Want to really impress your guests this Thanksgiving? How about baking a creamy cheesecake with spiced pears and a sweet struesel topping?
A turkey basting in the oven...
Potatoes being mashed...
The scent of yams wafting through the air...
The sounds of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade coming from your tv...
Thanksgiving is about traditions and what's more traditional than all of these things? And when you think of a traditional Thanksgiving dessert, pumpkin, pecan and apple pie probably all come to mind. So what about starting a new tradition this Thanksgiving? Diners will be amazed when you bring this Pear Struesel Cheesecake to the table. And what's really great is that it can be prepared three months in advance! Just pop it in your freezer and it'll save so much time when the big day rolls around!
Pear Struesel Cheesecake
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 4 pears
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon granulated ginger
- 2 tablespoons milk or cream
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1/4 cup butter
Directions
- To make the crust, you will need to cream half a cup of softened butter with a third of a cup of granulated sugar. Then you will need to blend in a cup of flour.
- Press the dough into the bottom and half an inch up the side of a greased, 9 inch springform pan.
- In a preheated 350 degree oven, bake the crust for 12-15 minutes, or until slightly golden brown.
- For the filling, quarter 4 pears and slice into 1/3 inch thick slices.
- In a greased, nonstick pan, toss the pear slices with a quarter of a cup sugar and a quarter of a teaspoon of granulated ginger over medium heat until the pears become tender.
- Add 2 tablespoons of milk or cream and allow to cook for approximately 5 minutes, stirring often.
- Set aside and allow to cool.
- In a large bowl, beat together eight ounces of softened cream cheese with half a cup of packed brown sugar.
- Beat in two eggs until well-blended.
- Add one cup of sour cream.
- Spoon the pears over the crust and pour the cream cheese over top.
- In another bowl, mix together half a cup of flour, a quarter of a cup of packed brown sugar, a quarter of a teaspoon pumpkin pie spice and a quarter of a cup of softened butter to form a struesel.
- Sprinkle the topping over the cream cheese filling.
- Bake in the 350 degree oven for 45 minutes or until the center is just set.
- Cool at room temperature and then chill for at least four hours, but overnight is preferred.
Simple, but extremely impressive!
The copyright of the article Pear Struesel Cheesecake in Dessert Recipes is owned by Kimberly Zeidner. Permission to republish Pear Struesel Cheesecake in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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