I pondered what to bake for Valentine’s Day for quite some time this year. I thought about a special steak sous vide dinner at home, with roasted Brussels sprouts and baked sweet potatoes – some of our favorite things, along with a gorgeous red wine.
But, I also thought long and hard about dessert.
I was determined to do something different and delicious. Well, that’s nothing new, of course. I thought about sugar cookies, heart-shaped with pink and red decor. That would fit perfectly. Or something pink and strawberry-chocolatey. While both of those are great ideas, they also seem sort of cliché.

So, I settled upon something not so Valentine-y at all, but still sweet and devilishly delicious: Salted Caramel Walnut Cinnamon Cheesecake.

Salted Caramel Walnut Cinnamon Cheesecake

Crust:
2 pkg cinnamon graham crackers
16 Tbs. butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Line the bottom of a cheesecake pan with parchment paper.

In the bowl of a food processor, process the grahams into a fine crumb. Add the melted butter and pulse until well combined.

Push the crust into the cheesecake pan, even on all sides and flat on top. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees.

Salted Caramel Walnut Filling:
2 cups cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/2 cup Wellnut Farms Salted Caramel Walnut Butter
1 cup powdered sugar
3 large eggs

cinnamon sugar

After wiping clean the food processor bowl, process all filling ingredients until smooth.

Pour and spread over the cooled crust.
Bake at 300 degrees for one hour.
Keep the oven door closed – opening risks disturbing the delicate cheesecake – and turn off the oven. Keep the cheesecake in the OFF oven for an additional one hour.
Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature.
Chill for several hours before dusting with cinnamon sugar, if desired.