Merry Christmas!  I hope you all enjoyed the hoilday and are now gearing up for the new year.  The retail end of Sweet Jumbles had a very busy month, selling many Artisan Marshmallows on Etsy for Christmas and New Year’s.  We’ve gotten rave reviews, and if you haven’t tried them yet, head on over to the website and take a peek.  Gingerbread was the seasonal favorite.

This is my 100th post on Sweet Jumbles.  I hope you’ve enjoyed all of them so far, and perhaps even taken some recipes to try yourself.

I served the recipe below at a family Christmas dinner.  It’s obviously too late for you to do that this year, but if you need something to serve on New Year’s Eve, or any wintertime gathering for that matter, this would be a crowd pleaser.

Cranberry Layered Cheesecake
Adapted from: One Perfect Bite

Crust
½ c dried cranberries (such as Craisins)
2 c cake flour
½ c ground almonds
¼ c powdered sugar
¼ t salt
¼ t almond extract
½ c cold butter, cubed

Cranberry Layer
1 c + 2 T sugar
3 T cornstarch
1/4 c + 2 T cranberry juice
3 cups fresh or frozen cranberries

Cream Cheese Layer
4 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
1 ½ c sugar
1 t vanilla extract
4 eggs, lightly beaten

Sour Cream Topping
2 c sour cream
¼ c sugar
2 t vanilla extract

Whipped Cream Topping (optional)
1 c heavy whipping cream
1 T sugar
¼ t almond extract

• In a food processor, finely chop dried cranberries. Add flour, almonds, powdered sugar, salt, and almond extract; process until blended. Add butter; pulse just until crumbly.
• Press onto the bottom and 1.5” up the sides of a greased 10″ springform pan. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes.
• Prepare Cranberry layer.  In a small saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch; stir in cranberry juice until smooth. Add berries. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, vanilla and sugar until smooth. Add eggs; beat just until combined. Pour half of the batter into the crust. Carefully spread half of the berry mixture over batter; top with remaining batter.
• Bake for 45 minutes. Reduce heat to 250°. Bake 25-30 minutes longer or until center is almost set. Combine sour cream, sugar and vanilla; spread over top. Bake 25-30 minutes or until set. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer. Spread remaining berry mixture over the top. Refrigerate overnight.
• Optional: Beat cream with sugar and almond extract until stiff peaks form. Pipe around top edge of cheesecake.

Serves: 16
Calories: 490