Cheesecake Mistake

So I have this friend Shellena.  She is an excellent baker and cook.  I needed a good recipe for Kenny's birthday to make him his favorite dessert, cheesecake, so naturally I went to her.  She told me about the goddess of all cheesecakes, it is called...

The Ultimate Turtle Cheesecake! (Recipe posted at the end)

I wanted to make a cheesecake to put all other cheesecakes to shame!  So I even went to lengths such as buying a spring foam pan, which I had no idea what it even was at the time!  I even made sure it was nine inches which is what the recipe called for.  Wow, I was being really detailed oriented, ha.  I was all set... or so I thought.

So I started out making the Oreo crust.  I crushed them by putting them in a blender.  The next step was to melt store-bought caramels in the microwave.  CRAP!  I forgot to buy caramels!  This wouldn't be a big deal except I don't have a car out here so it was time to improvise.  I will just home make the caramel!  Brilliant!  So now I had a new project, I had to home make caramels.  (Another thing I have never tried)  After pretty successfully making the caramels I poured a layer of the mixture onto the Oreo crust.

Well finally I made the actual cheesecake and put it in the oven to bake.  The homemade caramel was obviously too runny because it melted out of the cake all over the oven!  Wow as if my oven was not already greasy enough from my last baking experience. 

After that little mistake, I must admit I didn't do TOO bad of a job because Kenny said it tasted pretty good.  Either that, or Kenny is really good at lying! :) 

   Ultimate Turtle Cheesecake

24 OREO Cookies, finely crushed (about 2 cups)

6 Tbsp. butter or margarine, melted

1 pkg. (14 oz.) KRAFT Caramels

1/2 cup milk

1 cup chopped PLANTERS Pecans

3 pkg. (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

3/4 cups sugar

1 Tbsp. vanilla

3 eggs

2 squares BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate

Make It

HEAT oven to 325°F.

MIX crumbs and butter; press onto bottom and 2 inches up side of 9-inch springform pan.

MICROWAVE caramels and milk in small microwaveable bowl on HIGH 3 min. or until caramels are completely melted, stirring after each minute. Stir in nuts; pour half into crust. Refrigerate 10 min. Refrigerate remaining caramel mixture for later use.

BEAT cream cheese, sugar and vanilla with mixer until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each just until blended. Pour over caramel layer in crust.

BAKE 1 hour 5 min. to 1 hour 10 min. or until center is almost set. Run knife around rim of pan to loosen cake; cool before removing rim. Refrigerate 4 hours.

MICROWAVE reserved caramel mixture 1 min.; stir. Pour over cheesecake. Melt chocolate as directed on package; drizzle over cheesecake.

Kraft Kitchens Tips

Size-Wise

Enjoy a serving of this decadent treat on special occasions.

Note

Reduce oven temperature to 300°F if using a dark nonstick springform pan.

How to Cut a Cheesecake

When cutting a cheesecake, use a knife with a thin blade, wiping the blade with a damp paper towel or rinsing with warm water after each cut for best results. Or, try using unwaxed dental floss. Just cut an 18-inch piece of floss, then wrap the ends around your index fingers. Cut the cheesecake in half by pulling the floss through the cheesecake, starting at top surface of cheesecake and keeping the floss pulled tight. Release one end of the floss and pull through bottom of cheesecake. Rewrap the floss and use to cut cheesecake into desired number of slices.