Cranberry Cheesecake Day Date in the current year: November 9, 2024

Cheesecake is one of the world’s most popular and oldest desserts; its history can be traced back to ancient Greece. Of course, those early cheesecake didn’t have much in common with the modern cheesecake that developed in the 19th century in no small part thanks to the invention of commercial cream cheese.

The modern cheesecake is a baked or unbaked dessert that consists of a base (crust) made from crushed cookies, crackers, or pastry, topped with a mixture of a soft fresh cheese (cream cheese, cottage cheese, ricotta, or quark), eggs, and sugar. The main cheese layer may be flavored with various spices, lemon zest, pumpkin puree, chocolate, and other ingredients. The finished cheesecake may be topped with fresh or glazed fruit, chocolate syrup, fruit sauce, caramel, whipped cream, cookies, nuts, or other ingredients.

Cranberry cheesecake may be less popular than, say, blueberry or salted caramel cheesecake, but it’s a great seasonal treat, especially if you like your desserts to have both sweet and sour notes. This type of cheesecake is an excellent dessert for your Thanksgiving meal instead of the traditional pie or in addition to it.

Cranberry Cheesecake Day is one of Cheesecake Days created by Patti Jewel and her team at HolidaySmart. The daughter of a home baker who loved making cheesecake, Jewel decided this delicious dessert needed a holiday. She conceived the original National Cheesecake Day in 1985, but it didn’t get wide exposure until it was published online in 2001.

Since then, National Cheesecake Day has become one of the most popular food-related holidays, and Jewel has come up with more holidays celebrating specific types of cheesecake. Cranberry Cheesecake Day, established in 2012, is celebrated in early November to give you the opportunity to perfect your cranberry cheesecake recipe just in time for Thanksgiving.

The best way to celebrate Cranberry Cheesecake Day is, of course, to enjoy a slice or two of this amazing dessert and spread the love for cheesecake on social media with the hashtag #CranberryCheesecakeDay. If you’re not much of a baker, that’s ok! You can pick up some cheesecake at your favorite bakery or go out for dinner with your significant other or friends and order a slice of cranberry cheesecake for dessert.

If you’re set on baking a cranberry cheesecake, here’s a recipe for you to try. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease the sides of a 9-inch springform pan and line the bottom with parchment paper or a double layer of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Place the pan on a baking sheet.

In a small bowl, mix 2 cups shortbread cookie or graham cracker crumbs and 1/3 cup melted butter. Press the mixture onto the bottom of the prepared pan, bake for 6 minutes, remove from the oven, and let the crust cool while you’re making the topping and filling.

To make the cranberry topping, combine 2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries, 2/3 cup sugar and 1/3 cup water in a large saucepan. Cook over medium heat for about 15 minutes (until the berries pop). Add 1 tsp lemon juice, press the mixture through a food mill into a bowl, and set aside.

To make the filling, beat 4 8-ounce packages of softened cream cheese, 1 cup sugar and 1 tbsp lemon juice in a large bowl until smooth. Add 5 lightly beaten eggs and beat on low speed until blended. Pour the filling into the crust. Spoon ¼ cup topping over the filling.

Bake in a water bath for about an hour (until the center is just set). Remove the pan from the water bath and cool the cheesecake on a wire rack for about 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around the edge of the pan and leave the cheesecake for an hour. Pour the remaining topping over the cheesecake and refrigerate overnight. Remove the pan before serving.