Cheesecake - Holiday Cheesecake Recipes

In the Jewish religion there is a holiday called Shavuot. One of the customs or traditions associated with this holiday is eating dairy foods such as cheesecake. I'd like to share a few very simple cheesecake recipes with you.

This first recipe is a basic cheesecake:

16 ounces of cream cheese, softened
8 ounces of sour cream
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
8 ounces of Cool Whip
1 graham cracker crust (ready made)

Mix together the cream cheese, sour cream, sugar and vanilla. After it's mixed well, add in the Cool Whip. Pour into pie crusts and chill. If you like fruit on top, you can add cherry pie filling for a wonderful flavor.

We happen to love pumpkin in my house. We always look forward to winter as we know pumpkin pie and pumpkin bread will soon be in our kitchen. This is a simple pumpkin cheesecake recipe using canned pumpkin:

1 graham cracker crust (ready made)
1 egg yolk (to brush the pie crust)
16 ounces of cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
3 /4 cup sugar
1 can of pumpkin
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger

Brush the pie crust with the egg yolk. Bake at 350 degrees for 5 minutes. Mix together the cream cheese, sugar and eggs. Your filling should be smooth and without lumps. We use an electric mixer to do this. Add in the pumpkin, cinnamon and ginger. Mix well. Pour pumpkin mixture into the pie crust and bake about 45 minutes. Middle should be set. Allow to cool and then refrigerate for several hours. Cut and serve.

We also love lemon. This is one of the simplest lemon cheesecake recipes I've ever seen:

1 graham cracker crust (ready made)
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 package instant lemon pudding
2 cups milk

Mix the cream cheese with 1/2 cup of the milk. Your mixture should be creamy. Add in the remaining milk and the pudding. Mix about one minute with an electric mixer. Pour into crust and refrigerate several hours.

And finally, what would Shavuot be without chocolate cheesecake?

1 graham cracker crust (ready made)
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 package instant chocolate pudding
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Chocolate chips

In a blender, mix together the cream cheese, pudding, milk and vanilla. Pour filling into pie crust. Generously sprinkle chocolate chips on top of the pie. Chill several hours and serve.

Shavuot truly is known as the "cheesecake holiday." I hope you enjoy these easy to make recipes.

Audreys mom always entertained when she was growing up. Audrey learned to prepare for large groups and has often entertained 15-30 people in her home at a time. You can find more great recipes at http://www.recipe-barn.com.

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