were going for!

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons of butter
• 8 cups of mini marshmallows
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla
• 1 tablespoon of milk
• 6 cups of Rice Krispie Cereal

Instructions

1. Slowly melt the butter in a large pan, low heat.
2. Once butter is melted, add vanilla and 6 cups of marshmallows. Melt the marshmallows slowly.
3. Right before the marshmallows are fully melted, add milk and the other 2 cups of marshmallows. Stir until the added marshmallows are starting to melt. (we don't want them fully melt so you will have fun pockets of marshmallow)
4. Add the Rice Krispie Cereal. Stir until the cereal is fully coated with the marshmallow fluff.
5. Dump into an 8 x 11 greased dish. Use a greased spatula to spread out the treats and press down just a bit (you don't want them so compacted that they become rock hard).
6. Allow to fully cool before cutting and serving.