Recipes

Crust

• Heat Oven to 325 F (163 C)
• Use a food processor to grind crackers into fine crumbs

  Place crumbs and sugar in bowl.

  Add butter; mix well.

  Press firmly onto bottom of 9-inch spring form pan.
• Bake for 8-10 minutes if desired, crust works fine baked or unbaked, personal preference. Allow to completely cool before next step
• Fit pan with silicone cheesecake water bath wrap or wrap pan with aluminum foil along with plastic roasting bag to prevent water bath getting to pan.

Filling

• Beat cream cheese, sugar, heavy cream, sour cream, and vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended.

  Scrap bowl and beater, check for lumps, mix again if needed. Some hand mixing may be needed to break up lumps.

  Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition.

  Bounce bowl on counter a few times to get rid of air bubbles.

  Pour over prepared crust

  Place pan in 12 inch cake pan and fill to halfway mark with hot water.

  Bake 45 min. or until center is almost set. (145-150 degrees in center)

  Cool.

  Refrigerate 3 hours or overnight.

  Cut into 12 pieces.

  Store leftover cheesecake in refrigerator.

• Adjust oven racks to upper and lower middle positions

  Preheat oven to 400°F

  Line baking sheets with parchment paper if desired
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt; set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, shortening and 298 grams of sugar on medium speed until well combined, 1 to 1½ minutes.
• Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the eggs, and beat again until combined, about 30 seconds.
• Add in the dry ingredients and beat at low speed until just combined, about 20 seconds.
• Using spatula or large spoon give dough a final mix to catch any stray flour.
• If kitchen is warm and/or dough appears a bit 'loose' put dough in refrigerator for 20 minutes or so to firm it up
• In a small, shallow bowl, combine the 3 tablespoons sugar and the cinnamon for rolling the dough. Stir or shake well to combine.
• Fill a #50 scoop with dough scraping it flat. Eject dough and roll top portion of ball in cinnamon sugar mixture. Don't coat the flat portion of ball. Place on cookie sheet flat side down approximately 2 inches a part.
• Bake until the edges of the cookies are beginning to set and the center are soft and puffy, 9-12 minutes, rotating the baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through the baking time. (if using a convection oven the switching and rotating of sheets may not be needed)
• Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets 2-3 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

• The microwaved apples should be pliable but not completely soft when cooked. To test for doneness, take one apple slice and try to bend it. If it snaps in half, it’s too firm; microwave it for an additional 30 seconds and test again. If Calvados is unavailable, 1 tablespoon of apple brandy or white rum can be substituted.

  1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Spray 9-inch springform pan with vegetable oil spray. Place prepared pan on rimmed baking sheet lined with aluminum foil.

  Place apple slices into microwave-safe pie plate, cover, and microwave until apples are pliable and slightly translucent, about 3 minutes. Toss apple slices with Calvados and lemon juice and let cool for 15 minutes.

  2. Whisk 1 cup flour, 1 cup granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt together in bowl.

  Whisk egg, oil, milk, and vanilla together in second bowl until smooth.

  Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and whisk until just combined.

  Transfer 1 cup batter to separate bowl and set aside.

  3. Add egg yolks to remaining batter and whisk to combine.

  Using spatula, gently fold in cooled apples.

  Transfer batter to prepared pan; using offset spatula, spread batter evenly to pan edges, gently pressing on apples to create even, compact layer, and smooth surface.

  4. Whisk remaining 2 tablespoons flour into reserved batter.

  Pour over batter in pan and spread batter evenly to pan edges and smooth surface.

  Sprinkle remaining 1 tablespoon granulated sugar evenly over cake.

  5. Bake until center of cake is set, toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, and top is golden brown, about 1¼ hours. The toothpick test can give false results. Best results is use an instant read thermometer, 205 F (96 C) seems to be a good target for doneness.

  Transfer pan to wire rack; let cool for 5 minutes. Run paring knife around sides of pan and let cool completely, 2 to 3 hours. Dust lightly with confectioners’ sugar, cut into wedges, and serve.