Need a Pick-Me Up? Try a slice of cheesecake

Here it is the month of May, and when most people are thinking May flowers, my mind suddenly turned to cheesecake today. I was sitting in the dr’s office for the first part of my yearly physical this morning and while waiting for the dr, I quickly turned the pages of a Good Housekeeping trying to find page 202 where there was suppose to be a recipe for a fresh coconut cake. BUT…..on the opposite page was a recipe for a vanilla cheesecake, so that took my attention. I will give you the recipe below but first wanted to share a thought. I remember as a young bride wanting to make a homemade cheesecake but the crust always intimadated me. So after leaving the dr’s office, driving down the tollway, I thought about going home and writting a little tip about the easy way to make the crust. Do not let the crust of the cheesecake keep you from making a cheesecake. Making a cheesecake from scratch is just like making a box cake mix. You just add the ingredients and bake. Do not worry about a crack if it appears in the top. Just cover it with fruit or whipping cream. It will taste wonderful and everyone will be so excited to have homemade cheesecake.

Buy 2 already made graham cracker crusts. Undo the graham crusts from the pie plates into a bowl  and mix about 1/3 cup of melted butter and stir. Pour this into your cheesecake pan. Bake this crust at 325 for about 15 mins and then set aside.  Always remember to let your eggs and cream cheese soften to room temperature, usually about an hr. then proceed.   Pour this into your cheesecake pan.  Now, mix the following together:

3 (8 oz) cream cheese

1 cup of sugar

1 tablespoon of vanilla

Beat these 3 ingredients together until well blended. Then add 3 eggs, one at a time, beating well. Pour this into the crust and bake for about 50 minutes at 350 degrees. When cheesecake comes out of the oven, cool. Then take the remaining 8 oz of cream cheese and beat in 1/2 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Add 8 oz of Cool whip and beat well. Pour over cheesecake and refrigerate at least 4 hours, covered…….makes 12 to 16 slices.

It is so simple when you don’t have to worry about measuring out graham cracker crumbs or smashing them in a plastic bag. In fact, if you are really in a hurry, instead of taking the crust out of the pie plates, just use them as your crust and divide the above cheesecake mixture between the two crusts and bake accordingly, about 30 minutes. Divide the Cool Whip mixture between the two when they are cooled. That makes it even easier……You may top this with fruit or hot fudge sauce or caramel! Anyway you top it, it will be fabulous!