The Best Cheesecake for Thanksgiving
No Bake Cheesecake
On a day where the oven is typically in overdrive, a no-bake cheesecake is the way to go on Thanksgiving Day! This no-bake cheesecake is one of our favorite desserts year round, but it has become a holiday tradition to make it, and eat it, for breakfast every year on Thanksgiving while we watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. It is the most delicious way to enjoy the parade.
Ingredients:
2 Graham Cracker Crusts (recipe below, or you can buy them pre-made at the store.)
1 Can Sweet Condensed Milk
1/4 Cup Lemon Juice
1 8 oz. Package of Cream Cheese
16 oz. of Cool Whip
Optional Topping: pie filling! I actually prefer the cheesecake plain, but I know a lot of people like toppings. We typically leave it on the side so everyone can choose for themselves, but some of our favorite flavors are country cherry, strawberry, blueberry, and lemon.
Directions:
Using an electric mixer, mix all ingredients until it has a creamy texture. Fill the graham cracker crust pie tins with cheesecake mixture. Chill and serve! It is so simple, but it is such a delicious cheesecake.
How to make a Graham Cracker Pie Crust
Ingredients:
2 cups graham crackers crushed with a food processor. (This is typically about 1 ½ to 2 packages of graham crackers.)
1/3 cup butter melted
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Directions:
Mix together crushed graham crackers, butter, sugar and cinnamon in a large bowl, or the bowl of a food processor.
Press onto bottom and 1” up the sides of a 9” lightly greased Springform pan or a 9-10 inch pie plate.
Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Cool while making the filling.
Browned Butter Pecan Cheesecake
Browned butter takes every recipe to the next level, and this pecan pie cheesecake is no exception! It is the most delicious dessert, and is so satisfying for a sweet tooth. It is one of the best Thanksgiving desserts, and we know it will be a hit at your Thanksgiving Dinner. If you are looking for a way to stray from the traditional pumpkin desserts, this is a great option for you.
Ingredients:
Butter Pecans
1/2 cups finely chopped pecans
2 tbsp light brown sugar, loosely packed
2 tbsp salted butter (melted)
Cheesecake Filling
6 tbsp salted butter
24 ounces room temperature cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar (loosely packed)
3 tbsp all purpose flour
3/4 cup sour cream (room temperature)
1 tbsp vanilla extract
4 large eggs (room temperature)
1 cup toasted pecans (above)
Crust
2 ¼ cups graham cracker crumbs
½ cup salted butter (melted)
3 tbsp sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
Cinnamon Whipped Cream
1 cup heavy whipping cream (cold)
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Caramel Sauce
You can make a homemade caramel sauce, but honestly store bought saves time and in my opinion is just as good. My favorite brand is Mrs. Richardson's sea salt caramel. It is a little slice of heaven.
Directions:
Toast the Pecans
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
2. Combine the melted butter, pecans and brown sugar in a medium sized bowl and toss to coat.
3. Spread the pecans evenly onto the cookie sheet and bake for 5-7 minutes, or until toasted.
4. Set pecans aside to cool.
Brown the Butter
5. To make the browned butter for the cheesecake filling, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. It’s best to use a light colored pan so that you can see the butter browning. Whisk the butter occasionally so that it cooks evenly.
6. Cook the butter until it turns a nice toasty, and almost golden brown. It will foam up at first, but it will eventually subside and you’ll have browned butter. Some of the brown bits may separate, but that’s ok. Once the butter has browned, pour it into a heat-proof bowl and set it aside to cool.
Crust
7. Heat oven to 325°F Line a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper in the bottom and grease the sides.
8. Combine the crust ingredients in a small bowl. Press the mixture into the bottom and up the sides of the springform pan.
9. Bake the crust for 10 minutes, then set aside to cool.
10. Cover the outsides of the pan with aluminum foil so that water from the water bath cannot get in. Set the prepared pan aside.
Cheesecake Filling
11. Reduce oven temperature to 300°F.
12. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugars and flour on low speed until well completely combined and smooth. Be sure to use low speed to reduce the amount of air added to the batter, which can cause cracks. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
13. Add the sour cream, vanilla extract and browned butter and mix on low speed until well combined.
14. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing slowly to combine after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to make sure everything is well combined.
15. Stir in 1 cup of the toasted pecans.
16. Pour the cheesecake batter evenly into the crust.
17. Place the springform pan inside another larger pan. Fill the outside pan with enough warm water to go about halfway up the sides of the springform pan. The water should not go above the top edge of the aluminum foil on the springform pan.
18. Bake for 1 hour and 5 minutes. The center should be set, but still jiggly.
19. Turn off the oven and leave the door closed for 30 minutes. The cheesecake will continue to cook, but slowly begin to cool as well.
20. Crack the door of the oven for 30 minutes to allow the cheesecake to continue to cool slowly. This process helps prevent cracking.
21. Remove the cheesecake from the oven and water bath wrapping and refrigerate until firm, 5-6 hours or overnight.
22. To finish off the cheesecake, make the whipped cream. Add the heavy cream, powdered sugar, vanilla extract and cinnamon to a large mixer bowl. Whip on high speed until stiff peaks form.
23. Pipe swirls of whipped cream onto the cheesecake and add the toasted pecans to the top of the cheesecake. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Full Recipe by Life Love and Sugar and can be found here
A creamy cheesecake is one of our favorite treats during the holiday season, we hope you get to enjoy a sweet treat with you and yours this Thanksgiving!
Have you tried either of these Thanksgiving cheesecakes? We would love to hear from you. Share your experience with us by sending an email to gathrehome@gmail.com or find us on Instagram @gathre.home for more cleaning tips + tricks, recipe reviews, and other fun content!
