Caramel Apple Cheesecake

Fall...the time of year that floods my mind with a thousand thoughts. The stunning colors and the smell in the air that only falling leaves and dropping temperatures can bring. Farmer's markets with pumpkins, plums, peaches and about a thousand different kinds of apples. There was also the yearly walk our family would take up on the hill beside our grandmother's house just so we could all sit for five minutes on the huge rock at the top of the hill. Even though I am not there I can still smell the air and retrace every step. Fall seems almost perfect.

Mom and Dad always had apple and pear trees growing in every nook and cranny. I loved it when picking time came. It was so hard to believe that so many apples could come from one single tree. The last time I picked apples was one afternoon with my sister Wanda. Dad had rigged up this long-handled Javex bottle picker that did the trick. After most of this one tree was picked, there were still quite a few towards the top that could not be reached. Not to give up easily, Wanda and I climbed and shook, only to end up with scraped hands, ripped jeans and no more apples.

After the picking was done, mom would go on one of her marathon pie baking tangents. She always wanted us to peel and slice the apples for her while she made the crusts. At first there was plenty of complaining, but then when we all were sitting around the table, it seemed no time and we were done. We would laugh and drink tea and inhale the cinnamon and butter aroma. It was wonderful.

I have only been gone from Nova Scotia for a few months, but I still miss these things. There may not be apple pies, but there ARE Caramel Apple Cheesecakes. It's funny, but these Alberta apples taste just like the ones they grow in Nova Scotia ;-).

Caramel Apple Cheesecake
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1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup butter or margarine
3/4 cup white sugar, divided
1 egg yolk
2 Tablespoons butter
2 apples, peeled,cored and sliced thinly
20 Vanilla caramels (I prefer Kraft :-))
1 1/2 teaspoons milk
2 pkgs cream cheese,softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs

Combine flour,1/2 cup butter, 1/4 cup of the white sugar and egg yolk. Blend well. Press crumbs on bottom and up sides of a 9" spring form pan (I spray mine with non stick spray and line with parchament paper). Bake at 400° for 10-15 minutes, until edges are light golden.

Melt 2 Tablespoons of butter in a large fry pan. Add apples and cook until tender. Arrange apples on baked crust. Melt caramels with 1 1/2 teaspoons milk, stirring over low heat, till completely melted; drizzle over apples.

Beat together cream cheese, remaining 1/2 cup sugar, and vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Pour cheese mixture over caramel apple layer. Bake at 325° for 30-35 minutes, or until set. Cool and then chill. Serve with Caramel sauce.

Caramel Sauce:
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Melt 20 caramels with 1/4 cup of milk over low heat, stirring until smooth. Drizzle over cheesecake and sprinkle with toasted almonds or hazelnuts.