Unbelievable New York Cheesecake

Ah yes, that time I ate Cheesecake at the Carnegie Deli in New York City. That was the time when I quit my terrible door-to-door sales job in Virginia and literally begged a co-worker to take me home since he too quit his terrible door-to-door sales job the same day. We didn't just drive straight home though. We ended up taking about 3 weeks to get home while we travelled anywhere and everywhere we wanted to go. This cheesecake in New York was unforgettable.

Since cheesecake is usually off limits for me because of the insane fat content, I never make it. I heart cheesecake so much though so when I found this recipe for New York Cheesecake in my Cooking Light magazine, I saved it and vowed to make it one day...so a year later I did. This recipe is from their September 2010 issue and WOW this recipe will fool you!

I slimmed it up even more by omitting 3/4 C of the sugar, 3 eggs, and 1 package of cream cheese and it still turned out AMAZING. Below is the original recipe but you can make the changes I did for a cheesecake that will impress all your guests.

Ingredients:

• CRUST
• 1 C Graham cracker crumbs (about 7 cookie sheets)
• 3 Tbsp Sugar
• 1 Large egg white
• Cooking Spray
• FILLING
• 1 ounce all-purpose flour (about 1/4 C)
• 3 (8-ounce) blocks fat-free cream cheese, softened
• 2 (8-ounce) blocks 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
• 1 3/4 C sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp finely grated lemon rind
• 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs
• 3 large egg whites

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. To prepare crust, combine crumbs, 3 tablespoons sugar, and 1 egg white in a bowl; toss with a fork until well blended. Lightly coat hands with cooking spray. Press crumb mixture into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 for 8 minutes; cool on a wire rack.
3. To prepare the filling, weigh or lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine cottage cheese and 8 ounces fat-free cream cheese in a food processor, and process until smooth. Add remaining 16 ounces of fat-free cream cheese, 1/3 less-fat cream cheese, and next 4 ingredients (through vanilla); process until smooth. Add 3 eggs and 3 egg whites; process until blended. Pour cheese mixture into prepared pan. Bake at 325 for 65 minutes or until almost set (center will not be firm but will set as it chills). Turn oven off; cool cheesecake in closed oven 1 hour. Remove from oven; cool on a wire rack. Cover and chill 8 hours. (For a denser, creamier texture, cool the cake in the oven one hour with the oven door ajar instead of closed. Make a day ahead since the cooled cake needs to chill overnight.)

This makes 16 servings. 

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