Oreo Peach Cheesecake

As promised, here is the second installment of my favorite peach delights. This is a recipe I have been developing for two years. Last year was catastrophic for the South Carolina peach industry. Due to very severe weather conditions, South Carolina lost over 80 pecent of its peach crop. Since peaches are a seasonal fruit, and I refused to attempt developing this recipe using canned or frozen peaches, I was forced to experiment only during the peach growing season. Finally I am pleased to say that I have perfected my recipe. I hope you will agree.

Oreo Peach Cheesecake

Ingredients
Crust:
1 ¾ cups Oreo cookie crumbs
5 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons sugar
Filling:
1 pound peaches, peeled, pitted and sliced
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
4 - 8 ounce packages Cream cheese
1 cup sugar
5 eggs
1 teaspoon lemon rind, grated
1 ½ teaspoons Vanilla
Glaze:
½ cup peach preserves
1 ½ teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Preparation
Crust:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Blend cookie crumbs, butter and sugar and press firmly against bottom and sides of a 9 inch spring form pan. Cover bottom of pan with aluminum foil.
Filling :
Combine peaches, 2 tablespoons sugar and lemon juice in a heavy sauce pan. Cover and cook over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves and peaches are juicy - about 5 minutes. Cool.
Beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually add sugar and vanilla. Beat in eggs one at a time. Add lemon rind and beat until smooth.
Pour half of mixture into prepared crust and spoon in peaches, spaced evenly. Top with remaining cream cheese mixture.
Place pan in another larger pan and fill halfway with hot water.
Bake for 60 – 70 minutes or until firm. Turn off oven; leaving door slightly ajar, allow to cool in oven for one hour.
Remove from oven and cool completely in pan. Chill in fridge for 4 hours or overnight.
Glaze:
Combine peach preserves and lemon juice in a saucepan and stir over medium heat until it comes to a simmer. Strain into a small bowl. Remove side of pan and spread glaze over top of cheesecake, leaving a ¼ inch edge around cake. Chill until glaze is set – approximately 2 – 4 hours.