1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180 degrees C).
2. Mix the crust ingredients in medium bowl.
3. Add butter and stir until moist clumps form – If variations in the crust have been made, a little more butter may need to be added, as little as possible.
4. Press mixture over bottom and 1 inch up sides of 10-inch-diameter springform pan. (A flat bottomed cup is very helpful to make the crust even and flat and work it up the sides of the pan.
5. Check the crust in good light to make certain there are no holes and gently nudge to cover them.
6. Bake crust until just set, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
7. Reduce oven temperature to 325°F (160 degrees C).

For filling

1. Beat cream cheese and sugar together in large bowl until just blended, stopping and scraping the sides once or twice.
2. Beat in eggs 1 at a time, until just mixed in. Scrape bottom and sides before adding the next egg.
3. Add both extracts and mix in.
   Note: Blend until just mixed, not to add in air, and as beat little as possible for the best textured cheesecake.
4. Pour half of mixture into prepared crust and level with a spatula; sprinkle with chopped up toffee bars or other candy/cookie of your choice.
5. Gently dollop the remaining mixture over. Use a spatula to carefully nudge the the cheesecake mixture over the toffee bars/candy until well covered, gently smooth the top. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but even and level is best.
6. Bake until edges are puffed and well set, but center still has a very slight jiggle. The top should be a nice golden brown, about 55 minutes (Don’t worry about any cracks that have formed on the top of the cheesecake as it will be covered by the topping)

Meanwhile, prepare topping

1. Mix sour cream, sugar and vanilla in medium bowl until smooth. Again, try not to beat air into the mixture.
2. Pour topping over hot cheesecake, smooth with spatula if needed. If you see any bubbles, smooth them out. Bake cake until topping is just set, about 5 to 7 minutes. The topping should not be brown.
3. Transfer to rack and cool 10 minutes. Run knife between cake and pan sides. (This will prevent the cheesecake and topping from pulling as it shrinks in the pan while being chilled.)
4. Chill cake uncovered overnight.
5. Remove pan sides and place cake on platter. Garnish top with candies.

Helpful Hints:

• The bottom of a cheesecake pan has a lip on it – for easiest removal and cutting of a cheesecake when you put the pan together, put it together with the lip down. I know it is a bit more difficult and looks like there is a small gap on the inside of the pan between the bottom and the sides – trust me, the gap won’t be a problem and it will be much easier to cut and slice the cheesecake and remove a slice intact.
• When I place the cheesecake on a platter or cake stand, I often just keep it on the bottom portion of the springform pan. It doesn’t show until it’s time to cut.
• When cutting the cheesecake, use a long thin knife and a downward motion. Wipe the knife clean between slices.
• This is a great recipe to use up a little Halloween candy!