Apple Pie Cheesecake: Blog With Friends

Today’s post is the next in our series of Blog With Friends theme collaborations. Each month a group of bloggers get together and each publish a project based on a theme. What I love about this partnership is that it’s not bloggers with similar interests or strengths but a diverse group coming up with a variety of posts. In any given month we may have a recipe, sewing tutorial, crafts projects, book review and/or a technology post all related to the theme of the month.

There will be individual project pictures and links to what everyone else has to offer at the end of my post, but here’s a peek at what we all came up with:

This month's theme is Apples. This is a perfect theme for me not only because I love apple season but also because Rosh Hashanah is in 9 days. It's traditional to serve apples dipped in honey on Rosh Hashanah, symbolic of our wish for a sweet new year. So for our apple theme I made an Apple Pie Cheesecake.

Apple Pie Cheesecake

When my kids were young, every year I'd invite a number of friends for an apple picking day. The day before, I'd make my Smoky Cornbread and White Chili. On apple picking day, I'd put Crockpot Beef Chili into the slow cooker and the families would head out to the orchard. We'd all ride the hay wagons, pick our apples and head back to my house where I'd have bought a pretty pie dish for each family. The kids would scatter to play, anyone who wanted to watch football would head to the man-cave in the basement and the rest of us would make batches of my Devil's Applesauce and Apple Pies. For dinner we'd all converge on the kitchen for White or Beef Chili and Cornbread with warm apple pie for dessert. At the end of the night each family would take home some applesauce and their own pie. SO much fun.

Although the local orchards have since closed down, my love of apple season has not diminished. I always make my apple pie and applesauce, but each year I work to come up with something new as well. This year, with Rosh Hashanah in mind, I've chosen to make a cheesecake with all of the flavors of an apple pie.

I start with the crust, and I chose to use cinnamon flavored cookies. I crushed them in the food processor, mixed with some melted butter and patted into my springform pan.

I beat together the cheesecake ingredients, including some apple pie spice, then added some toffee baking chips. 

Pour the cheesecake filling into the crust and it's ready for the oven.

Meanwhile I sauteed chopped apples for the filling. As per Rosh Hashanah tradition I added some honey to the apple mixture. I set this mixture aside to come to room temperature.

When the cheesecake was done, I let it cool on the counter, then refrigerate until cold.

Once the cheesecake is cold and the apples are cooled, they meet, fall in love and marry.

Happy apple season, everyone.

As always, any time you make one of my recipes, feel free to post a picture of it to my Baking In A Tornado Facebook Page. I'd love to see it!

Be sure to visit all of this month's other Blog With Friends projects:

Kia of Think in English shares Comparing Apples to Dragonfruit, How to Assess ESL Students from Very Different Backgrounds.

 Tamara of Part-time Working Hockey Mom shares her recipe for Apple/Sweet Potato Muffins.

Eileen of Eileen's Perpetually Busy shares her recipe for Mini Apple Crisp Pies.

Lydia of Cluttered Genius shares how to make an Upcycled Harvest Door.

Rabia of The Lieber Family Blog shares how to make your own Fall potpourri, Scents of Autumn.

Be sure to stop by again next month for more theme based projects.

Apple Pie Cheesecake

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Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 package Chips Ahoy Thins Cinnamon Sugar Cookies, crumbed
4 TBSP butter, melted
2 packages (8 oz) cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp apple pie spice mix
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup heavy cream
3 eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup toffee baking chips

2 TBSP butter
2 apples, peeled, cored and chopped (I use Braeburn)
splash of lemon juice
2 TBSP brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp honey
1/4 cup caramel sauce


Directions:
*Grease a 9 inch springform pan. On the outside of the pan, wrap a sheet of tin foil around the bottom and partially up the sides of the pan. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
*Mix together the melted butter and cookie crumbs. Press into the bottom of the springform pan. Set aside.
*Beat the cream cheese, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla and apple pie spice mix until smooth. Beat in the sour cream and heavy cream, then the eggs, one at a time. Mix in the toffee chips. 
*Pour into prepared crust and bake for about 60 - 75 minutes, until the center is just set. 
*Remove from oven and allow to cool. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
*Meanwhile, in a saute pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the chopped apples and lemon juice. Cook and stir until they soften. Mix in the brown sugar and cinnamon. Cook and stir one more minute then remove from heat and stir in the honey and caramel sauce. Cool completely to room temperature.
* Gently run a knife around the cheesecake before removing the side of the springform pan. Spoon the cooled apple mixture over the cheesecake and serve.
*Store leftovers, covered, in refrigerator.