How to Make Holiday Cheesecake for New Year's Dessert

The name of this recipe may make it seem as if you should only serve this treat for New Year's, but there aren't any hard rules to follow. You can offer this great dessert to friends and family at any meal.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 1/4 cup of butter, melted
• 1 1/4 cup of vanilla wafer crumbs
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 24 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup egg nog
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup of rum
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon of cornstarch
• 1 cup of water
• 2 tablespoons of water
• 1/3 cup of brown sugar, packed
• 2 tablespoons of rum
• 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts, or pecans
• One 9" cheesecake pan, spring form pan

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Combine 1/4 cup of butter, wafer crumbs and sugar. Press firmly onto the bottom of the 9" springform pan. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until fluffy. Slowly add the sweetened condensed milk and eggnog until smooth. Mix well.

2. Stir in 1/4 cup of rum, vanilla extract and nutmeg. Pour into the prepared pan. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched.

3. For the topping, dissolve cornstarch in the cup of water in a small bowl.

4. In a saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Stir in the brown sugar and cornstarch mixture. Stir constantly until the mixture comes to a boil.

5. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Then remove from heat. Add 2 tablespoons of rum and cool completely.

6. Just before serving the cheesecake, stir chopped nuts, walnuts or pecans into the sauce.