Last night was not a good sleeping night for me. Our new dog Speckles, although less than a year old, snores. Our two cats Goldilocks and Augustine purr, and my Ed occasionally, although not often, talks in his sleep. Usually the words are understandable, but not always.
So last night on my right side, sleeping on the floor beside the bed, Speckles was snoring. Augustine had found a sleeping space on my chest and was purring, and on my left Ed was speaking in an unknown tongue.
My only comfort was knowing there was a slice of Juanita Ford’s Caramel Apple Cheesecake still in the refrigerator for me to have with my coffee as a breakfast dessert.
I want you to make this cheesecake. Juanita got the recipe from the TV Food Channel and has used it often. She says that the wife of their former pastor Nate McLoughlin really liked the pie when Juanita carried it to the family after their daughter was born.
Juanita, whose husband Billy died in 1996, has been a member of Westside Baptist Church in Chester for 27 years or more. Westside is one of South Carolina’s oldest churches, dating back to the early 1900s, and averages around 100 for morning worship. After Rev. McLoughlin left, the church was served from August 2008 to November 2009 by Randy Woods, who died tragically at age 47. Lewis Dehann is currently serving as interim pastor. The church is part of Chester Association.
Some years after Juanita’s husband died, their daughter Nita and her husband, Aaron Faile, added rooms to the Ford home so she could be near her mother. The Failes have a son, Andy, and a daughter, Aaron. Juanita and her late husband Billy have another daughter, Jill, who is married to Larry Wilson, and they live next door. Larry works with the Gideons ministry, and the Wilsons have a daughter, Becky. The Fords’ son Billy, his wife Roxanne and their children – Ashley, Emily and Nathan – live in Greenwood.
Juanita Ford
Juanita is a regular at Sunday school and worship services at Westside, unless illness prevents her attendance. She is also active in the WMU and seniors of Westside. She sometimes serves with the food group on the church’s benevolence committee.
She always enjoyed working in the garden and cut her own grass until some time ago, when her children thought she shouldn’t continue doing so. She still doesn’t agree with them.
Juanita’s pie is a good one. It is also an easy one using purchased pie crust, pie filling, caramel topping, etc., so it goes together quickly. It will keep several days in the refrigerator – if it lasts that long. Make it on Saturday and have it waiting for you after church the next day for a delicious dessert for … Sunday Dinner.
Caramel Apple Cheesecake
1 21-ounce can apple pie filling
1 9-inch graham cracker crust
2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
½ cup sugar
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs, beaten
¼ cup caramel topping
12 pecan halves, plus 2 tablespoons chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Reserve ¾ cup apple pie filling and set aside. Spoon remaining filling into pie crust.
Beat together the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Add the eggs and mix well. Pour this over the pie filling in crust.
Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the center of cake is set. Cool to room temperature.
Mix the reserved pie filling and caramel topping in small saucepan and heat for about 1 minute or until spreadable. Spoon the apple-caramel mixture over the top of the cheesecake and spread evenly. Decorate the edge with the pecan halves and sprinkle the center with the chopped pecans. Refrigerate until ready to serve.