Pineapple Cheesecake

Homemade crust prepared from crushed vanilla wafers, melted butter, and ground cinnamon. Crust topped with mixture of gelatin, crushed pineapple, cream cheese, sugar and frozen whipped topping. Dessert is chilled several hours until firm.

Ingredients -

1 cup finely crushed Vanilla Wafers
3 tablespoons Butter or Margarine, melted
1/2 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1 envelope Unflavored Gelatin
1 (8 ounces) can Crushed Pineapple, drained, liquid reserved
3 (8 ounces each) packages Cream Cheese, softened
3/4 cup Sugar
1 (8 ounces) container Frozen Whipped Topping, thawed

Preparation:

1. Mix wafer crumbs, butter and cinnamon; press firmly onto bottom of 9-inch springform pan. Set aside.

2. Sprinkle gelatin over reserved pineapple liquid in small saucepan. Let stand 1 minute. Cook on low heat 5 minutes until gelatin is completely dissolved, stirring occasionally. Beat cream cheese and sugar with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Gradually add gelatin mixture, mixing until blended.

3. Refrigerate until slightly thickened.

4. Add pineapple and whipped topping to gelatin mixture; stir gently until well blended. Pour over crust.

5. Refrigerate several hours or until firm.

6. Store leftover cheesecake in refrigerator.

Cheesecake Making Tips -

Cinnamon

True cinnamon is produced from the bark of a tree. The outer layers are scraped away leaving a light color inner layer that is dried and rolled into coils. The thin, brittle coils are sold in the United States, often labeled as Mexican cinnamon.