Pecan Pie Cheesecake With Caramel-pecan Sauce

Total Time: 2 hrs 30 mins Preparation Time: 1 hr 10 mins Cook Time: 1 hr 20 mins

Ingredients

• 6 ounces chocolate wafer cookies (about 28 wafers)
• 1/2 cup toasted pecan halves
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese or 3 (8 ounce) packages neufchatel cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon table salt
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup bourbon (optional, a little more if you choose)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup bourbon (optional, a little more if you choose)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 1/2 cups chopped toasted pecans

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 375ºf, coat a 9-inch springform pan with nonstick spray and wrap entire outside of pan in foil; set aside.
• 2 make the crust:.
• 3 process chocolate wafers and the 1/2 cup pecans for the crust in a food processor until fine.
• 4 with processor running, drizzle in the melted butter.
• 5 press mixture into the bottom of the pan (tamping the crust with a heavy, flat-bottomed object like a glass or measuring cup ensures a firm crust) & bake for 10 minutes.
• 6 reduce oven to 325ºf.
• 7 make the cheesecake:.
• 8 beat cream cheese, 1 stick butter, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1/2 brown sugar, and table salt in a large bowl until mixture is fluffy, periodically scraping sides of the bowl.
• 9 add eggs one at a time, fully beating to incorporate into batter after each addition.
• 10 add 1/2 cup cream, 1/4 cup bourbon and vanilla; beat until ingredients are completely incorporated into batter.
• 11 pour filling over crust, smoothing the top of filling.
• 12 transfer cheesecake to a roasting pan; place in the oven.
• 13 pour boiling water into the roasting pan a third of the way up the sides of the foil-wrapped springform pan. (a water bath surrounds the cake with gentle even heat, reducing the possibility that it will crack on top.).
• 14 bake cheesecake until it reaches 155º and sides are set but center still jiggles, about 1 hour.
• 15 turn off the oven, leave cheesecake inside for an hour with oven door closed. (in other recipes i have read that one should leave the door ajar - here we did the way they said & it was splendid!).
• 16 remove cheesecake from oven; cool to room temperature.
• 17 cover cheesecake with plastic wrap; chill 3-24 hours before using.
• 18 remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before serving.
• 19 make the sauce:.
• 20 combine the 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, 1/2 cup cream, 1/2 stick butter, 1/4 cup bourbon and kosher salt for the sauce in a saucepan.
• 21 bring mixture to a boil over medium-low heat. (don't stir topping, but keep a close eye on it so it doesn't boil over.).
• 22 simmer topping 10 minutes.
• 23 stir the 1 1/2 cups pecans into the caramel topping.
• 24 let topping stand until slightly thickened and cooed to room temperature, 15-20 minutes.
• 25 to serve, spoon sauce over cheesecake. (serve remaining sauce on in dividual slices.).