New York Style Cheesecake

Crust

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray the sides of the 9-inch
2. springform pan with nonstick baking spray. Wrap the sides of the pan
3. with a 3 inch wide strip of parchment paper.
4. In a large mixing bowl, add in the graham cracker crumbs and sugar. Stir until combined.
5. Add in the melted butter and stir until the crumbs are completely coated with butter.
6. Press the graham cracker crumbs evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan.
7. Place the crust in the refrigerator to firm up while you work on the cheesecake filling.

Cheesecake

1. In a mixing bowl, add in the cream cheese. Beat with a hand mixer on medium until the cream cheese is smooth. Scrape down the bowl.
2. Add in the sugar and flour. Mix on medium speed until combined.
3. Add in the eggs one at a time. Beat in each egg completely before adding the next. Scrape down the bowl after incorporating each egg.
4. Add in the vanilla extract and sour cream. Beat just until the mixture comes together.
5. Before adding the cheesecake mixture to the pan, wrap the outside of the springform pan with 2 layers of heavy-duty tin foil. Once you’ve added the cheesecake batter to the pan, place the pan in a slightly larger pan and fill with about 1 inch of hot water. If you don’t want to use foil, you can place the springform pan in a slightly larger pan. Then place the two pans in an even larger pan and fill the largest pan with about 1 inch of hot water.
6. Pour the cheesecake batter on top of the crust. Spread out evenly in the springform pan.
7. Place in the preheated oven and bake for 65 minutes to 75 minutes. To make sure the cheesecake is done, gently give it a wiggle. If it slightly jiggles in JUST the middle like jello, then it’s done. If it jiggles all over, it needs to bake longer. The cook time may vary so always give it the jiggle test and bake longer if the center moves like wet batter instead of jello that’s set up.
8. Once done, leave the cheesecake in the oven, turn the oven off, and leave the door slightly ajar until the cheesecake has cooled to room temperature.
9. Once the cheesecake is at room temperature, place in the refrigerator overnight to set up.
10. Once chilled, cut and serve.
11. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container or covered tightly with plastic wrap.