Fourth of July Cheesecake from Episode 15
Mom found this recipe on the inside of a box of Philadelphia cream cheese back in the 70's and we think it has stood the test of time. It was tradition in our family to make it for President's Day (if you add cherries) or Fourth of July, but really it's good all year round. It only uses a few ingedients and very little baking (the graham cracker crust needs to be baked for 10 minutes), so it's perfect as a refreshing summer dessert. The lemon juice added to the cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk gives it a perfect balance of sweet and tart flavors. If you are making it for a crowd, you can double everything and use a rectangular Pyrex pan. For the record, Bossy thinks the pie pan is more democratic since there's no fighting over corner pieces.
Ingredients:
Graham Cracker Crust (see below)
1 15 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 8 oz package cream cheese
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract- (ideally your homemade stuff!)
Cherry Glaze (optional--see below)
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Graham Cracker Crust (original recipe from Sally's addiction)
1 and 1/2 cups crushed graham crackers, around 12 rectangles
1/4 cup sugar
6 T butter, melted
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You can crush the graham crackers in a blender or in a sealed plastic bag with a rolling pin, or with a mortar and pestle, like in ye olde Colonial Massachusetts. Once you have it ground up pretty finely, you mix in the sugar and then add the melted butter so that it will stick together. Mold this into a pie pan or whatever you are using. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Allow to cool before pouring the filling in.
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For the Filling:
Put cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice and vanilla in a blender and blend until well mixed and creamy. Pour into cooled pie shell and refrigerate for 2 hours. Decorate with fresh berries as shown or cherry pie filling, or the cherry glaze.
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Cherry Glaze:
1 cup pitted sour cherries
2 T sugar
2 t corn starch
1/2 cup cherry juice
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Blend sugar and corn starch. Add juice. Cook until thick and clear, stirring constantly. Add cherries. Let cool before pouring on top of cream cheese filling.
