Birthday Cheesecake!

My dad loves cheesecake and so when he came down I made it per special request for his birthday! I used a new recipe and it was delicious but of course in my haste I misread the directions and added a 1 1/4 C. sugar to the crust instead of 1/4 C., the word divided is very important! But it still came out great!!! I also used packages of Fat Free and Low Fat cream cheese instead of regular cream cheese and it tasted delicious! If possible I always use the light, low fat, or no fat ingredients.







CHEESECAKE
(Source: Kraftfoods.com)

INGREDIENTS:

1 3/4 cups HONEY MAID Graham Cracker Crumbs (I used 2 coups)
1/3 cup margarine or butter, melted
1-1/4 cups sugar, divided
3 pkg. (8 oz. each) Cream Cheese, softened
1 cup Sour Cream
2 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs
1 can (21 oz.) cherry pie filling

DIRECTIONS:

PREHEAT oven to 350°F if using a silver 8- or 9-inch springform pan (or to 325°F if using a dark nonstick 8- or 9-inch springform pan). Mix graham cracker crumbs, margarine and 1/4 cup of the sugar. Press firmly onto bottom and 2-1/2 inches up side of pan; set aside.

BEAT cream cheese and the remaining 1 cup sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add sour cream and vanilla; mix well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating on low speed after each addition just until blended. Pour into crust.

BAKE 1 hour to 1 hour 10 min. or until center is almost set. Turn oven off. Open oven door slightly. Let cheesecake set in oven 1 hour. Remove cheesecake from oven; cool completely. Refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight. Loosen cheesecake from rim of pan; remove rim. Top cheesecake with pie filling just before serving. Store leftover cheesecake in refrigerator.