Cheesecake! Cheesecake! Cheesecake!

I was really annoyed with myself last week when I bought all the ingredients to make this cheesecake and then couldn't find the recipe.  Since I pin everything I find online, I couldn't figure out what happened to it.  So, yesterday I was flipping through Wheat Belly again and I FOUND IT!  Right there in the back where it had been all along.  I hate it when I do that, but at least it's now found, and now I am putting it in my blog so I can find it forever more!  (Please note that I use coconut crystals as a sweetener.  Since this is not my recipe, I chose not to edit their instructions, but it does work well with coconut crystals.)

NOTE:  This calls for a 10" pie pan.  I used a Longaberger deep dish pie plate and it really filled it.  Not sure why they don't use a 10" springform, as that's how I always used to make cheesecake.  I think you could use the springform pan, especially if you don't have a large, deep dish pie plate.

I hope you likes cheesecake... I sure do!

Classic Cheesecake with Wheatless Crust - from Wheat Belly by William Davis, MD

CRUST
1-1/2 cups ground pecans
Sweetener, such as Truvia, stevia extract, or Splenda equivalent to 1/2 cup sucrose*
1-1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
6 TBPS unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 large egg, slightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract

FILLING
16 ounces 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, at room temperature
3/4 cup sour cream
Sweetener, such as Truvia, stevia extract, or Splenda equivalent to 1/2 cup sucrose*
Dash of fine sea salt
3 large eggs
Juice of 1 small lemon and 1 TBSP grated lemon zest
2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325 F.
To make the crust, combine ground pecans, sweetener, and cinnamon in a large bowl.  Stir in the melted butter, egg, and vanilla, and mix thoroughly.

Press the crumb mixture into the bottom and 1-1/2 to 2 inches up the sides of a 10-inch pie pan.

To make the filling, combine the cream cheese, sour cream, sweetener, and salt in a bowl.  Using an electric mixer, beat at low speed to blend.  Beat in the eggs, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla.  Beat at medium speed for 1 minute.

Pour the filling into the crust.  Bake until nearly firm in the center, about 50 minutes.  Cool the cheesecake on a rack.  Refrigerate to chill before serving.

Variations:  The filling can be modified in dozens of ways.  Try adding 1/2 cup cocoa powder and topping with shaved dark chocolate; or substitute lime juice and zest for the lemons; or top with berries, mint leaves, and whipped cream.

*I personally prefer coconut crystals for my sweetener, but since this isn't my recipe I am not comfortable making the edit to the recipe.  You should use whatever sweetener is best for you.