Chocolate Swirled Cheesecake with Oatmeal Crust (GF!)

I like the challenge of baking gluten free. My dad and sister are restricted by the diet, so when my parents were here last weekend I loved brainstorming dessert ideas.

I don’t love the flavor of gluten free flour, so I typically choose to bake things that don’t require flour at all. A couple weeks ago I made this brownie bottom cheesecake, and I loved the cheesecake part so much I decided to make it again, but with an oatmeal crust…with lots of brown sugar and honey! And chocolate swirled and mixed in!

I developed the crust recipe based on a few assumptions:

1.       Oatmeal tastes really good with brown sugar in it

2.       Honey couldn’t be a bad addition

3.       A cookie-like crust is fun, so let’s add an egg and some baking powder

4.       Everything should include butter

And it was a success! Add in a chocolate chip layer and a chocolate swirled-cheesecake, and you’re in business. The delicious dessert business.

Crust

• 3 cups Rolled Oats (buy GF to make sure, if required)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• Chocolate chips (optional)

Cheesecake

• 3 packages cream cheese
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 3 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 cups chocolate chips, melted

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease and line a 9-inch spring form pan with parchment paper. Mix all the crust ingredients except the chocolate chips, then bake 350 for about 15 minutes. Sprinkle crust with layer of chocolate chips. Let cool.

Reduce the oven to 325. Beat the cream cheese, sugar, sour cream, eggs and vanilla in a large bowl. Pour over the oatmeal crust. Melt the chocolate chips and then drop into glops on the cheesecake. Is glop a word? It seemed like the perfect description, but spell checker isn't buying it.

Finally, swirl the chocolate in with a toothpick. Bake for about an hour to an hour ten, then let cool and refrigerate for several hours before serving.