Gluten Free Pina Colada Cheesecake

Serves 10-12

1/4 cup sweetened, flaked coconut crust
2 cups gluten free granola
2 tablespoons tapioca starch (easily found at Asian markets)
1 tablespoon brown sugar, packed
4 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons toasted coconut (optional)

Cheesecake:
1 pound cream cheese, softened
7 tablespoons frozen Bacardi pina colada mix, defrosted
1/2 teaspoon rum extract
1/8 teaspoon coconut extract (optional)
8 ounces Cool Whip® whipped topping, thawed
1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained
3 pineapple slices, drained
Cherries (optional)

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

To toast the coconut, spread all of the coconut in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake for about 10 minutes. Stir after 5 minutes. Continue baking until most of the coconut is a nice toasty color. Remove from the oven and cool.

To make the crust, place granola in a food processor blender and chop until fine. Add in tapioca starch and brown sugar. Mix well. Pour mixture into a 9-inch springform pan. Melt the butter and pour over crust mixture. Mix well. Pat crust down tightly into pan. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of toasted coconut, if desired. Bake for about 10 minutes or until crust is browned. Cool.

To make the filling, beat the cream cheese until creamy. Gradually add pina colada mix to cream cheese, mixing at medium speed on electric mixer until blended. Beat in rum and coconut extract. Take a scoop of Cool Whip and beat into cream cheese mixture to lighten it. Fold in remaining Cool Whip.

To assemble the cheesecake, put crushed pineapple in several layers of clean cheesecloth. Twist and squeeze to remove as much liquid as possible. For the pineapple slices, drain and carefully blot with paper towels to remove as much liquid as possible.

Spread about 1 cup of cream cheese filling onto cooled crust, being careful not to pull up the crust while spreading. Sprinkle with the pineapple. Spread on the remainder of the cream cheese filling. Top with pineapple slices, cherries and toasted coconut.

Chill until ready to serve.