Turtle Cheesecake

This is the recipe for a Turtle Cheesecake I made for my son & daughter-in-law's wedding dinner party.  It was really, really good.  I had made some homemade caramel for a different recipe which I drizzled on top of the cheesecake... along with some chocolate sauce.

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Photo thanks to mybakingaddition.com

Turtle Cheesecake

Serves 12

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

1/2 cup white sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 eggs

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter one 9 inch springform pan.

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

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 at 350 degrees F. Remove and allow to cool.

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.

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.

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

After removing from springform pan, you can drizzle caramel &/or chocolate sauce over the top & sprinkle on chopped or whole pecans.

Smothered with extra caramel sauce!