recipe: funfetti cake batter cheesecake

i needed a lil nosh to bring to a party this weekend, and haven't baked anything and/or searched recipes in a while sadly. i had this recipe saved on foodgawker.com from Teenage Taste that seemed like the perfect lil fix. they were very easy to put together, although unfortunately did not come out as cute as the ones on TT's site - although i used less food coloring than recommended, the green i made was a tad more of a minty hue. no harm, no foul, but i personally hate overly food-colored deserts. i prepped it verbatim otherwise, adding in a bit more sprinkles and some of the mixing process. they still did taste really good which is mostly all that matters though.

ingredients list: 
- 1 & 3/4 cups vanilla cookie crumbs (Nilla wafers)
- 6 tbsp butter, melted
- 16 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp granulated sugar, divided
- 1/2 cup yellow cake mix
- 2 eggs + 1 egg yolk
- 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp milk
- 1 & 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 - 1/2 cup sprinkles
- 3-5 drops green food coloring (the original recipe has 5 drops blue, 3 drops green... i added 5 total and found that to be a touch too much)

to make: preheat oven to 350 degrees F. grease a 9-inch baking pan, line with parchment paper, and set aside.

stir together cookie crumbs, 2 tbsp sugar, and melted butter. press into the bottom of the prepared pan. bake about 8-10 minutes, until crust just begins to brown.

beat cream cheese with a mixer on medium speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. add remaining sugar and beat until smooth. add the milk, vanilla, salt, and cake mix and beat again until completely combined and smooth. stir in the sprinkles and add the eggs, gently stirring until combined. 

pour batter over the prepared crust, and bake until just set, about 40 - 45 minutes, using a water bath if preferred. allow to cool 30 minutes in the open oven, then 30 minutes at room temperature, then refrigerate for at least 3 hours before slicing and serving.