Karla's New York Cheesecake

Crust:
1 c. flour
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. butter
1 large egg yolk
1/4 tsp. vanilla

Stir dry ingredients together in a medium mixing bowl. Cut butter into dry mixture and then add in yolk and vanilla. Mix together until a dough forms. Press dough into the bottom of a springform pan and slightly up the sides. Refrigerate (or freeze) while you make the filling and preheat the oven.

Preheat oven to 475 F with a pan filled with about 1/2 inch of water on the bottom rack.

Filling:
4 (8-oz) packages cream cheese
1 1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. flour
1/2 c. sour cream
2 tsp. vanilla
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
5 eggs, room temperature

Beat cream cheese thoroughly with a mixer until it's smooth. Add all other ingredients except for the eggs. Beat again, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl until it's very smooth. Add eggs one at a time, mixing just until blended. Pour filling into crust and bake for 10 minutes at 475 F. Reduce heat to 350 F and bake for about 45 minutes. Cool completely, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and refrigerate a minimum of 4 hours before serving. It's best after about 24 hours in the fridge.

You can serve it with fruit, of course, but it really (truly AND seriously 😉) doesn't need anything with it! We always eat it by itself (I refuse to say "plain") and it is probably our favorite dessert around here. Also, I am claiming it as my own since I've combined and tweaked three or four different recipes over the years until I settled on this.