Our family loves cheesecake and we love apple pie. So way back when, my mom, Jo—who tends to be piecrust challenged—decided to do away with the frustration of a rolled pie dough and combined her cheesecake acumen with apples to create the simplest and most delicious winner. Try it—it will impress your friends and your taste buds!!
CRUST
- 1 cup flour (substitute almond meal for gluten-free version)
- 1⁄3 cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 1 stick butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
CREAM CHEESE FILLING
- 2 (8-ounce) packages of cream cheese at room temperature
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 eggs at room temperature
APPLES
- 2 large tart apples such as Rhode Island Greenings, peeled, cored and sliced
- ¼ cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 1⁄3 cup chopped walnuts
Preheat oven to 350°.
Combine flour, sugar, vanilla in a bowl and then cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Press into bottom and up about 1 inch up the sides of a 10-inch springform pan. Bake for 5 minutes; cool to room temperature. Increase oven temperature to 450°. Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla with an electric mixer until smooth. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Spoon mixture into crust.
Mix apples sugar, cinnamon and vanilla. Spoon over cream cheese mixture and then sprinkle with walnuts. Bake for 15 minutes and then reduce heat to 350° and bake another 45 minutes, until your tester comes out clean. Cool on a rack and then carefully remove sides of springform pan. When completely cool, turn upsidedown, remove bottom of pan, place plate on top and flip over. And ENJOY !!!
CAROLE MURKO is a culinary artist who learned how to cook by observing her mother and grandmother. Carole has emulated their passion for entertaining, cooking and feeding friends and family and translated it into her own way of honoring traditions by creating Heirloom Meals, a storytelling platform to share treasured family recipes, stories and tips.—“Savoring yesterday’s traditions today”—on the web at HeirloomMeals.com, on the radio (NPR) Robin Hood Radio, 91.5 FM and on TV (PBS). Previously, Carole had successful careers on Wall Street and in interior design and decoration.