I’m a sucker for sales. Those bright flashy signs act like a super magnet, luring me in and pulling me closer until I’m face-to-face with the price tag. And with such a reduced rate, who am I to resist?
Okay, so I’m pretty good about avoiding discounts on jeans and jewelry… Clothing sales just aren’t as tempting as those at the grocery store! (I’m strange, I know.) I draw the line at pork rinds and Portobello mushrooms, but everything else is fair game!
On one of my leisurely trips down the baking aisle in April, I stopped at the chocolate chips section. While pulling out my coupons to choose which kind to purchase, my eyes zeroed in on one of those bold “SALE!” tags. “Cinnamon Chips — just $1.50! (While supplies last.)” As a cinnamon addict—I only buy the Costco-sized jars since I run through regular-sized ones in a month—I couldn’t resist. I snatched up a bag, completely forgetting about the chocolate chips, and hugged it to my chest.
I spent weeks deciding on the first dessert to try them in. Cookies? Too predictable. Cake? Too boring. Ice cream? Too easy. Scones? Hmm, maybe…
I continued mulling over the possibilities during my evening walk, and right as I turned the final corner to head back home, “cheesecake” popped into my mind. Cinnamon Chip Cheesecake. It has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?
But I proceeded to procrastinate on it, first making my Candy Bar Cheesecake, then waiting for cream cheese to go back on sale. And graham crackers too. (Told you I’m a sucker!)
I finally rounded up all of the ingredients last week and scribbled down a recipe. As soon as I finished the photo shoot—and before I could take more than a taste off the blade of the knife—I packed it up in my car and drove 1½ hours to visit my parents. They actually snuck the first two slices while I went out to run errands, and…
Well, let’s just say that their eyes lit up like light bulbs when I offered to leave half of it in their fridge. And my mom declared it to be the best cheesecake she’s ever had.
Now, if only Safeway would put cinnamon chips on sale again…
While we loved this on its own, I’d highly recommend serving with sautéed apples, whipped cream, or a drizzle of caramel sauce!
- Preheat the oven to 300°, and lightly coat a 9” springform pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- To prepare the crust, add the graham crackers to a food processor, and pulse until they turn into fine crumbs. Mix together the graham cracker crumbs, butter, and 1 egg white in a small bowl. Press the mixture into the bottom and slightly up the sides of the prepared pan. Bake at 300° for 8 minutes, then cool completely.
- To prepare the filling, cream the cream cheese and sugar in a medium bowl. Add in the remaining egg whites, flour, and vanilla, mixing well. Fold in the cinnamon chips.
- Spread the filling on top of the cooled crust, and bake at 300° for 40-45 minutes, or until the center barely jiggles when shaken. Cool to room temperature before covering with plastic wrap, ensuring that it touches the top of the cheesecake, and chill for at least 8 hours.
What a delicious idea with the cinnamon chips! Lovely photos 🙂
J+C
Thank you Judit and Corina! That’s very sweet of you. Sometimes I can’t decide which I like better — taking the photos or eating the dessert after!
Oh…my…gosh. OH MY GOSH! First of all I share you love for sales on food items. Clothes don’t really make me swoon quite like cheap produce and candy, but I do love anything on sale really. This cheesecake looks like the most heavenly slice of cloudy pillow deliciousness. YUM!
You are my sale IDOL, Brittany!! I still can’t get over all of those donuts you got for free in April… And your trips to Seattle always seem to end in some yummy cheap treats too! Have you ever made a vegan cheesecake before? I know you’ve done pumpkin pie with tofu, but I’d love to hear your other tricks for creamy vegan desserts!
This looks wonderful Amy! I have no idea where I could find cinnamon chips here in Australia but I need to go hunting! My husband loves cheesecake. I’m more into lighter desserts myself but I think he would adore this recipe! xx
Thank you Laura! I’ve seen the cinnamon chips at large superstores and grocery chains, but I’m not sure if you have anything like that. One of my favorite bloggers, Stef from Cupcake Project actually has her own recipe here for making pumpkin pie chips (which are really similar to cinnamon, if you just use cinnamon instead of pumpkin pie spice), in case you can’t find any in stores! (I haven’t tried it yet though.)
Amy, this looks completely amazing! All your procrastinating (and that evening walk – that’s usually when I do some of my best thinking, too!) paid off big-time! YUM!!!!
Aww thank you Shelley!! You’re so sweet. I can’t even count the number of times I’ve come up with recipe ideas on my evening walks… Something about getting outside the house must get our creative juices flowing!
Really it looks very very delicious^^
Thank you Lilia! My parents thought so too, and my dad even requested it for his birthday dessert in September!
I will try it too ^^
thanks Amy 🙂
My pleasure, Lilia!
Definitely my favorite flavor of “flavored” cheesecakes ever. Not too sweet, not too rich. The cinnamon complements the creamy tastes so well….
Blue ribbon winner!!!
Thank you! 🙂 I’m glad you enjoyed it, and it just might show up at your house again in September…
I would love to make this for Christmas. One problem – someone has a sodium restriction and cream cheese is quite high in sodium. Do you think there is anything I could substitute?
That’s so kind of you to bake this for your loved ones for Christmas Kari! To reduce the sodium, I’d recommend using 2 cups of plain nonfat Greek yogurt in place of 2 blocks of cream cheese. In addition, substitute cornstarch for the flour (just a 1-for-1 substitution); this will help the cheesecake thicken better since Greek yogurt is more liquidy than cream cheese. I hope you enjoy it!