Pecan Caramel Cheesecake

Awesome weekend! We visited Madagascar, went Walking with Dinosaurs, spent time with friends, ate a good meal with family; a nice balance of good things! More on the live experience with the Dinosaurs to come but if you're considering going, it's definitely worth it!!

We spent time at my parents house yesterday & since I promised them I'd bring a dip, appetizer & dessert but was running short on time, I cheated a bit on the last & decided to go with this Sandra Lee recipe which uses 70% ready-made products with 30% fresh. This turned out way beyond my expectations & I would definitely make it again. I've never used the no bake cheesecake packages & while I won't make a habit of it, it was nice for a change.

I can definitely see this on my dessert table at Thanksgiving. Everyone loved it!!!

2 boxes real cheesecake dessert mix, Jell-O No Bake
3/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tblsp water
2 1/2 cups cold milk
1 cup butterscotch caramel sauce
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
1/2 cup packed golden brown sugar

Line bottom of 9 inch springform pan with parchment paper. Mix the 2 packages of crust (from cheesecake dessert mix), the melted butter, sugar & water in a large bowl until well blended. Reserve 1 cup of crumb mixture for topping. Press remaining crumb mixture onto bottom of prepared pan (not up sides).

Combine the 2 packages of cheesecake filling & the cold milk in another large bowl. Beat for 3 minutes or until smooth & thick. Fold 1/2 cup of caramel sauce into cheesecake mixture. Pour mixture into crust lined springform pan. ***Mix reserved crumb mixture with 1/4 cup of caramel sauce, pecans & brown sugar. Sprinkle mixture on top of cheesecake***

Refrigerate cake at least ***5 hours*** or until set. Run warm knife around pan sides to loosen cake; remove pan sides. Transfer cake to serving platter & drizzle with remaining ***1/4 cup of caramel sauce.***

My Thoughts:

*** I am not sure how they expect you to sprinkle any mixture once that mixture has been combined with sticky gooey caramel sauce. So, I ended up having to spread it, if I could even call it that, carefully over the cake with my fingers. I then toasted more pecans & filled in any spots. This took a lot of patience & while this came out awesome, I won't do it the same next time. I recommend to warm up 1/4 cup of the caramel, drizzle it on top of the cheesecake mixture. Then, mix only the crumb mixture with the pecans & brown sugar & sprinkle that on top.

Then, right before serving, you can warm up the remaining 1/4 cup of caramel sauce & drizzle that over the cheesecake, letting it drip down sides.

As for the setting time, I set it for 5 hours but it needed more time. Ideally, make the day before. If not, set for at least 7 hours.

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And for a little more sweetness: