I like this one for a regular cheesecake: BEST CHEESECAKE Creust: 1 cup flour 1/4 cup sugar 1 tsp grated lemon zest 1 stick butter 1 egg yolk, slightly beaten 1/4 tsp vanilla Preheat oven to 400°. Combine the flour, sugar & lemon zest. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until teh mixture is crumbly. Add the yolk & vanilla; blend well. Pat 1/3 of the dough on the bottom of a 9" springform pan (sides removed.) Bake about 6 minutes or until golden; cool. Butter the sides of the pan; attach to the bottom. Pat the remaining dough evenly on the sides to a height of 2". Cheese Filling Five 8 oz pkg cream cheese, softened 1 3/4 cup sugar 3 TBL flour 3/4 tsp grated lemon zest 1/4 tsp salt 1/4 tsp vanilla 5 eggs (1 cup) 2 egg yolks 1/4 cup heavy cream Heat oven to 500°. Put the cream chese in a mixing bowl & beat until fluffy. In a separate bowl, combine the sugar, flour, lemon zest, salt & vanilla. Gradually blend into the cheese. Add the eggs & yolks, 1 at a time; beat well after each addition. Gently stir in the cream. Turn into the crust-lined pan. Bake at 500° for 5-8 minutes or until the top of the crust is golden. Reduce the heat to 200°; bake 1 hour longer. Remove from the oven; cool in the pan for 3 hours. Remove the sides of the pan. Chill 6 hours or overnight.~~(Serve in small slices, very rich.) For a gussied up verson I like this: PRALINE CHEESECAKE WITH PECAN SAUCE Crust: 1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs 1/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup pecans, chopped & toasted 4 TBL butter, melted Preheat oven to 350°. Combine the crumbs, sugar & pecans in a bowl. Add the melted butter & mix well. Press the crumb mixture over the bottom & 1 1/2" i[ tje sodes pf a 9" springform. Bake 10 minutes. Filling: Three 8 oz pkg cream cheese, softened 1 cup packed brown sugar 2/3 cup evaporated milk 2 TBL flour 1 1/2 tsp vanilla 3 eggs 1 cup pecan halves, toasted Beat together the cheese, brown sugar, evaporated milk, flour & vanilla. Add the eggs & beat just until blended. Pour into the hot baked crust. Bake 50-55 minutes. Cool in the pan 30 minutes, loosen the sides of the springform & remove the rim. Cool completely. Arrange the pecan halves on top of the cheesecake. Pecan Sauce 1 cup dark brown sugar, packed 2 TBL cornstarch 2 TBL butter 1/2 cup broken pecan pieces In a saucepan, mix the brown sugar & cornstarch. Add 1 1/2 cups of water. Bring to a boil & stir over medium heat until thickened & bubbly, about 5 minutes. Stir in the butter & add the pecans. Serve the sauce over the cheesecake or pass in a sauceboat.~~

Not up to making the wonderful "scratch" brownies above? Try these with either Pillsbury Brownie Classics - Traditional Fudge or Duncan Hines Family-Style Brownies. Both these mixes make a 9 x13 inch pan of brownies and directions call for the addition of eggs, oil and water. Cheesecake Marble Brownies 8 oz. package cream cheese or Neufchatel cheese, softened to room temperature 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon real vanilla extract 1 egg One 9 x 13 inch fudge brownie mix plus eggs, water and oil per package directions Prepare filling by beating cream cheese and sugar together until smooth - no lumps of cream cheese. Beat in vanilla and egg. Cover and chill filling until ready to finish brownies. Preheat oven and prepare pan per directions on brownie mix. Prepare brownie mix according to package directions and spread in pan. Spoon filling onto brownie mix in 3 or 4 longitudinal stripes. Using a circular motion with a fork, fold some of brownie batter over the filling, working down each stripe. Then move the fork across the stripes crosswise, back and forth, to create swirls. Don't overdo it. Bake according to package directions, but a few minutes longer. Pale filling will be very slightly browned near the edges of the pan when brownies are done. You can prepare a double recipe in a 1/2 size sheet cake pan (about 10 x 17 inches), baking a little longer than directed on the brownie mix. Make sure the pan fits in your oven with a little room to spare first. If you have to bake a lot of brownies in a hurry, you can bake nut brownies or plain brownies for the kids on the upper shelf of the oven and the marble brownies on the lower shelf. The marble brownies take a little longer to bake. I recently goofed up and used only one egg instead of four in a double recipe of the marble brownies, but the adults in the crowd still loved them. I guess "gooey" does have some appeal at times. Kids tend to prefer plain brownies, though.

This is a very good recipe. Whenever I serve this, I am always asked the recipe. Frozen Ice Cream Delight 2-1/2 cups cream-filled chocolate cookie crumbs, divided 1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 gallon chocolate,coffee, or vanilla ice cream, softened. 1-1/2 cups salted peanuts 1 carton (8 0zs.) frozen whipped topping, thawed Chocolate Sauce: 2 cups confectioner's sugar 2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips 1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk 1/2 cup butter or margarine 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Combine 2 cups cookie crumbs with butter and sugar. Press into the bottom of a 13x9x2 pan. Freeze for 15 minutes. Spread ice cream over crumbs; freeze until firm, about 3 hours. Meanwhile, combine first four sauce ingredients in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Boil for 8 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla; allow to cool to room temperature. Spoon sauce over ice cream; sprinkle with nuts. Freeze until firm. Spread whipped topping over nuts and sprinkle with remaining cookie crumbs. Freeze at least 3 hours before serving. I let it set out a while before serving as it's hard to cut when frozen. The sauce is good to use with other desserts too. I always chop the peanuts a little also.

Hi James, Here's a recipe I begged my Aunt Mildred for, about 20 years ago. Her New York cheesecake. She generously shared it with me, and I have 'wowed' many guests with it. I always get requests for the recipe. It's very creamy and delicious. Aunt Mildred said there would be less likelyhood of it cracking by following her directions for cooling it. I've not had any cracking problems. Here's her recipe: New York Cheesecake 2 cups graham cracker crumbs 1/2 cup (1 stick) of melted butter 1 cup sugar - divided (2 Tablespoons for crust, the remainder for the filling) 2 pounds cream cheese, (allowed to sit at room temperature till softened) 2 large eggs, lightly beaten 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 Tablespoons cornstarch 1 cup sour cream Blend together well, the graham cracker crumbs, butter and (2 Tablespoons) sugar. Press into the bottom and up the sides of a greased 9 inch springform pan. Chill the springform pan in the freezer while you perpare the filling. Heat the oven to 450ð. Beat the cream cheese and sugar till smoothe and light. Beat in the eggs, vanilla and cornstarch just till blended. Stir in the sour cream. Pour the mixture into the prepared springform pan. Bake 10 minutes. Reduce temperature to 200ð and bake an additional 45 minutes. Turn oven off. Open door slightly. (Aunt Mildred used a wooden spoon to have her oven door cracked a peep) Let cool 3 hours in the oven. Carefully remove the sides from the springform pan. Chill the cake thoroughly in the refrigerator. Then top with a glaze before serving, if desired. Aunt Mildred also gave me the recipes for her 2 favorite glazes on this particular cake. One is strawberry and the other is pineapple. I'll give you those recipes too. Strawberry Glaze 1 quart fresh strawberries - rinsed and hulled 1/2 cup sugar 1 Tablespoon cornstarch 1/4 cup water 2 Tablespoons butter 8 drops of red food coloring 1 Tablespoon lemon juice Crush enough berries to make 1/2 cup. Set remaining berries in the refrigerator. In a saucepan mix sugar and cornstarch. Gradgually add the crushed berries and water, stirring till well blended. Bring to a boil stirring constantly. Boil and stir for about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in butter and food coloring. Strain. Cool slightly. Add lemon juice. Cool completely. Carefully arrange reserved berries on cake. Cut very large berries in half, and place cut side down. Spoon cooled glaze over berries. Chill in refrigerator. Pineapple Glaze 1 - 9 ounce can crushed pineapple (drained) 2/3 cup syrup from the drained can of pineapple 2 teaspoons cornstarch Blend syrup and cornstarch in a saucepan. Bring to a boil stirring constantly. Continue to boil and stir for 3 minutes. Cool slightly. Add pineapple. Cool completely, and spoon over cake. Chill in refrigerator.