Description
These creamy white chocolate cheesecakes are flecked with orange zest and topped with a seasonal cranberry sauce for a dessert designed to grace your table during a holiday gathering.
Ingredients
UnitsScale
For the crust:
- Oil for greasing the jars
- 2 cups graham cracker crumbs (see notes)
- 1/4 cup sugar (use sucanat)
- 6 Tbs (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted
- 7 ounces good-quality white chocolate, chopped
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 4 large eggs
- Zest of 1 orange
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp orange extract
- Pinch of salt (Use the code kitchenstewardship for 15% off of your first purchase)
- 12 ounces fresh cranberries
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 cup sugar
- Zest of 1 orange
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease the bottoms and sides of sixteen 4-ounce jars or eight 8-ounce jars. Make the crust: In a medium-size bowl, mix together the graham cracker crumbs and 1?4 cup sugar. Stir in the butter and mix until all of the crumbs are coated. Divide the crumb mixture evenly among the jars and use a wine cork or other small, flat-bottomed object to press down into the bottoms of the jars to form the crusts. Set aside.
- Make the cheesecake: Place the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl. In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring the cream just to a boil. Immediately pour the cream over the white chocolate and stir until the chocolate is melted. Set aside.
- Beat the cream cheese in a stand mixer until smooth, about 3 minutes. Beat in the sugar. Mix in the reserved white chocolate mixture and beat until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as you go. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Stir in the orange zest, the vanilla and orange extracts, and the salt. Pour or spoon the cheesecake filling over the crusts in the jars to 1?2 inch from the top.
- Arrange the jars 2 inches apart in high-sided baking pans, such as 9 × 13-inch cake pans, with each pan lined with a clean kitchen towel. Place the pans with the jars in the oven and carefully add hot water to the pans to come halfway up the sides of the jars. Bake the cheesecakes for 20 to 25 minutes, or just until their centers are almost set. Turn off the oven and allow the cheesecakes and water to cool slowly in the oven. When the cheesecakes and water have cooled slightly, remove them carefully from the oven and remove the cheesecakes from the pans. Allow to cool completely while making the cranberry topping.
- Make the cranberry sauce: Place the cranberries, water, and sugar in a large saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until boiling. Reduce the heat to medium-low to simmer, stir in the orange zest, and continue cooking for 7 minutes more. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly. Spoon 2 to 3 tablespoons of sauce over the cheesecake in each jar. Transfer the jars to the refrigerator and chill completely before serving. Serve cold.
- Makes sixteen 4-ounce cheesecakes or eight 8-ounce cheesecakes
Notes
Katie’s Notes…
* There’s a homemade graham cracker recipe with whole wheat and sucanat in Healthy Snacks to Go, and Attune Foods also makes one with wholesome ingredients called Erewhon.
* With the cheesecake filling and the sauce, you can always taste and add more sweetener if necessary, it seems.