Ingredients
For Crust:
-
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
-
2 Tbl. light brown sugar
-
1 stick real butter, melted (*I use Minerva Dairy Amish Butter)
For Cheesecake Filling:
-
4 (8 oz.) pkgs. cream cheese, room temp
-
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
-
3/4 cup heavy cream
-
4 eggs
-
1 cup thick sour cream, I like Daisy’s
-
1/3 cup salted caramel sauce such as Godiva or Ghirardelli
-
3 Tbl. Buttershots Liqueur
-
1 Tbl. vanilla extract
-
1/4 cup flour
-
8 mini or fun-sized Milky Way candies, sliced lengthwise then cut into eighths
For Salted Caramel Top:
-
24 Kraft caramels, unwrapped
-
1 1/2 Tbl. heavy cream
Finishing Garnish:
-
more sliced or chopped Caramel Milky Ways (1 chopped fun sized candy bar per slice)
-
pinch of kosher salt per slice
Instructions
For Crust:In small pan, add butter and melt. Stir in brown sugar and graham crumbs. Stir until well mixed. Spray the inside of a 9″ springform pan well with butter-flavored cooking spray. Press crumbs evenly onto bottom of pan and halfway up sides. Set aside.Preheat oven to 325º F.For Cheesecake Filling:In large mixer bowl, beat cream cheese and brown sugar until smooth. Scrape sides, paddle and bottom and beat again. Starting on low speed, blend in heavy cream. (Turn up speed once it’s safe to not splatter.) Add eggs, one at a time, beating until just mixed. *You don’t want to whip them and create air. Scrape all and beat again.Beat in sour cream, caramel sauce, liqueur, vanilla and flour until smooth. Scrape paddle, sides and bottom of bowl, and beat again. Sprinkle chopped Caramel Milky Way candies evenly on bottom of crust. Pour cheesecake batter slowly into 9 or 10 inch springform pan evenly over candies to within a 1/2" from the top of the pan.Tear a large sheet of foil off, and set pan onto center. Press foil up sides of pan. Place into large roaster. (Big enough to hold pan level.)Open oven and place onto rack that puts cheesecake in the center of your oven. Fill roaster with boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the springform pan. Close door and bake for 1 hour and 45 minutes.When time is up, turn off oven, open door briefly (about 5 seconds), close door and leave in oven for 1 hour.Remove from oven to a rack to cool. When completely cooled down, cover top of pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.The next day, make Caramel Topping. Place unwrapped caramels into microwave-safe bowl, add cream. Nuke until melted, stirring every minute, until mixture is fully combined and creamy. Pour immediately over cheesecake in center to within 1/2 inch of the edge. Chill again for 1 hour.When ready to serve, run a knife around edge to loosen, and pop open springform ring. Remove ring and place cheesecake onto plate or serving stand. Garnish each slice with more chopped Caramel Milky Ways and a pinch of kosher salt.*IMPORATANT SLICING TIP!: So that caramel sauce on top does not stick to knife, spray each side of knife with butter-flavored no-stick spray, make one cut, quickly clean off knife, spray again, then make a second cut. (*You way want 2 knives sprayed and ready as first piece may be difficult to get out quickly.) As cheesecake ages, the caramel will be easier to slice, but still requires the knife to be sprayed for easy slicing.
Notes
If you have leftover batter that won't fit in the springform pan: Place cupcake papers into muffin tin pan, place a Ritz cracker onto bottom of each. Pour batter over tops and fill 3/4 full. Bake until set and golden on top. Remove from oven and let cool in pan. Remove cheesecakes from pan and chill, placed into a Tupperware or plastic container with lid to seal. If no more candy bars left to garnish tops, drizzle with more caramel (or chocolate) sauce if desired. Sprinkle top with kosher salt and serve.
