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This is my custom blend of two other cheesecake recipes.  I make it for
every potluck dinner I attend, as I can never eat the cakes/pies the other
guests bring.  It is as tasty as any you can buy at a cheesecake store, with
one bonus: It’s gluten free!  Enjoy :)  -Donna Millheim ([log in to unmask])

GLUTEN-FREE CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE

KITCHEN UTENSILS
1 small plastic zipper-style sandwich bag
small microwaveable glass or cup (for melting the butter)
1/4 cup measure
1 teaspoon measure
1 tablespoon measure
9.5” round springform cake pan, 3” deep
3 quart mixing bowl
butter knife (for cutting cream cheese)
handheld electric mixer
Cookie sheet (or other flat sheet large enough to hold the springform pan in
the oven; I use a pizza pan)
Frosting spatula (for scraping sides of bowl and later for spreading
topping)
Knife or cake server for cutting cake

CRUST INGREDIENTS
1   box of gluten-free soft chocolate cookies (7.25 ounce box; you can vary
from this slightly)
    (I use Country Choice Certified Organic Double Fudge Brownie Cookies)
1/4 cup butter (equal to half a stick of butter)

CHEESECAKE INGREDIENTS
1   cup sugar
3   8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup cocoa
4   eggs
2   teaspoons vanilla flavoring

SOUR CREAM TOPPING INGREDIENTS
1   cup dairy sour cream (8 oz container)
2   tablespoons sugar
2   teaspoons vanilla

    MAKE THE CRUST:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees (f).  Place all of the cookies
into the zipper bag.  Place the butter into a glass or cup and melt it in
the microwave for 30 seconds.  Pour the melted butter into the bag on top of
the cookies (shut the bag) and scrunch the mixture (using one hand, outside
the bag) until it is crumbly.  Empty the mixture out of the bag and into the
springform cake pan, then turn the bag inside out.  Place your hand into the
(now clean) inside of the bag, and use the knuckles of your hand (you are
using the plastic bag as a type of glove to keep the mixture from sticking
to your hand) to press the cookie mixture flat into an even layer in the
bottom of the pan.  Make sure you cannot see the pan through the cookie
layer.  You can go a little bit up the sides of the pan, but try not to go
more than a fraction of an inch higher than the depth of the cookies.  Bake
for 10 minutes and set aside to cool while you mix the cheesecake
ingredients.
    MIX THE CHEESECAKE INGREDIENTS:  Reduce the oven temperature to 300.  Cut
the cream cheese into half-inch wide slices as you open the package,
dropping them into the mixing bowl.  After each package has been dropped,
beat the cream cheese until it is fairly smooth.  Once all three packages
are smooth, gradually beat in the sugar (a quarter cup at a time) and then
the cocoa (a little bit at a time, or it will form a chocolate-colored dust
cloud) until fluffy.  Add the vanilla and then beat in the eggs, one at a
time.
    BAKE THE CAKE:  Place the springform pan onto the cookie/pie sheet.  This
is to contain any “weep” from the springform pan during baking.  Pour the
cream cheese mixture into the springform pan and place it immediately into
the oven.  Bake until center is firm, about 1 hour.  The cake will fall
slightly near the end of baking (and possibly crack); this is normal.  Leave
the cake in the springform pan for now.
    TOPPING:  Mix the sour cream topping ingredients together with a fork until
well blended and uniform in color.  Spread this on top of the cheesecake.
    Cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours but not longer than 48 hours (not
that it’s going to last that long - yum!).  Once you’re ready to eat it,
open the springform and remove it, but leave the cake in the pan.  The
springform should come away cleanly, as the mixture shrinks slightly during
baking.  You can put the springform back onto the pan if you need to
transport the cake.

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