Wild Cherry Cheesecake

As I mentioned in my Thanksgiving post, we were invited to a Thanksgiving dinner with friends today, Friday. Our contribution was a goat cheese roll (not pictured!) and a cheesecake with cherries. The food and fellowship were great, we have a lot to be thankful for ... including cheesecake!

Wild Cherry Cheesecake

2 cups ground gingersnap cookies

6 T butter, melted

2 8-oz bars cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar, divided

1 egg

2 cups sour cream

1 tsp vanilla, divided

1/2 - 1 cup wild cherry preserves

Combine the ground gingersnaps and melted butter in a bowl; press evenly into a 9" spring form pan, going about an inch up the sides. Preheat the oven to 350 deg F.

Using a stand mixer, or a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese and 3/4 cup of the sugar until smooth; beat in the egg then 1/2 cup of the sour cream and 1/2 tsp of the vanilla. 

Pour the mixture into the crust and bake 40-45 minutes just until set. Meanwhile, whisk together the remaining sour cream, sugar and vanilla. Spread evenly over the hot cheesecake when it is finished baking and return to the oven for another 5-8 minutes, until set. 

Cool in the pan, then refrigerate for 3 hours (I was running short on time, so I threw it in the freezer for about an hour and a half and it was perfect!)

To serve, run a knife around the edges of the pan before un-molding.  Spread the cherries over the top before serving (**tip: I buy wild cherries when they are in season in the summer and freeze them in zip-top bags with a few tablespoons of sugar; all you have to do is place them in a pot over low heat and simmer until they turn into preserves, or any other kind of topping you like: pancakes, waffles, bread, etc...add a few more tablespoons of sugar to make the mixture more syrupy)

If you're not a fan of gingersnaps, you can use 2 cups of ground graham crackers, or even chocolate graham crackers.