Limoncello Cheesecake

Please, please, please make this today. I promise you'll thank me (unless you're on a diet in which case you'll curse me). It is sooo good! So good I didn't have the chance to take a picture before it was all gone! Seriously, it is THE best cheesecake I've EVER eaten and trust me, I've eaten a lot of cheesecake!!!

I was inspired by this recipe at No Fear Entertaining. Two changes: 1) Instead of graham crackers for the crust I used almond/hazelnut biscottis and 2) I skipped the lemon sauce - I'm a cheesecake purist, I prefer my cheesecake straight up to maximize the taste and texture of the cake.

2 cups biscotti crumbs
1 stick butter, melted
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp lemon extract

3 sticks of cream cheese, 8 oz each room temperature
1 cup sugar (squeezed together with zest of one lemon)
3 large eggs
1 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp lemon extract
1 tbsp Limoncello

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Begin to boil a large pot of water for the water bath.

Mix together the crust ingredients and press into your preferred pan. Set crust aside.

Combine cream cheese and sugar and cream together until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Add heavy cream, lemon extract, lemon juice, and Limoncello and blend until smooth and creamy.

Pour batter into prepared crust and tap the pan on the counter a few times to bring all air bubbles to the surface. Place pan into a larger pan and pour boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan. If cheesecake pan is not airtight, cover bottom securely with foil before adding water.

Bake 45 to 55 minutes, until it is almost done - you're looking for the cake to hold together, but still have a lot of jiggle to it in the center. Close the oven door, turn the heat off, and let rest in the cooling oven for one hour. This lets the cake finish cooking and cool down gently enough so that it won't crack on the top. After one hour, remove cheesecake from oven and lift carefully out of water bath. Let it finish cooling on the counter, and then cover and put in the fridge to chill. Once fully chilled, it is ready to serve.

Very rich but VERY GOOD!!!