White Chocolate Cranberry Cheesecake

By kayjayjohnson

There are a couple of similar recipes that I found on Zaar, but none exactly like this one, which came from The Joy of Cranberries: The Tangy Red Treat cookbook! And, for someone like me who loves cheesecake & IS ADDICTED to chocolate & to cranberries, well . . . Preparation time does not include time needed for finished cake to chill.

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups Oreo cookie crumbs
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 4 ounces white baking chocolate, melted
• 1/2 cup dried sweetened cranberries
• 1 teaspoon orange zest
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preparation

Step 1

1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2 FOR THE CRUST, mix the two crust ingredients in a bowl, then press onto bottom of 9 inch springform pan.

3 Chill to set.

4 FOR THE FILLING, beat cream cheese on medium speed until fluffy.

5 Beat in sugar until blended, then beat in eggs until blended.

6 Stir in white chocolate, cranberries, zest & vanilla.

7 Pour into prepared crust & bake 45-50 minutes or until center is ALMOST set.

8 Cool in pan for 30 minutes, then refrigerate.

9 Run knife around sides of pan to loosen, then chill 4 hours or more.

10 Remove rim & cut into wedges. Refrigerate leftovers.