Cheesecake or Pie?

Julianne's Apple Cinnamon Cheese Pie

I have made several cheesecakes now, and I find it interesting that they all have slightly different amounts of ingredients and different ways to cook it. I decided to make up my own recipe and see how it turns out. From the sounds of it, you can change a lot with a cheesecake, and it will still turn out good. This one is more of a cheesecake pie, hence the name "Cheese Pie".

Ingredients:

• 9 inch graham cracker crust
  

• 8 oz cream cheese
• 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup apple cider
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  

• 1 large apple or 2 small apples peeled and sliced thinly
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tbsp butter
• 1 tsp lemon juice (leave out if you use granny smith apples)

Directions:

1. Prepare a graham cracker crust or use pre-made graham cracker crust. Preheat oven to 350 F.
   
2. Beat softened cream cheese until smooth (this is important if you like your cheesecake smooth). Add brown sugar and beat until smooth. Add heavy cream, sour cream, apple cider, and vanilla.
3. In medium saucepan, saute apples with butter cinnamon and lemon juice until softened (medium to medium-low heat).
4. Beat egg in separate bowl. Add to cream cheese mixture and mix until consistency is even. Poor half of mixture into pie pan. Add apples in one layer (two if necessary). Poor rest of mixture into bowl. Optional: I saved about 1/4 cup of the mixture and added 1/2 tsp cinnamon. I then added this in drops/ swirls over top and used knife to create a marble effect. You can just add the cinnamon ahead of time if you prefer.
5. Put pie pan in large pan filled with about 1 inch of water (optional). Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes. Turn off oven and leave in oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, and let pie cool to room temperature. (All of this helps prevent cracking.)
   
6. Refrigerate several hours or over night. Enjoy!