Apricot Cheesecake

By Maverick19

I have made over 20 kinds of cheesecake and this rates #1 among family and friends.

Ingredients

• 2 cups finesly crushed butter cookies or graham crackers
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 1 15+1/4oz can unpeeled apricot halves
• 3 8oz pkgs. cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 3 eggs, room temperature
• 1 10oz jar low-calorie apricot spread
• 1/4 cup apricot nectar

Preparation

Step 1

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. For crust, in a medium bowl combine crushed cookies/crackers and melted butter. Press mixture evenly onto bottom and 2 inches up the sides of a 9 inch springform pan. Bake crust for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Set aside.

3. For filling, drain apricot halves, reserving 3 tbsp syrup. Coarsely chop apricots, set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, the reserved syrup, and vanilla with an electric mixer until combined. Add eggs, all at once, beating on low speed just until combined. Stir in chopped apricots. Pour filling into crust-lined pan.

4. Place on a shallow baking pan in oven. Bake about 50 minutes or until center appears nearly set when cheesecake is gently shaken. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Loosen crust from sides of pan and cool cheesecake 30 minutes more. Remove the sides of the pan; cool cheesecake completely.

For The Glaze:
In a small saucepan, melt apricot spread over low heat. Remove from heat; stir in the apricot nectar. Spread over cheesecake. Cover and chill in refrigerator at least 4 hours before serving. Makes 16 servings.