Simple Cheesecake

Cheesecake is a classic, well-loved dessert. Here is a simple recipe for a baked cheesecake, that uses only four ingredients for the filling. It uses a good portion of cream cheese and no other fillings such as sour cream, but simply cream cheese, and low-fat cream cheese at that. 

Simple Cheesecake
one 9-inch crust (see NOTE)
4 packages light cream cheese spread, softened
1 cup granulated (white) sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 large eggs, at room temperature

Preheat oven to 325◦F. 
In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese on medium-low speed until light and smooth. Beat in the vanilla. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until just blended, scraping the bowl as necessary. Pour into prepared crust. 
Bake for 45-60 minutes until cake is set, but center is still slightly jiggly. Cool slightly, then remove or loosen from pan and cool completely. Chill for several hours until cold. 

NOTE: Any type of 9-inch prepared or baked crust can be used for this cheesecake, depending on what type of flavor you would like.
For a homemade crust, a general rule is to combine 1 1/4 cups cookie or cracker crumbs with 1/4 cup melted butter or hard margarine, and 2-4 Tablespoons of sugar if using crackers or less sweet cookies. 
Graham crackers, chocolate wafer cookies, gingersnaps, and shortbread cookies all work well.