Julia's Child
The Original cheesecake is the one that started it all!
This family favorite recipe was passed down to me by my mother, Julia, a.k.a. Judy. She stumbled upon this recipe while shopping one day at the local country pharmacy. It was sitting on the check out counter so she took a copy home. One of the main ingredients it calls for is "pure vanilla extract located behind the counter of your local pharmacist". My favorite line. You know a recipe is good when it's been passed down through the generations. It's amusing to me that pure vanilla was once considered a behind the counter commodity.
She brought the recipe home and baked it for the holidays. I remember the first time we tasted it. We all just stopped and looked at each other. We had eaten cheesecake my whole life growing up and this was by far better than any we had ever tried before. I declared right then and there that she was not to give out this recipe. That I was going to do something with it one day. That was nearly 30 years ago!!
Some dreams take time to come to fruition. But here we are all these years later with over 40 different flavors in multiple sizes and an actual storefront bakery!
*****
My mother grew up in a small country town in Georgia with dirt roads and plenty of Southern hospitality and charm. Where everyone knew each other and no one ever locked their doors. Life was simple back then. Much like this original vanilla cheesecake. Sometimes you just need to stop and go back home to your roots. No matter how many flavors have been added to this recipe nothing will ever compare to the simple taste of home