Cranberry Cheesecake Spread

I've served my cranberry tangerine chutney over cream cheese for years, love it that way, and wouldn't have given a thought to doing it any other way until I saw the recipe for Cranberry Cheesecake Spread that Lisa recently posted on My Own Sweet Thyme. I was perfectly happy with a plain brick of Philly cream cheese until Lisa took this delicious combination of flavors to a whole new level. Her cheesecake has a slight tang from the yogurt and a bit of sweetness from the brown sugar. I pressed some roasted, chopped hazelnuts into the sides of the cake for a bit of crunch and served it with gingersnaps.

Cranberry Cheesecake Spread

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 3 tablespoons graham cracker crumbs
• 8 ounce package cream cheese
• 5 ounce non-fat Greek yogurt
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Cranberry Tangering Chutney or other cranberry relish of your choice

1/2 cup pecan pieces, toasted - I used hazelnuts

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 rouching the bottom of the pan, and drag it back and forth at 1 to 2 inch intervals, front to back then side to side, to achieve a marbled effect in the batter.

Bake at 375 degrees for 30-34 minutes or until done. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. Refrigerate several hours or overnight. Just before serving I topped the chilled cheesecake with 2-3 tablespoons of chutney and a few more chopped hazelnuts. It was delicious served with gingersnaps, but little shortbread cookies or crackers would be wonderful too.

NOTE: My cranberry chutney is moist so I reduced the yogurt to 1/4 cup the second time I made the cheesecake. If you can't find Greek yogurt, drain plain yogurt in a fine meshed sieve for about an hour until it loses some of it's liquid.