Preparation

1. 1. Preheat oven to 325°F with the rack in the
2. lower third of the oven. Coat the inside
3. of an 8-inch springform pan with the
4. tablespoon of butter. Reserve.
5. 2. Prepare the crust. Put cookie crumbs, 2
6. tablespoons sugar, cinnamon, and melted
7. butter into a small mixing bowl. Mix on
8. Speed 1 until the mixture comes together.
9. Pat crumb crust evenly into the bottom of
10. the prepared springform pan, using the
11. bottom of a glass if necessary, to make it
12. even. Put in the preheated oven and bake
13. for about 8 to 10 minutes, until the crust
14. is just set. Allow to cool while preparing
15. the filling.
16. 3. Wipe the beaters of crumbs. Put the
17. cream cheese into a large mixing bowl.
18. Starting on Speed 1 and increasing to
19. Speed 4, mix until very smooth – you want
20. to be sure there are no lumps. Scrape the
21. mixing bowl and beaters. While mixing on
22. Speeds 2 to 3, gradually add the sugar,
23. about ¼ cup at a time, and the salt,
24. mixing until very smooth. Add the eggs,
25. one at a time, mixing on Speed 2, being
26. sure each is fully incorporated into batter
27. before adding the next. Scrape down the
28. bowl and beaters and then add the sour
29. cream and vanilla extract. Mix on Speed 2
30. until creamy, about 1 minute.
31. 4. Wrap the cooled springform pan well with
32. both plastic and foil wraps – to come up
33. about two-thirds up the sides of the pan.
34. 5. Pour batter into cooled, prepared
35. crust – do not scrape any thick bits
36. from the sides of the bowl, as they are
37. not thoroughly mixed in and will change
38. the texture of your finished cheesecake.
39. 6. Put the filled pan into a roasting pan,
40. or something similar in size and oven
41. safe, and then add hot water so it
42. comes about halfway up the sides
43. of the springform pan.
44. 7. Transfer the filled pan to the preheated
45. oven and bake for 45 minutes. The
46. cheesecake will still be jiggly at this point,
47. but that is OK. After the 45 minutes have
48. expired, turn the oven off and allow it to
49. rest in the warm oven for an additional 45
50. minutes.
51. 8. Remove from oven and bring to room
52. temperature. Cover well and refrigerate to
53. fully chill prior to serving.