Eggnog Cheesecake

I decided to be festive and make a Eggnog Cheesecake with Gingersnap Crust and Cranberry topping! I found a recipe for Caramel-Rum topping, but I'm glad I went with the Cranberry; the sweet-tang of Cranberry meshes superbly with the creamy rich cheesecake.

Crust:

1.5 cup ground gingersnaps

1 stick butter, melted

Filling:

2 lbs cream cheese, room temp

4 eggs

1.5 cup sugar

3 T flour

1 cup eggnog

3 T rum

1 t nutmeg

1 t cinnamon

Cranberry Topping:

2 cups fresh cranberries

1 cup sugar

1 cup cranberry juice (or as I did, 1/2 can jellied cranberry sauce and 3/4 cup water)

1 T cornstarch

Preheat to 350.

Mix the gingersnap crumbs and butter; press into bottom of a 9 or 10 in springform pan. Bake at 350 for 10 min, then let cool.

Preheat to 425

Blend cream cheese until smooth, add sugar and flour, then eggs (one at a time). Add in the eggnog, then the rum and the spices.

Pour the filling into the crust and bake at 425 for 10 minutes.

Lower the temp to 275 and bake for about an hour, until only the center jiggles.

Let cool, then chill overnight.

Make the cranberry topping:

Mix all ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook until desired consistency and most cranberries have split. Add more water if needed. Let cool and pour on cheesecake.

This cheesecake is a nice combination of spicy, boozy, creamy, tangy and DELICIOUS. Try it for New Years!