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Looking for the BEST recipe for New York Style Cheesecake?  My version is absolutely delicious, VERY easy to make, and has a Nilla Wafer Crust!

New York Style Cheesecake

Nick has been asking me to make a New York Style Cheesecake with Cherries on top and a Nilla Wafer Crust for weeks, since I first made a Sopapilla Cheesecake for our friend Sean’s birthday.

I don’t know why, but I’ve always been too intimidated to make Cheesecake.

I finally gave in and started searching for recipes.

The one that sounded best to me was over at Honey and Butter. *Update, I do not think this blog is still published.

It looked easy enough to do, and she said no cracks, no water bath, special wrapping, etc, which I was really trying to avoid.

I made my list and headed to the store to get the ingredients.

For the crust, I needed Nilla Wafers, Sugar, and Butter.

The original recipe called for a cup of graham crackers, 3 tbsp sugar, and 3 tbsp butter.

I used my Pampered Chef Chopper (Circa 1998 and still chopping!) and crushed them into itty bitty pieces, then mixed with the melted butter and sugar.

I pressed it into the bottom of my pan (13×9), but it just wasn’t covering everything good.

So, I decided to double the crust ingredients and use 2 cups Crushed Nilla Wafers, 6 tbsp melted butter, and 6 tbsp sugar.

Go ahead and pop this in the oven (preheated to 325) for 10 minutes.

Now for the fun part.

The cheesecake part.

I used FIVE packages of Philadelphia Cream Cheese.

This is my first Cheesecake Recipe to make, so I don’t know if that’s normal or not, but it seemed like A LOT when I was mixing it 🙂

I also needed a cup of sugar, 3 tbsp flour (it didn’t say self rising or all purpose, but self rising is what I had on hand, so that’s what I used and it turned out just fine), 1 tbsp vanilla extract, 1 cup sour cream, and 4 eggs at room temp.

Before you begin to mix, you want to make sure your cream cheese is nice and soft, at room temperature.

If you’ve ever used a mixed in cream cheese that isn’t soft, you’ll know it’s a headache.

I used the microwave to make sure mine was nice and soft then put it in my bowl and began mixing it on low.

Once it was mixing nicely, I paused and added in my sugar, vanilla, sour cream.

My stand mixer was broken in the move, so I am using a hand mixer.

Once that was nice and creamy, I had to get Nick to come assist me.

The eggs need to be added one at a time and folded in.

Since I don’t have a third arm, and I needed one arm to mix, and one to turn the bowl, I had to have him add the eggs.

He now sees that I do need a NEW stand mixer 🙂

*CAUTION: If you over beat the batter, it can crack. You can avoid this by running the mixer on LOW, to avoid incorporating too much air. Slow= Smooth. If it DOES crack on you, don’t stress, just add plenty of topping to hide it 🙂 

My original, first Cheesecake to Bake!

Once it was all nice and smooth, it was time to pour the batter into the pan on top of the Nilla Wafer Crust.

Once you remove it from the oven, it needs to cool completely, so refrigerate for at least 5 hours.

I let mine sit in the fridge for 6 hours and we had it for dessert.

It was delish, but still not good and firm.

It was MUCH better the next day after it had been in the fridge overnight.

I didn’t do anything fancy with it, just left it in the pan (with these guys it was GONE the next day anyway).

I added the cherry pie filling on each slice as I served it, and kept the remainder in a tupperware container in the fridge between servings.

You can also make and serve them as Mini New York Style Cheesecakes in small Glass Jars!

Do you have an Instant Pot? Don’t miss this recipe for Instant Pot Nutter Butter Cheesecake!

Following a Keto Diet? Check out this recipe for Keto Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake!

How about adding some Cheesecake to brownies, with Strawberry Cheesecake Brownie Cups!

Continue to Content

Yield: 12

New York Style Cheesecake

Print

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Ingredients

• Cheesecake Crust:
• 2 cups crushed vanilla wafers
• 6 tbsp sugar
• 6 tbsp melted butter
• Cheesecake
• 5 packages Cream Cheese softened
• 3 tbsp flour - I used self rising
• 1 tbsp Vanilla Extract
• 1 cup sour cream
• 4 eggs at room temperature
• Topping
• 1 can cherry pie filling

Instructions

Crust

Preheat oven to 325

Crush Nilla Wafers into itty bitty pieces with a chopper

Add in and mix with melted butter and sugar.

Press into bottom of pan. Can use round pie dish OR 9x13 pan

Bake for 10 mins. Remove from oven.

Cheesecake

Using a mixer, blend the all of the cream cheese until it's nice and smooth

Add in Sugar, Vanilla, and Sour Cream, continue to mix

Once the mixture is nice and creamy, add the eggs one at a time, folding them in.

Pour the batter into the pan on top of the Nilla Wafer Crust

Gently, place pan in the oven and cook the cheesecake for about an 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Next, turn off your oven and let the cheesecake sit, undisturbed, for 45 minutes inside the oven with the door shut.

Once you remove it from the oven, it needs to continue to cool completely, so refrigerate for at least 5-6 hours. Longer is better, overnight if possible.

Topping

This is the HARD part - haha! Just open a can of pie filling, and pour over the top. Choose Cherry, Strawberry, etc. You can pretty much top with any type of fruit/pie filling and it'll be delicious, or serve as is, with no topping!P.S. It's also great with chopped candy bars 

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

12

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 459Total Fat: 30gSaturated Fat: 16gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 136mgSodium: 341mgCarbohydrates: 40gFiber: 1gSugar: 17gProtein: 7g

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment below & if you recreate this recipe, be sure to share a photo on Instagram. Tag me @when.is.dinner and hashtag #whenisdinner!

Once the New York Style Cheesecake is complete, you can serve with your choice of topping.

Sometimes I use Cherries, other times Strawberries, Blueberries, Raspberries, Peaches, anything you choose!

These are a few items I find helpful in my kitchen when preparing New York Style Cheesecake:

Nilla Wafer Mini Cookies, 11 OunceOXO 1057959 Dishwasher Safe Food Chopper, 1 Count, White/BlackOXO Good Grips Freezer-to-Oven Safe 3 Qt Glass Baking Dish with Lid, 9 x 13Hamilton Beach Electric Stand Mixer, Tilt-Head, 4 Quarts, 7 Speeds With Whisk, Dough Hook, Flat Beater Attachments, Splash Guard, Black (63391),JELL-O Instant Cheesecake Pudding & Pie Filling Mix (1 oz Boxes, Pack of 6)Cheesecake Love: Inventive, Irresistible, and Super-Easy Cheesecake Desserts for Every DayJunior’s Cheesecake Cookbook: 50 To-Die-For Recipes of New York-Style CheesecakeThe Cheesecake Factory: The Unofficial Copycat Recipe CookbookCheesecake Love: Inventive, Irresistible, and Super-Easy Cheesecake Desserts for Every DayEasy Cheesecake Cookbook

Don’t miss these additional delicious Dessert Recipes here at When Is Dinner:

• Chocolate Pie with Graham Cracker Crust
• Snickerdoodles
• Lemon Bars
• Oven Baked Smores
• Reese’s Peanut Butter Pie