INGREDIENTS:
- Crust
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup quick oats
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold
- 1 Granny Smith apple, shredded and drained
- 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
- Filling
- 1 lb cream cheese, at room temp
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 1 tsp vanilla paste or extract
- 3 large eggs
- Spiced Apples
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1 Tbsp Tbsp corn starch
- 3 Granny Smith apples, peeled and diced
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 3 Tbsp butter
- Streusel
- 1 cup reserved crust
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350.° Line an 8” spring-form pan or four 4 ¾” spring-form pans with parchment paper.
To make the crust, in a bowl, combine flour, oats, and sugar. Using a pastry cutter, cut butter into mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Add apple and walnuts and stir to combine. Reserve 1 cup of oatmeal mixture and set aside. Press remainder into bottom of spring form pan and slightly up the sides. Bake for 20 minutes or until light brown. Let cool slightly. Wrap 2 pieces of heavy duty aluminum foil around prepared pan.
To make the filling, in a large bowl and using a hand mixer, add cream cheese and sour cream and beat until well blended. Add sugar and salt and beat until blended. Add vanilla paste and eggs, one at a time, mixing until blended. Spread cheesecake mixture evenly over oatmeal crust. Place pan into a roasting pan. Pour hot water into roasting pan, until halfway up the sides of the spring-form pan. Bake until the cheesecake is slightly brown around the edges and slightly moves in the middle when moved, 45-60 minutes. Let cool for 1 hour and then refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
To make the spiced apples, in a bowl, add sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg, and corn starch and stir to combine. Add apples and lemon juice and stir to coat. In a large frying pan over medium heat, melt butter. Add apple mixture and cook until soft, about 7 minutes. Set aside.
To make the streusel, preheat oven to 350.° In a bowl, combine reserved crust mixture and nuts. Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet and bake until light golden and nutty smelling, 7-10 minutes. Place spiced apples and streusel on top of cheesecake center.