Vanilla Ginger Snap Cheesecake
This Ginger Snap Vanilla Cheesecake is as delicious as it is easy! Using crushed-up ginger snaps for the crust takes it to the stratosphere!
Servings: 8 Slices
Calories: 446kcal
Equipment
- Food Processer, Blender, or Zip Top Bag and Rolling Pin To Crush Ginger Snap Cookies
- 9-inch Cake Pan At least 2 inches tall, but 3 inches preferred
- Parchment Paper
- Stand Mixer Optional, but Preferred
- 9x13-Inch Baking Dish For Water Bath
Ingredients
Ginger Snap Crust
- 2 ½ Cups Ground Ginger Snap Cookies
- ½ Cup Unsalted Butter, Melted Plus more (un-melted) for greasing
- ¼ Teaspoon Fine Sea Salt
Cheesecake Filling
- 2 (8 Oz.) Packages Cream Cheese
- ¼ Cup Unsalted Butter
- ½ Cup Sour Cream
- 1 Cup White Sugar
- 1 Vanilla Bean Split and Scraped (Substitute 1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract)
- ¼ Teaspoons Fine Sea Salt
- 2 Large Eggs Beaten
Instructions
Ginger Snap Vanilla Crust
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Using a food processor, blender, or zip-top bag and rolling pin, crush the ginger snap cookies until fine crumbs form.
- Combine the crushed cookies, melted butter, and fine sea salt until you reach a sandy consistency.
- Generously grease the bottom and sides of a 9-inch cake pan with butter and line with parchment paper. Winkles and creases are ok, but try to make it as smooth as possible and add another layer of butter.
- Add the crust mixture to the cake pan, pressing down on the bottoms, then up the sides of the cake pan. Try to go up the sides to at least 2-inches.
- Transfer to the oven and bake for 8 minutes. Remove and allow to cool slightly while you prepare the filling.
Vanilla Cheesecake Filling
- Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F
- Add butter to a small sauce pan, and heat over medium-high heat until melted. Continue to cook, stirring frequently until the milk solids in the butter turn brown, but don't burn, approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool slightly.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the softened cream cheese, sugar, fine sea salt, browned butter, and vanilla bean scrapings (or extract) on medium speed until smooth, approximately 3 to 4 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add the sour cream and mix on medium speed until incorporated and smooth, about 1 minute.
- Add the beaten eggs and mix on medium-low speed until just combined. (Take care not to overmix the batter.)
- Pour the batter into the cake pan with the prepared ginger snap crust. Gently tap the pan on the counter several times to get rid of most of the air bubbles.
- Fill a 9x13-inch casserole dish ¾ full with warm water. Place the cake pan in the casserole dish, carefully transfer it to the preheated oven, and bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes. It should no longer jiggle, and the top should no longer look wet or shiny.
- Turn the oven off, and prop the door open with a wooden spoon for 30 minutes to allow the cheesecake to cool gradually (this is important to avoid the top cracking).
- Transfer the cake pan (not the whole water bath) to a wire cooling rack and cool for an additional 1 hour until room temperature. Cover the cake pan with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for a minimum of 4 hours, but ideally 8 hours or overnight.
- Once completely chilled, grab the parchment paper with both hands and carefully remove the cheesecake from the cake pan. Slice and serve.
Nutrition
Calories: 446kcal | Carbohydrates: 53g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 96mg | Sodium: 368mg | Potassium: 163mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 33g | Vitamin A: 698IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 55mg | Iron: 2mg
