Happy holidays everyone! You’re all happy, right? No stress, no over-eating, no over-spending, no under-exercising? Oh well, those New Year’s resolutions are right around the corner and I plan to have some good tips for the post-holiday slump. We’ll talk about that later.
In the meantime, I’m back and ready to roll with a new look and more blog-friendly options than what I had in the past. I’m also going to admit right off that I’m fumbling around with WordPress, so let this be a warning that there may be some quirky things going on until I get the hang of this.
With the holidays in full swing, I decided to launch this new chapter of Gluten Free For Good with something sweet. Although my intention with this website/blog is to focus on nutritious food and healthy living, sometimes nourishment comes in the form of sweet delights and since it’s holiday time, this seemed perfect. I know cheesecake doesn’t rank as high as pumpkin pie on the list of traditional holiday desserts and I doubt the ladies of Plymouth Plantation were celebrating their first Christmas in the New World by whipping up marbled cheesecakes in spring-form pans, but – how can you go wrong with a creamy dessert like this while waiting for Santa on Christmas Eve?
Onward . . .
apple pecan cheesecake
crust
• 1 cup gluten-free graham cracker crumbs, finely pulsed in a food processor
(I use GF graham crackers from Outside The Breadbox)
• 3/4 cup finely chopped pecans
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
filling
• 16 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 large eggs
topping
• 3 to 4 cups peeled and thinly sliced apples (Jonathan, Granny Smith, or a mixture)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
what you do
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees; coat 8 inch springform pan with cooking spray
2. To make crust: mix all ingredients in a bowl and press onto bottom of prepared pan. Bake 10 minutes, then cool.
3. To make filling: beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Beat in eggs one at a time and pour mixture over crust.
4. To make topping: put sliced apples in a bowl and toss with cinnamon and sugar. Place apple mixture over filling and sprinkle the top with pecans.
5. Bake 1 and 1/4 hours, or until center is set. Cool completely before removing from springform pan.
Enjoy!
Melissa
Oh mom, I hope that you’ll be making one of those cheesecakes, sans pecans while I’m back in Colorado!
Hey Tev – I thought we could also try this with other crust and topping options. Like maybe Pamela’s GF peanut butter cookies instead of the graham crackers for the crust. Or skip the apples and pecans and use mixed berries. Or peaches. Yum! Lots of room for creativity with this recipe. See you soon! xo
Melissa - One of our favorite cheesecake crusts is made with gluten free gingersnaps. Goes great with an almond/chocolate cheesecake, but would do well with almost anything. By the way, Merry Christmas. I will get back in touch in the New Year, I promise.
Good idea, Annie. I’ve also used Pamela’s pecan shortbread cookies as a crust. Seems I cut back on the butter though, I can’t remember now. I’ve also used this granola recipe I made up that is awesome. I blend some of the granola in my food processor and use that for a crust. It’s wonderful. I’m putting the granola recipe together today (I just throw stuff together so I don’t always have “real” recipes) and I’ll post it sometime next week. It’s such a good “travel” food. You’ll love it.
Nice to hear from you. Yes, lets reconnect after the holidays. Have a Merry Christmas!