Make your very own Bacon Cheesecake!
Preparation time approximately 2 hours.

What you will need:

I. Food

a. 1/3 Cup of melted butter
b. 1 Box of cinnamon graham crackers or 1½ Cup crushed cinnamon graham crackers
c. 26 oz, 3¼ packages, cream cheese
d. One 14oz. can sweetened condensed milk
e. 2 tsp. vanilla extract
f. 2 eggs
g. 3 pounds of bacon

II. Cooking Instruments

a. 9”x2” cake pan
b. Cooking sheet
c. Rubber spatula
d. Wire whisk or automatic mixer
i. If you are using a wire whisk look for special notes
e. Measuring cups
f. Measuring spoons
g. Paper towels
h. Aluminum foil
i. 1 large bowl
j. A few small bowls and some plates

Step 1: Cooking the Bacon!

The first place to start is with the bacon because of how much you will be using and wanting to eat while cooking. Each batch of bacon will take about 20 minutes the amount of bacon in each batch depends on how large of a cooking sheet you have.

What you will need:

A. Cooking sheet
B. Aluminum foil
C. Bacon
D. Plate
E. Paper towels

Cooking steps:

1. Cover top of plate with 2 paper towels for the bacon when it is done cooking.
2. Cover the top of the cooking sheet with the aluminum foil.
3. Place the bacon on the aluminum foil, you don’t need any space in-between the bacon but don’t have the bacon overlap.
4. Place the bacon on the cooking sheet in the oven on the center rack then set the oven to 400°F.
5. Let the bacon cook for 16 minutes, after this time look at the bacon if it is a golden brown or darker take it out. You do not want to bacon to look pink at all this will end up with the bacon being under cooked and not crispy enough. If the bacon needs more time let it stay in for 2-5 more minutes then check again.

*NOTE* I used thick cut bacon and it took about 23 minutes for my first batch to be crispy enough if you have thin bacon it should take less time.

6. After the bacon is the right color take it out of the oven and transfer it to the plate with the paper towel on it and dispose of the excess bacon grease.
7. Repeat these steps until you have cooked all of the bacon.

*NOTE* You do not need to let the oven cool down to room temperature after cooking the first batch. Still check the bacon after 16 minutes and extend time as needed.

Step 2: Special Note

If you are using a wire whisk you will want to wait until the bacon is finished cooking before moving too much further. This is because you will have to tear the bacon into little pieces to put into the batter later.

Step 3: The Crust

Now that the bacon is cooking you can start getting the rest of the cheesecake made. Start first with preparing the crust of the cheesecake.

What you will need:

A. 1/3 Cup of melted butter
B. 1 Box of cinnamon graham crackers or 1½ Cup crushed cinnamon graham crackers
C. 9”x2” cake pan
D. Measuring cups
E. Something to crush the graham crackers with if needed, I used a metal measuring cup

Preparation:

1. If you need to crush the graham crackers place a few into either a bowl or into the cake pan and crush until there are only graham cracker crumbs.
2. Pour 1½ cups of the cinnamon graham cracker crumbs into the cake pan.
3. Pour 1/3 of a cup of melted butter into cake pan.
4. Mix the butter and cinnamon graham cracker crumbs together then presses the mixture down on the bottom of the cake pan.

*Note* For a New York style cheese cake do not press any of the crumb mixture onto the side of the cake pan

Step 4: The Filling

Now that the crust is ready it’s time to make the filling of the cheesecake.

What you will need:

A. One 14oz. can sweetened condensed milk
B. 26 oz, 3¼ packages, cream cheese
C. 2 tsp. vanilla extract
D. 2 eggs
E. Rubber spatula
F. Wire whisk or automatic mixer
G. Measuring spoons
H. 1 large bowl
I. Cooked Bacon

Preparation:

1. Soften the cream cheese by putting it into a bowl and microwaving it for 49 seconds

*Note* This may take longer depending on your microwave

2. Transfer the softened cream cheese into the large bowl if it is not in one already
3. Beat the cream cheese until it becomes fluffy
4. Slowly mix in the sweetened condensed milk to the cream cheese
5. Add the 2 eggs and vanilla and mix until smooth
6. Once smooth mix in the bacon

*Note* If you are using an automatic mixer you can just add in the bacon without breaking it into little pieces the automatic mixer will take care of breaking up the bacon for you. Make sure you don’t have any large pieces of bacon in the mix before moving on.

7. Change the oven temperature to 300°F

Step 5: Putting It All Together

Now that the filling is finished there are just a few more steps left.

What you will need:

A. Filling
B. Cake pan with crust

Preparation:

1. Pour the filling into the cake pan
2. Twist the cake pan left and right then tap down the cake pan on a counter or table to evenly spread out the filling
3. Place the cheesecake on a cooking sheet and place in the oven for 1 hour
4. After that hour is up turn off the oven and open the door slightly. Leave the cheese cake in the oven for another hour
5. Place the cheesecake into the refrigerator for 6 hours or until firm

After that all that is left is clean up and enjoying your own Bacon Cheesecake.