New York-Style Cheesecake

We got together with a bunch of friends for Easter dinner, and Michael made his amazing cheesecake. It's not even close to being dairy-free, but it tastes so good that I had to have a small piece that night. And then, since there was some left over, I had to have some the next night as well. It's probably best that the cheesecake is gone now and I have gone back to the reality of healthy snacks, but in the back of my mind I'm already looking forward to when it's strawberry season here in New Hampshire and we can make a cheesecake with a topping of fresh strawberries and strawberry glaze. Until then I will just have to dwell in the memories of the light and velvety texture, and the flavor that is a delicate balance of sweet with a slight tang.

The recipe we use is from Cook's Illustrated, March & April 2002, pp. 22-24. Below is our modified ingredients list, but for the instructions you can go to www.cooksillustrated.com or ask me.

New York-Style Cheesecake
makes a 9-inch cake

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (4 ounces, or about half the bag) Barbara's wheat-free oatmeal Snackimals cookies
• 1 Tbsp. granulated white sugar
  
• 4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted, plus 1 more Tbsp. melted butter for greasing the springform pan
• 2 1/2 pounds cream cheese (not low-fat)
• 1/8 tsp. sea salt
• 1 1/2 cups granulated white sugar
• 1/3 cup sour cream (not low-fat). Check to make sure there are not any corn products.
• 2 tsp. juice from 1 lemon
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract. Use Trader Joe's alcohol-free vanilla extract or another vanilla extract that does not have corn syrup and is preferably alcohol-free, since the alcohol could be derived from corn.
• 2 large egg yolks plus 6 large whole eggs