Grandma's Cheesecake

Holy cow, I can't believe it's been over a month since I posted a recipe! I feel like the semester just stared, but it's already 6 weeks to my first final. Luckily, we had Spring Break recently and I was graced with a visit from my mom and grandma.

My grandma's amazing. Period.

She lived with us growing up and used to cook us all sorts of stuff. She's Korean, though she was born in Yucatan (long story). We would have enchiladas for dinner one night and rice and kimchi the next!

She used to make these cheesecakes for friends, family members, and even coworkers. People loved it and I remember there always being one of these in the fridge, alongside a jar of homemade kimchi.

So, since this blog is dedicated to her and stubborn declarations of "I can make this better at home," here is her cheesecake, made better at home.

Grandma's Cheesecake

about 2 cups crushed cookies (nilla wafers, or graham crackers will work)
1 brick of cream cheese
1 16 oz tub of sour cream
1 small can sweetened condensed milk
2 eggs
1.5 tsp vanilla extract
4 tbsp sugar
1 stick butter

First, grind up the cookies with a rolling pin, or in a food processor. Melt the butter, and combine with cookies in a spring-form cheesecake pan.

Next, cream the eggs, cream cheese, and sweetened condensed milk together in a bowl until smooth. Pour over the graham cracker crust.

Bake just this layer for 30-40 minutes at 350 (just keep checking after 30 minutes to see when it's set).
In the meantime, stir together the sour cream, sugar, and vanilla extract. Once the bottom layer is set, pour this mixture over it and bake for another 10-15 minutes (until it's mostly set).

Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature before refrigerating until it's completely cool.