Cheesecakemama, you sure have earned your moniker! I admit, I was skeptical about the baking method as well as the large amount of sour cream for just two packages of cream cheese. But you were right – this turned out perfectly just as you said it would! This is a light and creamy cheesecake, far different from some of the more dense, heavy and kind of dry cheesecakes. You were right on about the cheesecake not cracking too!
Your recipe is perfect for any baker, novice or experienced. For my own preference, however, the crust was a little thicker than I would like, so next time it will be easy enough to cut it back to maybe one cup of crumbs to suit my tastes, but others may like it just as is. Delicious on it’s own or with any variety of toppings, I served this with Supreme Strawberry Topping, recipe also from this site. I’m so happy your wonderful recipe got published – not just for you, but for the hundreds of home bakers I know are going to be pleased with it too!
When I saw this recipe in an old recipe tin, I didn’t give it much of a thought. Simply titled “Cheese Cake,” and then clarified in smaller writing to the right: “Judys Cheese Cake,” there wasn’t really much that drew my eye to the plain index card with shaky handwriting. On a second pass through the stack of vintage recipes though, I took a closer look and once I saw the crust ingredients, I just knew I had to make it.
I came up with this because I wanted simple, but elegant too. I wanted the taste of restaurant cheesecake, but something simple to prepare–because I did not want to measure the sour cream, I dumped in the whole container. I also did not want to bake for an hour, so that is where the 30 minute shut-off of the oven comes into play. I shut off the oven and do not open door for 6 hours or leave in oven all night. This will get you great reviews from friends. You also will not order cheesecake out again. If it cracks, garnish with fruit to hide the cracks.
See, the crust is made with Nilla wafer cookies, and when I read that I had this sudden memory of a banana cream pudding pie my mom used to make that was lined with those cookies. That pie was good… but what I remember most is that I would eagerly eat the remaining wafers out of the box. We didn’t have them around that often when I was a kid, but I loved them. And so I thought, I have to make this cheesecake. That crust is going to be amazing! Well, I’m sure glad I did. Because it was.
I’d never made a cheesecake before in my life but finally got nerve enough to try one. I reviewed many but settled on this one because it seemed simple and straightforward. While it was relatively simple, the flavor was anything but. This cheesecake was fantastic and certainly a crowd-pleaser. I’ll be making this again and again.
PIN FOR LATER
INGREDIENTS
For the crust:
40 vanilla wafers, crushed into crumbs
1/4 cup granulated sugar
To Find Out All The Yummy Ingredients And The Step By Step Directions To Follow for this Delicious recipes, Go to the next page.
Judy’s Cheesecake
INGREDIENTS
For the crust:
40 vanilla wafers, crushed into crumbs
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
For the cheesecake:
2 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
3 eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the sour cream topping:
1 pint (2 cups) sour cream
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
PREPARATION
Preheat oven to 375° F and lightly grease a 9-inch springform pan (or pie pan). Set aside.
In a medium bowl, mix together wafer crumbs, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1/4 cup melted butter until well combined. Press mixture into bottom of prepared pan.
Bake 8 minutes, then set on wire rack to cool.
In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, vanilla, and eggs, and beat together with an electric mixer until smooth. Pour mixture into cooled cookie crust.
Bake until center is set, 20 minutes. Remove and let cool 15 minutes before adding sour cream topping.
Meanwhile, mix together sour cream, 1/4 cup sugar, and vanilla and spread over cooled cheesecake. Raise oven temperature to 475°F and after 3 minutes of preheating, put cheesecake back in to bake for 10 minutes.
If using a springform pan, let cool 10 minutes before running a knife along the edges. Refrigerate overnight. Release springform pan, slice, and serve. Enjoy!
From: allrecipes.com
To continue Reading, Go to the next page.
I really think these changes helped to enhance the texture and flavor of the gelatin layer. I highly recommend trying this. I have taken it to two dinner parties now and cannot tell you how many compliments I received, my friends were thoroughly impressed. Fantastic recipe!!!
This is always a hit! Tips I live by to make this turn out every time:
1) DON’T bake the pretzel layer any longer than 10 minutes.
2) Double the amount of jello to make it proportional to the amount of cream cheese.
3) Let the jello chill to thicken slightly before spreading on the cream cheese layer.
This was really good! I added some vanilla (1/2 tsp) to the cream cheese layer. I also think the crust should be a bit sweeter- I will try it with white and brown sugar next time. As other readers have warned, this crust will turn to CEMENT if you cook it too long. Take it out after 10 minutes even if you don’t think it’s cooked. It will get hard as it sits! Roll the side of a drinking glass over the crust in the pan- it makes an easy job of pressing it in.
This is definitely a 5 star recipe that has been around for years. If it was not offered during my family’s Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday they would protest in rebellion! Only recommendation I would make is to use butter gold pretzels as this enhances the flavor.
PLEASE NOTE: This is NOT a recipe that keeps for days… it needs to be eaten within the first 48 hours as the pretzel crust breaks down and softens and it just does not do it justice – Hands down to the crunch in this salad, it’s a winner.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups crushed pretzels
- 4 1/2 tablespoons white sugar
To Find Out All The Yummy Ingredients And The Step By Step Directions To Follow for this Delicious recipes, Go to the next page.
Judy’s Strawberry Pretzel Salad
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups crushed pretzels
- 4 1/2 tablespoons white sugar
- 3/4 cup butter, melted
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
- 1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
- 1 (6 ounce) package strawberry flavored Jell-O(R)
- 2 cups boiling water
- 1 (16 ounce) package frozen strawberries
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Mix together the pretzels, 4 1/2 tablespoons sugar and melted butter. Press into the bottom of a 9×13 inch pan.
- Bake for 10 minutes, or until lightly toasted. Set aside to cool completely.
- In a medium bowl, beat the sugar and cream cheese until smooth. Fold in whipped topping. Spread evenly over the cooled crust. Refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the gelatin mix and boiling water. Mix in frozen strawberries, and stir until thawed. Pour over cream cheese mixture in pan.
- Refrigerate until completely chilled, at least 1 hour.
From: allrecipes.com