Happy Birthday Cheese Cake

    Paige is no longer a teenager. A fact, I believe she is coming to terms with since she is now 20. To celebrate such a grand occasion, she got to pic what she wanted as her birthday cake. Her choice: Cheese cake. Topping: Oreo. While the only thing that was local in this dessert was the eggs Nathan got down at the market house, it is still something we wanted to share with you.

     Cheese Cake, or Cream Cheese Pie as my Grandmother calls it (and since it's her recipe that's what we will call it), is simple to make. Before you ask, this is a recipe for a denser style cheesecake, none of that fluffy stuff. We like our cheesecake New York style.

Cream Cheese Pie 

CRUST:
1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
2 tbs sugar
1/3 cup butter
sprinkle of cinnamon

We used our food processor for this and it took merely minutes. First, put a cup and a half of graham crackers in. (This is about 6 or so sheets). Process it until it is fine crumbs. Add in two tablespoons of sugar, a sprinkle of cinnamon, and 1/3 cup Melted butter. Mix until the crumbs seem to stick together and the entire mixture is in big clumps or one big clump. Press the crust into a pie dish and let sit.

FILLING:
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 lb. cream cheese
dash of lemon juice
1/2 t vanilla

For this step, we used an electric hand beater. (It speeds up the process, and we are also still looking for an old fashion hand cranked egg beater) Beat the 3 eggs together. Add in 3/4 cups of sugar and beat until it is all dissolved. Break the pound of cream cheese into chunks and beat it into the egg and sugar mixture until it is all smooth. Then mix in a 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla and a dash of fresh lemon juice.

Pour the filling into the prepared crust.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. It is best if you let it refrigerate overnight, and serve it the next day. This way the filling can set itself and become perfect. During this cooling process, don't be surprised if a crack or two forms in the top of your cheese cake.

OREO TOPPING
Because we do have a sweet tooth, we made our own Oreo topping for the cheesecake.

Ingredients:
Package of Oreo cookies
1 tbs butter
2 tbs milk

First, take a sleeve of Oreos and separate the chocolate cookies from the vanilla filling. Put the cookies in the processor, and chop them up until they are just a powder of crumbs.

In a small sauce pan, warm the milk and butter until the butter is melted. Mix in the vanilla fillings. Stir well until it is a single consistency. Then add in the cookie powder until the mixture thickens into a dark spreadable frosting. (Note you will have cookie crumbs left over).

Spread this mixture over the cheese cake. Sprinkle on a little bit of the extra cookie crumb. For extra decoration crush about three additional Oreos and scatter it on top.