My mom's cheesecake

this is the most basic, fantastic cheesecake recipe EVER. you can add fresh fruit or drizzle with chocolate to serve, but it can be enjoyed plain as well. its a staple at our house.

graham cracker pie shell

2 8oz cream cheeses, softened (i'll say it here, i only use philadelphia brand for this)
2 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla

blend all 4 ingredients together until very smooth, possibly 2-3 minutes depending on how powerful your hand mixer is. pour into pie crust, bake at 375 for 15-17 minutes. remove from oven and let cool for 15 minutes. make the following sour cream topping:

1 1/2 cups sour cream
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla
mix well, spread carefully over warm cheesecake

put back in the oven at 425 for 10-12 minutes. serves 6-8. cool overnight or at least 8 hours before serving.

*a note. there are some graham cracker pie shells that say "extra large" or "larger serving" or something to that effect. if you use this shell, increase ingredients by 1/3, so you will be using 3 cream cheeses, 3 eggs, 1 cup of sugar and 1 1/2 tsp vanilla. bake for full 17-19 minutes, do not brown. increase topping to 2 cups sour cream, 3 tsp sugar and 1 1/2 tsp vanilla. bake 15 minutes at 425.