Maple Bacon Cheesecake

• Preheat the oven to 350

Crust

• mix all the crust ingredients and toss lightly with a fork until well blended.
• Press firmly into the bottom of a 9-inch spring form pan.
• Bake on the bottom rack until crisp and golden, 10-12 min.
• Let cool.

Cheesecake

• Reduce oven to 300 and place baking dish full of hot water on the bottom rack to create moisture (leave this in while baking).
• Beat cheese and sugar on med until light and fluffy, about 30-60 sec.
• Add the vanilla, maple flavoring, and maple syrup
• Scrape the bowl, beat 45 sec more – make sure it’s smooth with no chunks.
• Add the eggs and yolks and pulse until they are incorporated and the batter is velvety, about 30 sec – do NOT overbeat.
• Pour the filling over the crust, sprinkle on chopped bacon, and barely blend
• bake on the center rack until golden, about 1 hour.
• When you open the rack and shift the pan the center 6 inches will jiggle more than the rest, like a loose jello jiggler. This is the trick to learn, you might slightly undercook (not bad) or slightly overcook (okay) the first time as you get used to this style.
• Turn the oven off and crack open the door and let the cake cool for about 30 mins

Topping

• melt the butter and brown sugar and bring to a boil
• add the maple syrup and bring to a boil again
• add the cream and stir until totally incorporated, add the vanilla, bacon, and nuts
• pour over the cooled cheesecake and then refrigerate overnight, cheesecake tastes better after a day or two in the fridge.