Apricot Cheesecake

I spend a A LOT of time reading cookbooks and cooking magazines, and researching recipes online. It's sort of like a hobby. I was exploring the Kraft Foods web site and discovered their cheesecake recipe generator. Very neat! You pick things like cook/no cook, size of pan, type of crust, etc., and a unique recipe is generated for you. This is one of the recipes I made up. It was very, very good.

3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup walnut pieces
3 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons sugar
16 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
1 tablespoon orange juice
1/4 cup apricot preserves, plus 1/3 cup warmed apricot preserves, spread on top of cake

Preheat oven to 325F. Mix graham cracker crumbs, walnuts, 2 tablespoons sugar, and butter. Press onto bottom and up sides of a 9-inch pie plate. Bake 10 minutes.

Beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl until well blended. Mix in peel and juice. Mix in eggs, one at a time, beating on low speed after each addition. Mix in sour cream. Stir in 1/4 cup apricot preserves. Pour batter over crust. Pour 1/3 cup warmed preserved over top of the cake.

Bake 25 minutes, or until center is almost set. Cool completely. Refrigerate at least 4 hours.

Yum!