White Chocolate Hazelnut Cheesecake

Grease a 9-inch springform pan and set aside.

Place hazelnuts in a shallow baking pan in a single layer. Bake in a 350 degrees F oven for about 8 minutes or until toasted, stirring once. Cool.

Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees F.

Place toasted nuts in a food processor bowl. Cover and process until nuts are coarsely chopped. Add broken graham crackers and the 1/4 cup sugar. Cover and process until graham crackers are in fine crumbs. Add melted butter, then cover and process until combined.

Press hazelnut mixture onto the bottom and 1 inch up the side of the prepared pan. Bake crust in the 325 degrees F oven for 10 minutes. Cool in pan on a wire rack.

For Filling: In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and the 1-1/4 cups sugar with an electric mixer on medium to high speed until combined. Add eggs all at once and beat on low speed just until combined (Do not over beat).

Stir in white chocolate and liqueur or milk. Pour filling into the crust-lined pan. Place on a shallow baking pan. Bake in the 325 degrees F oven for 55 to 60 minutes or until center appears nearly set when shaken. Cool in pan on wire rack for 15 minutes.

Loosen crust from side of pan and cool 30 minutes more. Remove side of the pan and cool cheesecake completely (top of cheesecake may crack during cooling). Cover and chill in refrigerator for 4 to 48 hours.