Amaretto Cheesecake with Raspberry Sauce recipe

Crust:
1/4 cup butter
2 cups chopped almonds
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Filling:
12 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons Amaretto
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Sauce:
3 cups frozen unsweetened raspberries, thawed
2 teaspoons Amaretto
Granulated sugar, to taste

In 9-inch microwavable quiche dish, shallow round baking dish or deep pie plate, melt butter at HIGH (100% power) for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Stir in almonds and sugar until evenly coated with butter. Press into bottom and sides of dish. Microwave at HIGH 2 to 3 minutes or until firm. If necessary rotate dish during cooking.

Filling: Beat cream cheese and sugar until light. Beat in eggs one at a time. Add sour cream, Amaretto or almond liqueur, vanilla extract and almond extract. Beat until smooth. Pour into baked crust. Microwave uncovered at MEDIUM (50% power) for 14 to 18 minutes or until cheesecake is almost set in center. Rotate dish partway through cooking if necessary. Cool on countertop to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate until serving time.

Sauce: Reserve some whole raspberries for garnish. Puree remaining raspberries. Push through sieve to remove seeds. Stir 2 tablespoons Amaretto or almond liqueur into puree. Add sugar to taste.

To serve, spoon some sauce onto dessert plates. Place slice of cheesecake on sauce. Garnish with reserved berries.

NOTE: If you prefer use 1 cup graham cracker crumbs with 1/2 cup finely chopped almonds for the crust. Use a food processor and pulse to chop nuts to an even consistency rather than a fine powder. Also you could substitute strawberries for the raspberries. To omit liqueur, increase almond extract in the filling to 1 teaspoon and use just a drop in the raspberry puree.