Chocolate & Caramel Cheesecake

Preheat oven to 450 F.

In a food processor, pulse cookies to crumbs. If you don’t have a food processor, I have also used 2 metal bowls and mashed the wafers/cookies by putting them in the big one a dozen at a time and smashing the other bowl inside of the first, to crush and grind them. Or, why not get your kids involved and have them whack away at them in sealed plastic baggies. Combine cookie crumbs and butter in a medium bowl, stir well.

Pour into a greased 9 inch springform pan. Use your fingers to evenly spread and mash down the crumbs covering the bottom and up the sides of the pan.

In a mixing bowl using the paddle attachment of your mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar until creamy. Add in vanilla, flour and mix to combine. Then mix in the eggs one at a time. Beat well. Blend in the cream. Pour the batter over the crust.

Bake for 12 minutes at 450 F then lower oven temperature to 200 F and bake for an additional 30-35 minutes or until set. (Cheesecake should still be a bit wiggly in the center when jiggled.) Remove pan from the oven.

Once removed from the oven, allow cake to cool for 10 minutes, and then gently go around the side of the pan with a butter knife to loosen any parts that may be sticking. Loosen pan gently and remove the rim. Cool and then put it into the refrigerator. Cool for at least 2 hours before topping.

Put chocolate chips into a microwave safe bowl. Heat it in the microwave for 40-60 seconds depending on your microwave. (Start with 30 seconds, then add additional time if needed. There is nothing worse than burnt chocolate.) Stir until smooth.

Scrape chocolate into a small seal-able plastic bag, snip off a bit of one corner and squeeze chocolate across the cake in any pattern you want.

In a small saucepan heat the caramels and cream over medium heat stirring constantly until smooth. Remove from heat, let it cool for a few minutes (melted caramel is hot so be careful) then do the same as the chocolate and squeeze it over the top of the cake in any pattern you like. Sprinkle pecans over cake.

Then refrigerate cheesecake for a minimum of 6 hours prior to serving.

*If you are taking the cake on the road, put the rim back on to protect it.

** I have had success making this gluten free by substituting 1 tablespoon of cornstarch for the flour and using gluten free chocolate Oreo-like cookies.

Enjoy!