Homemade Peanut Butter & Jelly Cheesecake

Best homemade cheesecake I’ve ever baked! You get the best of both worlds, its like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. As you can see theres a golden brown strike running across the cheesecake, which indicates I left it in to long. But it did not dry out, and that can happen if your oven is really hot at 350 F so you might have to use 325 F.

2 pkgs (8-ounce) of Cream Cheese

1 cup Sugar

3 large Eggs

1 1/2 tsp Vanilla

1/4 tsp

3  cups Sour Cream

Peanut Butter

Jelly (choice of flavored)

Preheat oven to 350 F.

1. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar until very smooth ( 3 minutes). Add 1 egg at a time, beating after each addition until smooth and scraping down sides.

2. Add the lemon juice, vanilla, and salt and beat until incorporated. Beat in the sour cream just until blended.

3. Place aside 1 cup of mixture and beat in peanut butter. Then pour about 1/3 cup of peanut butter mixture on top of prepared graham crust, then add tablespoons full of flavored jelly around and in the middle of the pan; then add a little of the other mixture that does not contain peanut butter.  Continue to do this alternatively ending with the non peanut butter mixture on top and adding a few more drops of jelly around the pan.

4. Set the pan in a larger pan and surround it with 1 inch of very hot water. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes. Turn off the oven without opening the door and let the cake cool for 1 hour. Remove to a rack and cool at room temperature (for 1 hour). Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

* For a richer, denser cheesecake; replace 3 whole eggs with 6 egg yolks.

Graham Cracker Pie Crust

1 1/4 cups Keebler Graham Cracker Crumbs or Cookie crumbs

3 tbsp sugar

1/3 cup butter or margarine

Combine crumbs and sugar in medium-sized bowl. Stir in melted butter or margarine until completely blended. Pack mixture firmly into 9-inch pan and press. Chill 1 hour before baking or bake in 350 F oven for 8 minutes, then cool, chill and fill.