Turtle Cheesecake

Turtle Cheesecake

Servings: 12

I have decided to master the cheesecake. I think I did it with this one! It turned out so good! Yes, I may have added more chocolate chips and pecans on top than what it called for, but how on earth could that be a bad thing? :)

I found the recipe at http://www.allrecipes.com but I made a few adjustments:

-I used chocolate animal crackers for the crust

-I used caramel ice cream topping instead of the caramels and evaporated milk.

-I also used the mini chocolate chips instead of the regular ones.

-Instead of melting chocolate and adding it to the batter, I just sprinkled chocolate chips on top of the caramel topped crust with the layer of nuts. (I hope that makes sense. Let me know if it doesn't!)

-Finally, I added more caramel on top of the final cake and loaded the top with more nuts and chocolate chips!

Here's the original recipe that I found. I'm sure it would be good following the recipe as is.

2 cups vanilla wafer crumbs

6 Tablespoons unsalted butter

14 ounces individually wrapped caramels, unwrapped

1 (5 ounce) can evaporated milk

1 cup chopped pecans

3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese

½ cup white sugar

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

2 eggs

½ cup semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter one 9-inch springform pan.

2. Toast the pecans at 350°F for 6 minutes. Remove pecans and set aside. Leave oven at 350°F. In a small saucepan, melt the unsalted butter.

3. Combine vanilla wafer crumbs with the melted butter then press into the bottom of the prepared springform pan. Place the pan onto a cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Remove and allow to cool.

4. In a double boiler, or a bowl set over barely simmering water, melt the caramels in the evaporated milk. Stir until smooth. Pour this over the cooled crust. Sprinkle the nuts over the top.

5. In a bowl, combine the cheese, sugar, and vanilla and beat until smooth, scraping down the bowl several times. Add the eggs, one at a time and beat until smooth. Melt the chocolate chips in the double boiler and mix into the cheese mixture. Pour the batter over the caramel layer.

6. Bake at 350°F for 40 minutes or until barely set. Chill over night in the refrigerator before serving.