Cranberry Cheesecake Spread
I wanted to have a cheese based appetizer at our holiday party last weekend. Since I can’t eat brie, and I wanted to try something new, I went with this Cranberry Cheesecake Spread. I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect from it. Even after I baked it, I wasn’t sure if it would go over well. I was worried it would be too sweet and dessert-like.
But let me tell you, this Cranberry Cheesecake Spread was the surprise hit of the evening. Everyone really enjoyed it and the plate was scraped clean early in the evening. The cheesecake itself had a beautifully smooth texture and the cranberry sauce on top provided a subtle scent of vanilla bean. The toasted pecans added a touch of texture to the whole experience.
I can definitely see myself making this again for get togethers because it came together in a snap. I made the cheesecake, cranberry sauce, and toasted the pecans a week in advance. Once the cheesecake was cool, I wrapped it in plastic wrap and foil and popped it into the freezer. I moved it to the fridge the morning of the party for it to defrost. The cranberry sauce and pecans sat in the fridge all week as well.
One Year Ago: Gingerbread Caramels and Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies
Two Years Ago: Gingerbread Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
Three Years Ago: Butter Ball Cookies
Cranberry Cheesecake Spread
Ingredients:
For the Bourbon Vanilla Cranberry Relish
3 cups cranberries
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup bourbon
1 vanilla bean
2 jalapenos, whole or finely chopped
For the Cheesecake
1 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp graham cracker crumbs
8 oz package cream cheese
5 oz Greek yogurt
1 egg
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
For Garnish
1/2 cup pecan pieces, toasted
Directions:
For the Bourbon Vanilla Cranberry Relish
Combine ingredients in a medium saucepan. While stirring, bring the mixture to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for approximately 5 minutes, or until most of the cranberrries have burst.
Remove from heat to cool. If you left the jalapeno pepper whole, remove it now and discard. Retrieve the vanilla bean from the sauce and set aside. When the vanilla bean is cool enough to handle comfortably, split it in half and scrape the seeds into the sauce. Stir until the vanilla seeds are distributed throughout the sauce. Discard the remaining hull.
For the Cheesecake
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Use 1 Tablespoon butter to generously grease the bottom and sides of a 6-inch spring form pan. Add the graham cracker crumbs, tilting and tapping until the crumbs thoroughly cover the bottom and sides of the pan. Set aside.
In a small mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the yogurt and egg, beating until well combined. Add the brown sugar and vanilla. Continue mixing until smooth.
Pour filling mixture into the prepared pan.
Randomly drop 1/3 cup of the cranberry sauce on top of the cheesecake batter with a tablespoon. Tap the pan on the counter top to settle the batter. Insert a butter knife straight down into the batter, not quite touching the bottom of the pan, and drag it back and forth at 1 to 2 inch intervals, front to back then side to side. Repeat as necessary to achieve a marbled effect in the batter.
Bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until done.
Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.
Loosely cover and refrigerate until completely cooled, several hours or overnight.
To Assemble
To serve, top cheesecake with remaining cranberry relish and toasted pecans. Set on a platter with an assortment of crackers.
Recipe from My Own Sweet Thyme
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
Yum! And festive… I’m glad there’s another Boston blogger out there that loves making cupcakes as much as I do!!!! 🙂
These cupcakes look amazing!! I love white chocolate, and the tart cranberry flavor sounds like a fantastic accompaniment :).
While I adore pumpkin, I think it is great that you did something different from the norm. The cranberry sauce filling looks really good!
These look great! I have some cranberries I have been debating what to make.
These are so beautiful! I love the idea of white chocolate cupcakes…. and cranberry sounds just perfect. Yum!
Sues
They’re beautiful and sound amazing!!
Those look delicious! Love the flecks of color, and it is nice to step outside of pumpkin paradise once in awhile. Yum!
These look amazing! I like that you did a recipe with cranberries…delicious! I have two frozen bags in my freezer calling my name 🙂
What a great idea! I love this flavor combination. I agree that this is the best way to fill a cupcake…I’ve used it a few times now!
These cupcakes look gorgeous! Now I want to order Fiori di Sicilia from KAF. I did so good not letting myself buy it when we were there!
How fun! These cupcakes look delicious.. I don’t know why but I would have never thought about cranberry and cupcakes!?
these sound fabulous, love the flavor combo!!
Great pics! These sound delicious 🙂
For some reason I am not seeing the recipes for the cranberry filling or mousse. Can you help me find them? Thank you!