Margarita Cheesecake

Kleyt's Note:

I had requests at work for cheesecake, but I wanted something with a special twist. I found this recipe at meals.com and thought it fit the bill. I added more than 1 T of lime juice to the sour cream topping to try and eliminate the sour cream flavor and I also added more lime zest than the recipe called for. Whether you make these alterations or not, I hope you enjoy the recipe as much as I do. (cook and prep time does not include the 30 minutes cooling time prior to adding the topping)

• Total Time: 1 hrs 5 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 50 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 10

Yield: 1.0 pie

Crust

• ½ cup melted butter
• 1 ¼ cups crushed pretzels
• 1 tablespoon sugar

Cheesecake

• 2 (8 ounce) packages light cream cheese
• ¼ teaspoon lemon extract
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 4 eggs
• 1⁄3; cup tequila
• 1 ½ teaspoons lime zest
• ½ teaspoon vanilla

Topping

• 2 cups low-fat sour cream
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon lime zest
• 1 tablespoon lime juice

Directions:

1. Crust:Finely crush the pretzels using a blender or food processor.
2. Add melted butter and sugar.
3. Press the crumbs onto the bottom and sides of a 9" springform pan lightly sprayed with cooking spray.
4. Bake at 325 until light brown, 6-8 minutes.
5. Set aside.
6. Cheesecake:Lightly beat softened cream cheese until fluffy.
7. Next, mix in cornstarch, lemon extract and sugar.
8. Beat in the eggs one at a time with mixing in between each.
9. Finally, mix in tequila, lime zest, and vanilla.
10. Pour cheesecake onto the pretzel crust and bake at 325 until center is almost set (about 30 minutes) Cool the cheesecake 30 minutes at room temperature.
11. While the cheesecake is cooling, increase oven temperature to 425.
12. In a small bowl, mix sour cream, sugar, lime zest and lime juice.
13. Using a spatula, carefully spread sour cream mixture over the surface of the cooled cheesecake.
14. Bake at 425 for 10-15 minutes (sour cream will"set-up").
15. Cool at room temperature before refrigerating.
16. Serve cold.