Strawberry-strawberry Cheesecake

Total Time: 9 hrs Preparation Time: 1 hr Cook Time: 8 hrs

Ingredients

• Servings: 12
• 1 cup shortbread cookie (10-ounce such as lorna doone)
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 10 ounces frozen unsweetened strawberries, thawed, juices reserved (about 2 3/4 cups)
• 3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/3 cup strawberries or 1/3 cup currant jelly
• 3 pints baskets fresh strawberries, hulled, halved lengthwise

Recipe

• 1 for crust:.
• 2 preheat oven to 325°f butter 9-inch-diameter springform pan with 2 3/4-inch-high sides. grind cookies in processor to coarse crumbs. add butter and blend until crumbs are evenly moistened. press crumb mixture over bottom and 1 inch up sides of prepared pan. bake crust until just golden, about 8 minutes. set aside while preparing filling. maintain oven temperature.
• 3 for filling:.
• 4 puree thawed strawberries and juices in processor until smooth. measure 3/4 cup puree (reserve any remaining puree for another use); do not wash bowl. add cream cheese and sugar to processor. blend until smooth. using on/off turns, blend in flour. add eggs; process until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl occasionally. add 3/4 cup strawberry puree, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and almond extract; process until well blended. transfer filling to prepared crust.
• 5 bake cake until center is softly set and edges begin to color, puff and crack, about 1 hour 15 minutes. place hot cheesecake on rack. refrigerate uncovered on rack until cold, at least 4 hours. (can be made 2 days ahead. cover and keep refrigerated.).
• 6 for topping:.
• 7 using small knife, cut around pan sides to loosen cake; remove pan sides. stir jelly in heavy saucepan over low heat until melted. arrange berry halves atop cheesecake in concentric circles; brush with warm jelly to glaze. chill at least 1 hour and up to 8 hours.