Ingredients

　　One 21-ounce can apple pie filling

　　One 9-inch graham cracker crust

　　Two 8-ounce packages cream cheese, at room temperature

　　1/2 cup sugar

　　1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

　　2 eggs

　　1/4 cup caramel topping

　　12 pecan halves, plus 2 tablespoons chopped pecans

　　Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Reserve 3/4 cup of the apple filling; set aside. Spoon the remaining filling into the crust. Beat together the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Add the eggs and mix well. Pour this over the pie filling. Bake for 35 minutes, or until the center of the cake is set. Cool to room temperature. Mix the reserved pie filling and caramel topping in a 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 of the cake with pecan halves and sprinkle with chopped pecans. Refrigerate the cake until ready to serve.

　　The Lady & Sons, Too! by Paula Deen. © 2001 by Paula H. Deen. Published by Random House. All Rights Reserved.Paula H. Deen was born and raised in Albany, Georgia. She later moved to Savannah, where she and her two sons, Bobby and Jamie, started the Bag Lady catering company. The business took off and evolved into The Lady & Sons Restaurant, which is located in Savannah’s historic district and specializes in Southern cooking. Paula is the host of Food Network’s Paula’s Home Cooking and is a regular guest on QVC, where her cookbooks are one of the newtowrk’s biggest sellers.