White Chocolate Dulce de Leche Cheesecake

All right it is time for props. President's Choice rocks!! Can I get an AMEN?? With my obsession of Caramel, I had to buy the Dulce de Leche. OH. MY. GAWD. If sin can be bottled, then this is it. Really. It is THAT good. The ultimate in creamy, super thick and you can just spoon gobs of it out of the jar. It reminds me of something, too. It has almost that Kraft-i-licious kind of underlying flavor. Only better.

At one point in my life I thought, hey maybe I will be Cryogenically tucked away, but now I am thinking of being entombed in the PC Dulce de Leche. I am sure there must be some similar effects that could lead to future revival.

I am a product-a-holic...a slave to what's hot and new. I jump for joy when I see the new Insider's Report. I know it is a bit weird, but what is better than finding a new product that turns out to be the best thing since bread came sliced??? New food items too, are the shiz. They can revive cooking and baking and bring a new twist to a recipe.

As I shop this Christmas season, though, I have to say it is not quite the same experience as Superstore at home. I haven't quite achieved that lovin' feeling when I walk through the door. There is no one to greet me in every department. Like sweet Brown Sugar in the bakery and Mr. Kraft in the cheese aisle **le sigh**. I know it will take time...but I have to say I sure do miss it.

I also miss the late night shopping sprees for more Eagle Brand milk or marshmallows with Wanda. I swear, we get the urge to bake at the most ungodly hour. But yet, up to SS we would go...a trip that should have lasted 10 minutes, but somehow was about an hour. We always seemed to get sidetracked in the kitchen gadgets aisle...seeing if we could score a deal on a professional grade cookie sheet. Yep there is many a memory centered around the Antigonish Superstore!

So, as I give it up one more time to the President, let me just say that I won't back down. I will find the love in Superstore in Medicine Hat if it kills me. Maybe, just MAYBE it might be in the Dulce de Leche aisle.


WHITE CHOCOLATE DULCE DE LECHE CHEESECAKE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ingredients:

* CRUST
* 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
* 1/4 cup granulated sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
* FILLING
* 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) white chocolate chips
* 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
* 2 pkgs. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
* 1 1/2 cups (President's Choice Dulce de Leche

Directions:
FOR CRUST:
PREHEAT oven to 300° F.

COMBINE butter, sugar and cinnamon in medium bowl. Add crumbs; toss until crumbs are moistened. Press onto bottom of ungreased 9-inch spring form pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

FOR FILLING:
HEAT 1 2/3 cups morsels and cream in medium, heavy-duty saucepan over low heat, stirring until smooth. Cool for 15 minutes.

BEAT cream cheese in large mixer bowl until fluffy. Beat in morsel mixture and vanilla extract. Stir in eggs. Remove from heat. Heat 1 cup Dulce de leche dip in small saucepan over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes or just until slightly softened. Remove from heat. Stir in 1 cup cheesecake mixture. Alternately spoon cheesecake and caramel mixtures into prepared pan, ending with caramel. Swirl gently with knife.

BAKE for 55 to 60 minutes or until edge is set but center still moves slightly. Turn off oven and let cheesecake stand in oven for 1 hour. Remove from oven. Let cool on wire rack for 15 minutes. Run knife around edge of cheesecake. Cool completely. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.

**At this point I also made a whipped white chocolate ganache topping for my cheesecake. I thought it just needed something smooth ans creamy on top!! You HAVE to add this...it is silky smooth!! The recipe follows:

WHITE CHOCOLATE GANACHE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1-1/2 cups heavy cream
8 ounces white chocolate chips

In a saucepan combine 1 1/2 cups of the cream and bring just to a boil. Remove from the heat. Place white chocolate chips in a large bowl and pour hot cream into the bowl containing the white chocolate. Let sit for 1 minute, then whisk until smooth. Transfer to the refrigerator to cool, stirring occasionally.

When mixture is cold and thickened, beat with an electric mixer to soft peaks, then beat the last few strokes by hand with a whisk until thick and firm. (Be careful not to over-whisk, or mixture will become grainy.)