Prep Time: 25 minutes
Ingredients:
- 14 ounce can filled Viennese wafers
- 1/3 cup graham cracker crumbs
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
- 2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
- 2 cups cold eggnog
- 1-3/4 cups cold milk, plus
- 2 4-serving size instant French vanilla pudding mixes
- 2 tablespoons rum, divided
- 1/8 teaspooon freshly grounded nutmeg, plus
- 2 envelopes non-dairy whipped topping mix*
Preparation:
Reserve 1-cookie for garnish. Cut cookies in half and then cut one-inch off of each piece. Crush the 1-inch pieces into crumbs. Set aside remaining cookies for sides of cake. Combine cookie crumbs, graham cracker crumbs and butter. Mix well and press firmly into bottom of 9-inch springform pan.Beat cream cheese until smooth. Gradually add 1 cup eggnog. Blend until mixture is smooth. Add remaining eggnog, milk, pudding mixes, 1 tablespoon rum and nutmeg. Beat until well blended, about 1 minute. Only pour about 1-inch deep into pan.**
Place remaining cookies standing around the inside edge of pan. Spoon remaining cream cheese mixture in cookie lined pan.
Prepare whipped topping mix as directed also adding remaining rum. Spoon topping inside cookie edges and over cream cheese mixture. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight.
Carefully remove sides of pan. Cut remaining cookie into two piece and place on top of cake in a crisscross fashion. Grate nutmeg over entire top of cake.
* I chose non-dairy whipped topping because my cheesecake was going to be sitting out for hours. (Or so I thought, it was actually eaten fairly quickly.)
** The original recipe calls for the cookies to be added after the cake has been refrigerated. The pan sides are removed and then the cookies are pressed into the sides of the cheesecake. They are held together by tying a ribbon around the cake. I did this for the first couple of times I made the cake. It only looks good until you take the ribbon off. Once the ribbon is removed several of the cookies will fall off of the sides of the cake.
