CHEESECAKE LIKE SAM'S CLUB (Gloria Pitzer)

CRUST:
Preheat oven to 350°. Put 8 T. butter into a (9 inch) square pan and place in the oven til it melts. Meanwhile, roll 1 pck. (10 oz.) sugar cookies (Keebler's shortbread preferred)into fine crumbs. Combine crumbs with 1 pkg. Knox plain gelatin powder and 4 T. sugar. Remove 1/4 c. crumb mixture to use as garnish later. Stir remaining crumb mixture into melted butter and pat out evenly over bottom of pan. Bake 6 minutes at exactly 350°.

FILLING:
While crust is in the oven, beat 1 lb. cream cheese and 1 c. sour cream til light and fluffy. Add 1 c. sugar, 2 eggs, 2 T. butter, 2 T. cornstarch and 1 t. vanilla. Soon as crust is baked, at the end of the 6 minutes, pull out rack of oven without removing pan and pour filling directly over hot crust. Return to bake at 350° for 30 minutes or til knife inserted 1 inch from edge of pan comes out clean. Cool 30 minutes sprinkling reserved crumbs over top as it cools (or at end of baking time you can cover in an optional topping made by beating together 1 c. sour cream and 4 T. sugar. Spread evenly over the top of the cheesecake and return to oven to bake 5 minutes longer or til topping just begins to turn golden. Then garnish with reserved crumbs). Cool on rack 30 minutes before cutting to serve warm or refrigerate several hours and serve cold.
(serves 8)

Febuary, 2002, Menu Minder