Cinnamon Eggnog Cheesecake

I get cravings for desserts at the funniest of times. Whether it be during a walk to class at 10 a.m. or a bathroom break in the middle of the night I am always craving some sort of sugar. The worst is when I am at work and someone orders a slice of baklava. Pure sweet and sticky baklava. It smells divine. The other day it hit me bad too. While I didn't need any baklava I sure needed some eggnog. And I wanted some eggnog in the form of dessert. When was I possibly going to find the time to take this... (because you can't have eggnog without the rum)

and then a little bit of this (I could eat these graham cracker crumbs by the spoonful)...

and some nutmeg and lots of cream cheese to make....

....the most delicious and indulgent dessert known to the Christmas holidays? Eggnog cheesecake with a hint of rum and a hint of cinnamon and nutmeg. Well I found the time and I am so glad I did. It's oh so warm and cozy in your belly. You can make whatever kind of crust you'd like for this cheesecake but I thought a graham cracker crust would be the best to compliment the warm flavors of the eggnog and rum.

You will want to use softened cream cheese (if it's not softened you will end up with chunks of cream cheese hidden in the batter), and a food processor to combine everything together. It'll be a huge work out if you try to use your hand mixer for this. I am pretty lucky my mom has this old school processor she found at the Goodwill. It works wonders and made the cheesecake batter so light and airy. See?

You will want to let you crust harden in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before filling the crust and your spring form pan with the batter. Then you will bake the cheesecake for 10 minutes in a preheated oven at 425 degrees F. Bake for 50 more minutes at 250 degrees F or until the top is relatively firm to the touch.

Look at that beautiful crust and cheesecake. I would love a piece right now.

It cut so smooth too. There's something so pleasing about cutting through a freshly baked cheesecake with perfectly smooth edges and a crust that stays perfectly intact to the bottom of the cheesecake piece. That's what I call baking perfection.

Look at that fluffy cheesecake! Yummy. and so perfect with a sprinkle of nutmeg.

You could also make these as individual cheesecakes in muffin wrappers or you could whip up the cheesecake after it's been baked and use it all a filling (just fill a pastry bag and pipe into cupcakes or on top of cookies). The possibilities are endless. You could even lay awake in bed at night and eat the leftovers out of the pan with a fork like I plan to do later; But hey that's your business :)

Cinnamon Eggnog Cheesecake

3 packages of softened cream cheese

1 cup white sugar

5 tbsp white flour

3/4 cup plus 3 tbsp egg nog

2 eggs

2 tbsp dark rum

few sprinkles of nutmeg

lots of sprinkles of cinnamon

Graham Cracker Crust

1 1/2 cups of graham cracker crumbs

7 tbsp melted butter

1/4 of white sugar

For the crust, combine your melted butter, crumbs and sugar until the mixture is crumbly and combined. Press the mixture into the bottom of your spring form pan and slightly up the sides using your fingers and a fist. Put in the fridge to let set for about 30 minutes to an hour while you make the cheesecake batter.

For the cheesecake batter, combine your cream cheese, eggnog, sugar and flour in a food processor until nice and smooth. Add in the eggs, rum and spices and continue to blend until fluffy and blended. Pour the batter into the prepared crust and bake for 10 minutes at 425 degrees F. Then continue to bake for 50 minutes at 250 degrees F or until the top is firm to the touch. Do not cut or release from the pan until completely cool (I cooled mine in the fridge). Enjoy!