Johnny Appleseed Day

It's Johnny Appleseed Day today, so I thought it would be perfect to post my Dutch Apple Cheesecake recipe. This is awesome! Here is the recipe:

(adapted from I-Love-Cheesecake)
The Crust:
20 Gingersnaps
2 Tablespoon very soft butter

Filling:
3 (8-ounce) packages of softend Cream Cheese
1 (14.5-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 Tablespoon of Cornstarch
2 Teaspoon vanilla extract
1 Teaspoon cinnamon spice
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 can caramel apple pie filling

Crumb Topping:
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions

Dutch Crumb Topping: Blend together brown sugar, flour, melted butter, ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg in a medium-sized bowl until mixture is crumbly. Set aside to use at end of baking cycle.

Crust: Preheat Oven at 350°F. Process gingersnaps and soft butter for crust in food processor until crumbs are nice and moist. Pat into a 9 inch springform pan. Bake in preheated 350°F oven for 8 - 10 minutes.

Filling: Preheat Oven at 350°F. Place a pan with about 2-inches of water in bottom of oven, to create moist atmosphere. If necessary refill with hot water every 30 minutes during baking. In large mixing bowl, slowly mix softened cream and sweetened condensed milk. Add in cornstrach, vanilla extract and cinnamon spice and blend well. When well blended, add 3 large eggs, one at a time and continue to mix. Mix in the whole can of caramel apple pie filling.

Bake for 35 minutes, pull from oven and sprinkle Dutch Crumb Topping on top and pat well. Return to oven for 20 minutes.

Remove cheesecake and run knife round edges of cake to loosen. Turn off oven heat and return cheesecake to oven and crack door and let set one hour, to slowly start cool down. (This cooling method will help you bake a crack free cheesecake. )

Remove and finish cooling on wire rack. Chill for 3 hours then remove sides of springform pan.

Drizzle with caramel sauce of your choosing (like caramel ice cream topping) or just top with Cool Whip. Serve and enjoy your Dutch Apple Cheesecake.

*My cheesecake took a little longer to bake, just keep checking it, make sure it is not jiggly.

Now while you are eating your Dutch Apple Cheesecake, take a minute to learn more about Johnny Appleseed HERE.