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If you are looking for a really tasty non-chocolate dessert (it happens!), this cheesecake may be the one. It is an easy recipe, and it was adapted from the great Craig Claiborne by way of the legendary Maida Heatter.

Please read the entire recipe before you start.

Make sure that all of your ingredients are at room temperature before you begin.

Take your cream cheese out of the refrigerator several hours before you are ready to bake. Adjust your oven rack to the bottom level of the oven.

Preheat the oven to 375°.

Wrap the bottom and sides of a 9 to 10 inch springform pan in a double layer of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Spray the pan with vegetable spray.

Prepare the graham cracker crust

Combine in a food processor or in a bowl with a fork:

• 1½ c. graham cracker crumbs
• 2 Tbsp. white or brown sugar
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• ½ tsp. vanilla or vanilla powder
• 5 Tbsp. melted butter

Press into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake at 375° for about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely.

Lower the oven temperature to 350°.

Prepare the cheesecake

Beat the following ingredients until smooth:

• 2 lb. (4 8-oz. packages) cream cheese -- beat for 2 minutes, then add
• ¼ c. sour cream
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 4 large eggs, room temperature, one at a time.

Scrape the bowl and beater to be sure you do not have lumps of cream cheese. Do not over beat the mixture because if you beat too much air into the cheesecake, it will rise too much, fall and crack a lot.

Remove bowl from the mixer; pour one third of the mixture into a large measuring cup, about 2 cups.

Add to the batter in the bowl:

• 2/3 c. granulated sugar and beat in.

Add to the batter in the cup:

• ½ c. dark brown sugar
• 3 Tbsp. Dulce de Leche

Mix well to be sure the sugar and dulce are completely combined.

Pour the white mixture from the bowl over the baked, cooled crust. Drop the dark mixture from the cup, by large dollops, into the vanilla batter. Run a butter knife through the two colors to marbleize. Do not marbleize too much or you will lose the effect.

Place a pan, larger than the prepared springform pan, on the bottom shelf of the 350° oven. Sit the springform pan into the larger pan. Pour very hot water into the larger pan so the water comes about half way up the sides of the aluminum foil-wrapped springform pan.

Bake cheesecake at 350° for 90 minutes.

The top of the cheesecake will darken to a rich honey color. It will rise and then settle back to its original level. It might crack.

Remove cheesecake from water bath.

Remove the foil wrap.

Rest on a dishtowel to be sure any water collects on the towel.

Place on a rack to cool completely.

When the bottom of the pan is cooled to room temperature, cover the pan with plastic wrap and chill at least 4 hours; overnight is better. The texture is better and the flavors will meld.

Serves: 12 to 16.

Notes:

1. The Cookie Lady cuts a circle of cardboard traced from the pan, covers it with foil and lays it in the bottom of the pan. This keeps the bottom from getting scratched, and it is easier to place the cheesecake on a serving plate.
2. Use unwaxed, unflavored dental floss to cut the cheesecake, or if using a knife, it is best to clean the knife in very hot water between slices.
3. If you cannot find Dulce de Leche, this recipe will work with butterscotch ice cream topping. (The Cookie Lady uses Mrs. Richardson's brand Butterscotch Topping.)

A Cookie Lady Recipe