Caramel Pecan Cheesecake

newspapergal's Note:

This was in my local newspaper, and I tried it for a Super Bowl party. It's really good, VERY rich -- pretty easy too. Makes a lot, so I think it could be easily halved. (Prep/Cook time does NOT include 4 hours of refrigeration needed)

• Total Time: 55 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 40 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 32

• 1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans , divided
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• ¼ cup butter , melted
• 32 ounces cream cheese , softened
• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• ½ cup sour cream
• 3 eggs
• 1 (14 ounce) bag caramels , divided
• 2 tablespoons water , divided

Directions:

1. Mix crumbs, 1/2 cup pecans, granulated sugar and butter.
2. Line 13x9-inch baking pan with foil; press crumbs firmly onto bottom of pan.
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.
4. Beat cream cheese, brown sugar, flour and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended.
5. Mixture will be pretty thick.
6. Add sour cream; mix well.
7. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing on low speed after each addition just until blended.
8. Place 36 caramels and 1 tablespoon water in microwavable bowl.
9. Microwave on high 1 minute or until caramels are completely melted when stirred.
10. Add melted caramels to cream cheese batter; stir until well blended.
11. The caramel will become kind of stringy through the batter as the caramels cool.
12. Pour over crust.
13. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until center is almost set.
14. Sprinkle cheesecake with remaining 1/2 cup pecans.
15. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.
16. ****The recipe calls for melting the remaining caramels and 1 Tbsp of water and drizzling over it, but I did this when I made it and found that the caramel immediately cools and becomes very very sticky.
17. I think next time I make it, I will use some caramel ice cream topping to drizzle on top instead.

Reviews

[Roxanne J.R.]

Oh my goodness! What a wonderful cheesecake! The texture is so creamy and the crust, mmm. The pecans just add a special touch to it. I made this recipe almost as exactly stated. The only change I made was the caramel I used. I did not use Kraft caramels, I used Microwave Caramels (recipe from this site) for the entire recipe. The amount to be used in the batter (36 melted caramels) would be 1¼ cups. This cheesecake baked up perfectly and I did not top it with the nuts and caramel right away because sometimes I like plain cheesecake. When enjoyed plain, you can tell that it is a caramel cheesecake. The flavour is subtle yet noticeable and perfect on it's own. I added caramel and pecans to individual servings and wow, just looking at it was like eye candy - digging into it was heavenly! Thanks for the recipe. Delightful!