Strawberry Cheesecake

Crust

• 1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted

Or if you want to be fast, flip a pre-made graham crust into your spring form pan and press it back together with some melted butter on your fingers.

Strawberry Sauce

• 1 16 oz tub frozen sweetened strawberries, thawed
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

Or I used 16 oz of fresh strawberries chopped up, and about 1/3 – ½ cup of sugar, depending on how sweet your strawberries are and 1 Tbsp cornstarch.

Filling

• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese (or Nuefchatel), softened
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter. Press onto the bottom of an un-greased 9-in. spring form pan. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. In a blender or food processor, combine strawberries and cornstarch; cover and process until smooth. Pour into a saucepan; stir while bringing to a boil. Boil and stir for 2 minutes. Set aside ¾ cup strawberry sauce; cool. Cover and refrigerate remaining sauce for serving. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until light and fluffy. Scrap down the sides of the bowl. Gradually beat in milk. Add vanilla and lemon juice; mix well and scrap down the sides again. Add eggs one at a time, beat on low just until combined. Pour half of the cream cheese mixture over crust. Drop half of the reserved strawberry mixture by  teaspoonfuls onto cream cheese layer. Carefully spoon remaining cream cheese mixture over sauce. Spoon remaining strawberry sauce by teaspoonfuls on top. With a knife, cut through top layer only to swirl strawberry sauce. Bake at 300 degrees F for 45-50 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer. Refrigerate overnight. Remove side of pan. Thin chilled strawberry sauce with water to desired consistency; drizzle over cheesecake if desired. But, it’s good without the extra sauce on top too. Store in the refrigerator.

 If you want to make sure the top doesn’t crack, don’t over beat the filling and bake it in a water bath.

I got this recipe from a friend/neighbor Jennifer Labrum she made it for our cooking group...