Maple Bourbon Cheesecake Food

PUMPKIN BOURBON CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Topping:
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon bourbon whiskey
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• For the crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Butter a 9-inch springform pan and line the bottom and sides with parchment paper.
• Combine the pecans, flour, brown sugar, graham cracker crumbs, butter, and egg yolk together in a large bowl. Press the mixture evenly onto the bottom of the springform pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
• Turn the oven down to 300 degrees F.
• For the filling: Combine the pumpkin, brown sugar, eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.
• Use an electric mixer to beat the cream cheese, maple syrup, and bourbon until smooth. Combine with the sour cream and pumpkin mixture. Pour over the prebaked crust. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until the center shows little to no movement when the pan is tapped. Set aside to cool.
• Increase oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
• For the topping: Combine the sour cream, bourbon, and sugar together in a small bowl.
• Spread over the cooled cheesecake. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand for 15 minutes. Refrigerate for 3 hours or until well chilled. Remove from the springform pan and peel away the parchment paper. Slice and serve.

MAPLE BACON CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• For the crust: In a food processor, pulse the wafers, pecans, sugar and cinnamon until they reach a consistency that can be pressed. Work the butter into the mix until crumbly. Press uniformly into 1 large or 6 mini springform pans. Bake for 5 minutes.
• For the filling: In a stand mixer or with a hand mixer, mix the cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the sour cream and mix well. Add the eggs and yolks one at a time; mix well and scrape down the sides before adding the next egg. Add the maple syrup and extract. Pour into the pan with the baked crust, stopping 1/2 inch from the top of the crust. Bake for 12 minutes (if using mini pans) or 27 minutes (if using a large pan). After 5 or 10 minutes (depending on the size of pan), put the pieces of bacon into the cheesecake.
• For the topping: Mix the sour cream, sugar, maple syrup, vanilla and bacon fat in a bowl. Carefully pour spoonfuls of the topping on the cheesecake from the outside edges to the middle of the top. Be careful to not overfill the pan. Bake for an additional 5 minutes. Carefully remove from the oven and cool in the refrigerator until set.
• For the candied bacon garnish: Cook the bacon until crispy and place on a rack. Mix the maple syrup with the extract and pepper and paint the mixture with a pastry brush on both sides of the bacon. Broil the bacon for 1 minute on each side. Crack more pepper over the bacon and cool until set. Garnish the cheesecake with the candied bacon.

MAPLE-WALNUT CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Fill a roasting pan halfway with water and set on a rack in the lower third of the oven; position another rack in the middle and preheat to 350 degrees F. Wrap the outside (bottom and side) of a 9-inch springform pan with foil. Make the crust: Pulse the graham crackers in a food processor a few times until crushed. Add the walnuts and brown sugar and continue pulsing until finely ground. Add the melted butter, nutmeg and salt and pulse to combine. Press into the bottom and about 1 inch up the side of the prepared pan. Bake until the crust is lightly golden, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool completely.
• Make the filling: Beat the cream cheese in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment on medium speed until nearly smooth, about 1 minute. Add the maple syrup and granulated sugar and beat until smooth, about 2 more minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Increase the speed to medium high and beat in the flour, heavy cream, lemon juice and maple extract until the filling is smooth and silky, about 1 more minute.
• Pour the filling into the cooled crust. Transfer the cheesecake to the oven, placing it on the middle rack directly over the water bath. Bake until golden and set around the edge but the center still jiggles slightly, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate until cold and set, at least 5 hours or overnight. Let the cheesecake sit at room temperature 20 minutes, then run a thin knife around the edge and remove the springform ring.