Gooey Pecan Cheesecake

Preheat oven to 350F.

Crust: combine the butter with the graham cracker crumbs and the 1/4 cup sugar. Press into a 10 inch springform pan covering the bottom of the pan and about 1 inch up the sides. Bake for 8 minutes, and cool.

Filling: Beat cream cheese and 1 cup sugar until very smooth. Add in sour cream, heavy cream, and 2 teaspoons vanilla. Beat till smooth. Add in eggs until combined. Pour into crust and bake for 50-60 minutes until center is set. The top will start to brown just a bit. Cool on counter and when cool enough to put in fridge do so for about 2 hours.

Buttermilk Sauce: Melt 1 stick butter in a large sauce pan. Add 1 cup sugar, buttermilk, and corn syrup. Bring to a boil. Boil stirring constantly for 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla and baking soda. The soda will foam up but keep stirring until all combined. Set aside.

Pecans: Spray a 13×9 jelly roll pan with cooking spray. Spread nuts out in an even layer and spray the top with cooking spray. Use about 2 Tablespoons of sugar to dust the pecans. Bake for three 3-minute intervals in a 350 degree (F) oven stirring in between each 3 minutes.

When your cheesecake is pretty cool sprinkle about half of the nuts on the top. Then pour about a cup of the syrup all over the top being sure to pour around the sides so when you take the side off of the pan it will drip down around the edges. There will be extra syrup to serve on the side if you want. Sprinkle the rest of the pecans on top and put cheesecake in the fridge for at least another 2 hours. Take sides of pan off to serve and enjoy!