Bacon Cheesecake

This recipe is from Trader Joe’s. It was originally for a dairy-free cheesecake, but I used lactose-free cream cheese instead of a vegan cream cheese. I tweaked a few things in the recipe (including doubling the sweeteners); the version below is mine. You could of course use graham crackers or another cereal for the crust. We enjoyed this cake, and the Little Prince was particularly tickled to see bacon in a dessert!

4 cups multigrain Puffins cereal
4 strips bacon, cooked and divided
½ cup margarine, melted (I think this would work with coconut oil, too)
2 8-oz. containers lactose-free cream cheese (vegan or not), at room temperature
2 large eggs
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup maple syrup

Preheat oven to 350 °F.

In a food processor, combine cereal and two strips of bacon. Pulse to create crumbs. Mix crumbs with buttery spread. Press into a 9-inch pie plate (I used a springform pan). Bake for 10 minutes and set aside to cool.

In a mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, eggs, sugar and maple syrup. Using a hand mixer on medium speed, blend the ingredients until smooth and creamy. Pour into cooled crust. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Let cool.

Crumble two remaining strips of bacon and save for garnish. Refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.