Cranberry Marble Cheesecake

1 bag (12 oz.) fresh cranberries
3/4 C water
1/3 C sugar
1 1/4 C sugar
2 lbs. cream cheese, at room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla
4 eggs
1 pint sour cream, at room temp

Crust:
2 cups crushed graham crackers
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/3 cup melted butter

Preheat oven to 350� F. Mix cinnamon and crushed graham crackers together. Add melted butter and mix until well blended. Using fingers, press crust mixture into bottom and 2/3 of the way up the sides of a 9 inch springform pan. Bake crust for about 6 minutes until set. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, combine cranberries and water. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the cranberries pop and the mixture reduces to 1-1/4 cups, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in 1/3 cup sugar until dissolved. Pour the mixture through a coarse sieve to strain and let the pur�e cool completely.

Reduce oven temperature to 300 F degrees.

n a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the cream cheese with the remaining 1 1/4 cups sugar and the vanilla at until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating until just blended. Stir in the sour cream.

Spoon half the batter into the prepared pan. Drop 8-10 rounded teaspoons of the cranberry puree (about 1/3 of the puree) randomly over the batter. Spoon half of the remaining batter evenly over the first layer and dot with half of the remaining puree. Repeat with the remaining batter and puree. Try to space out the puree so one layer is not directly on top of the puree in another. Take a blunt knife and gently swirl it through the batter to distribute the cranberry puree, taking care not to disturb the crust.

Place the pan on a baking sheet and bake in the lower part of the oven for 1 hour. Turn the oven off and leave the cheesecake in the oven, without opening the door, for 1 hour longer. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool to room temperature. Cover and chill overnight before serving.

YIELD: 10-12 Servings