Cheesecake Squares

One of the very first jobs that I had when I was a teenager a waitress at an Italian restaurant.  It was a tiny little place near my hometown and it was owned by a man from Thailand - yes, Thailand.  (That's a story for another day.)  I started as a waitress but over the three years that I worked at the restaurant, I also served as the hostess, bartender and even the cook.  There were days when I held all of those roles on the same day!  (Did I mention that it was a SMALL restaurant?)  One of my favorite things to do at the restaurant was to work in the kitchen.  I took a special interest in preparing desserts for the evening dinner service.  The dessert specialty at the restaurant was cheesecake and I learned a lot about how to (and not to) make a really great cheesecake at the restaurant.  I used to love to experiment with all sorts of different flavor combinations.  Snickers, turtle, raspberry white chocolate swirl, chocolate chip, amaretto - I baked them all.  I started with a basic cheesecake recipe and added flavors based on the cheesecake that I wanted to create. 

Today, I want to share my basic, plain cheesecake recipe with all of you.  It is super easy.  You don't need a springform pan and you don't need to bake it in a water bath.  It's simple and easy but it's really delicious. 

Cheesecake Squares
1 cup graham cracker crumbs        ½ cup sugar                   ¼ cup sour cream
¼ cup melted butter                       2 eggs
16 ounces cream cheese                ½ teaspoon vanilla

Combine graham cracker crumbs and butter.

Press into a greased 9” square pan.

 
Beat cream cheese and sour cream until smooth.

Add eggs, one at a time.  Add vanilla.

 





Pour over crust.










Bake 35-40 minutes at 325.







 
Cool.  Refrigerate until chilled. Cut in squares.

Feel free to get creative with this cheesecake recipe.  Use your imagination and create something fabulous.  My family likes these tiny cheesecake squares dipped in chocolate.

Ciao!

Cheesecake Squares
1 cup graham cracker crumbs        ½ cup sugar
¼ cup chopped pecans                   ¼ cup sour cream
¼ cup melted butter                       2 eggs
16 ounces cream cheese                ½ teaspoon vanilla

Combine graham cracker crumbs, pecans and butter.  Press into a greased 9” square pan.  Beat cream cheese and sour cream until smooth.  Add eggs, one at a time.  Add vanilla.  Pour over crust.  Bake 35-40 minutes at 325.  Cool.  Refrigerate until chilled.