We did it! We came up with the bright idea at Thanksgiving for a different take on dessert. Cranberry Cheesecake. We both love cheesecake and we both love cranberries—especially at the traditional holiday dinners.
And we thought—what if? What if we tried making a cheesecake that tastes like cranberries. Carolyn insists on the canned jellied kind that slurps its way out of the can and that you slice. I prefer the other extreme of making a cranberry relish or salsa with fresh cranberries. So far, for the 8 holidays we’ve been together, she’s always won (no big surprise there is there?) which is OK because it’s one less dish for me to prepare.
Now this cheesecake ended up being a bit less dense than other cheesecakes but no less tasty—especially with the tartness of cranberries added. And it’s really easy to make. Next time I make it, I’ll try a couple of different things to add to the flavor, perhaps change the consistency a bit and dress it up a little more. (There’s a couple of notes at the end of the recipe that you might want to try).
If you’re looking for something fancy and foo-fooed then I’m not your guy. But if you want something simple, tasty and cheap—here’s a great idea.
Recipe: Cranberry Cheesecake
Summary: Here’s a new twist on a holiday favorite–cranberries! They taste fantastic in cheesecake and it’s easy to make.
Ingredients
- 2 8 oz packages cream cheese
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ tsp. vanilla
- 2 eggs
- 1 Graham Cracker Pie Crust (6 oz.)
- 1 can jellied cranberry sauce
Instructions
- 2 hours ahead of time take cream cheese from refrigerator so it will soften at room temperature.
- Get out a medium bowl and hand mixer. Pre-heat oven to 325.
- Put cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and eggs in the bowl. Use mixer to thoroughly incorporate and blend the ingredients.
- Spoon about 2/3 of the can of cranberry sauce into the bowl and blend into the mix. (Taste it—if it’s not cranberry-ee enough, add another spoonful or so).
- Pour into crust—you’re likely to have extra. (I ate most of it from the bowl with a spoon.)
- Bake 50 min. or until center is almost set. Remove and put on rack to cool. Then refrigerate 3 hours.
- NOTES: 1) As an option you can use a can of regular old cranberries. Drain and put the chunky stuff into the mix and blend thoroughly. This will give you some small chunks in the cheesecake. 2) When you serve the cheesecake, decorate the top with a dollop of canned cranberries in the center and around the edge of the crust. This will look more elegant and add a bit of extra cranberry “zing” to the dessert.
Preparation time: 10 minute(s)
Cooking time: 50 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 6
So there you have it. This isn’t necessarily the most gorgeous but if you use the 2nd note above it’ll present better. Cranberry cheesecake has some terrific flavor. As mentioned before, it wasn’t as dense as most cheesecakes but that’s because of the addition of the cranberry jelly which “dilutes” the cheesecake. It comes out with a reddish cast to the color and wakes up your mouth at the end of a holiday feast. Give it a try. It’s tasty, it’s different and it’s cheap.
The Cheap Bastid Test: If you buy a cheesecake figure that it’ll set you back $10-$12. Or at a restaurant, it’ll cost about $5 a slice. This one was $1 for the graham cracker crust at Fresh and Easy, $1 for the jellied cranberry sauce, $2.50 for the cream cheese (it was on special and had a coupon at the Grocery Outlet), the 2 eggs cost $.30, the sugar $.05 and the vanilla about $.02. Total was $4.87. Six servings cost $.81 a slice. Yeah, that’s affordable!
That’s the Cheap Bastid Way: Eat Good. Eat Cheap. Be Grateful!
What I like about this recipe is the ingredients. My recipe calls for five pkgs of cream cheese,five eggs, two cups sugar, heavy cream well you get the idea. I love cranberries and I think this recipe here Walter is great. I will give this to myself for Valentines Day. Happy New Year Walter and thanks for all your hard work in giving us these recipes.
Looks damn yummy Walter..
HUGGGGGGGGGGGGG