Creamy Cheesecake

This is the recipe for the cheesecake that I brought to our last beading party. It is from Our Best Bites. Nate loves cheesecake and I tried a ton of different recipes before I found one he loved. Here is the winning recipe.

Ingredients:
Crust-
1 ½ cup graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup sugar
6 Tbsp. butter, melted
½ tsp. cinnamon

Filling-
2 8oz. packages cream cheese, softened (NOT low-fat or fat-free)
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
¼ tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla
½ tsp. almond extract
3 cup sour cream (NOT low-fat or fat-free)


Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375. Combine crust ingredients and gently pat into bottom of 9” springform pan. Set aside
Beat the softened cream cheese until smooth and then add the eggs, one at a time, until smooth. Add in the sugar, salt, vanilla, and almond extract and beat on high for 3 minutes, scraping the sides and bottom of bowl often. Make sure mixture is completely smooth. Add the sour cream and mix well. Pour batter into springform pan and set pan inside a turkey roasting bag. Place the wrapped pan into a larger baking or roasting pan and fill the pan with water so it comes up about ¾ of the side of the spring form pan. Bake for 35 minutes or until filling is custard-like. The center shouldn’t be completely set, it should kind of jiggle like firm jello, but it shouldn’t be liquidy either. Just don’t overbake. Turn off heat and crack the oven door and allow cheesecake to stand for another 20 minutes inside the oven. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 8 hours. DON’T remove springform pan until cake has set for 8 hours.


I've also made this cheesecake in individual springform pans. Nate prefers his cheesecake plain, his grandpa requests strawberry glaze.