Ingredients
Crust
- 18 graham cracker sheets
- 1/2 cup butter, melted (1 stick)
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- pinch salt
Filling
- 32 oz cream cheese, softened
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup 5% plain greek yogurt
- 2 tsp vanilla
Apples
- 2 large apples, peeled and diced small. I used gala
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp arrowroot (sub cornstarch)
Crumble
- 3/4 cup white flour
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 6 tbsp butter, melted
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Caramel Topping
- 1/3 jar Smucker’s caramel (or homemade)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a springform pan with non-stick spray and parchment paper. Alternatively use a 10 inch pie dish, but springform will be best for this cheesecake.
- In a food processor, blend graham cracker sheets. Once fine crumbs, add in melted butter, brown sugar, and salt. Pulse until well combined.
- Pour into springform pan and press firmly down using the bottom of a glass or hand. Bake for 12 minutes at 350F and let cool completely. Reduce oven heat to 325F.
- While crust is cooling, make the filling, apples, and crumble.
- In a large bowl, use a hand mixer to beat cream cheese until smooth. Add in eggs one at a time and continuing mixing. Then add in sugar, greek yogurt, and vanilla and beat for several minutes until smooth. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, add diced apples. Top with lemon juice, brown sugar, cinnamon, and arrowroot. Toss until apples are evenly coated.
- In another bowl, mix together the white flour and brown sugar, then add in the butter, vanilla, and cinnamon. Mix until crumbles form and there are mostly little crumbs with some dime sized chunks.
- If your springform pan typically leaks, or just to be certain it doesn’t, wrap the bottom and halfway up in several layers of foil before adding cheesecake filling.
- Pour cheesecake filling into cooled crust. Sprinkle apples evenly over the top, being sure that the center isn’t the heaviest. Repeat with crumble topping, evenly distributing it to cheesecake.
- Bake cheesecake for 30 minutes at 325F. After 30 minutes is up, reduce heat to 250F and bake for 50 minutes. Turn oven off and let cheesecake sit in warm oven for 30 minutes, then crack oven door open and let cheesecake cool down even more for 1 hour with oven door open.
- Bring cheesecake to room temperature on counter (about 2-3 hours) and run a knife around the edge of the cheesecake before transporting to refrigerator overnight.
- After a night in the fridge, release from springform pan. It should easily lift off, but if not, run a knife along the edge again. Before serving, top with warmed caramel sauce. Slice into using a wet sharp knife.
Category: dessert, holiday, fallMethod: OvenCuisine: American
