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Meet Flat Stanley --

Sandra Anderson, a teacher at North Liberty Elementary School, reads my column every day and she invited me to join in her second graders' Flat Stanley Project. Flat Stanley, the main character in a children's book written by Jeff Brown, becomes as flat as a piece of paper when his bulletin board falls on him in the middle of the night and he goes traveling on journeys. The Flat Stanley project gives kids a chance to practice writing and reading. Abigail, one of Ms. Anderson's students, sent me the nicest letter along with a Flat Stanley she made.

Dear Mrs. Beecher,

Hello! My name is Abigail. I am in Ms. Anderson's second grade class. I am excited to be your Flat Stanley buddy! Please take good care of Flat Stanley. He is a very nice boy. I want to tell you a little bit about myself. I am a beach girl. My favorite color is pink. I like books. I love chocolate. I have written some stories by myself. I know how to play the violin. I am pretty good, too!

I want to ask you a few questions. What is your favorite animal? How long have you known Ms. Anderson?

Thank you once more for being my Flat Stanley buddy. I hope we will become friends.

Your pal,
Abigail

P.S. Please remember to take Flat Stanley with you everywhere you go. He loves marble cheesecake.

So I decided to bake a marble cheesecake for Flat Stanley and here's my recipe.

Enjoy the cheesecake and thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends like Flat Stanley.

Flat Stanley joined me shopping for the
ingredients to make the marble cheesecake.

He was also a great help in mixing up the batter.

And our finished product. Thanks, Flat Stanley, I couldn't have done it without you.

Marble Cheesecake

Cheesecake filling
3 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 eggs
1 1/2 squares (1 1/2 ounce) unsweetened baking chocolate, broken into pieces

Graham Cracker Crust
Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, stir together 1 cup graham cracker crumbs and 2 Tablespoons sugar, blend in 1/4 cup melted butter. Mix well. Press mixture onto bottom and 1/2 inch up side of 9-inch springform pan. Bake 8 to 10 minutes. Cool.

Making the Marble Cheesecake

Heat oven to 450 degrees.

Combine cream cheese, 3/4 cup of the sugar, sour cream and 2 teaspoons of the vanilla. Beat on medium speed until smooth. Add flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, blending. Add eggs, beat well.

In a small bowl, microwave on High 1 to 1 1/2 minutes or just until chocolate is melted and smooth when stirred. Add 1 1/2 cups cream cheese mixture, remaining 1/4 cup sugar and remaining 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Blend well.

Spoon plain and chocolate mixtures alternately into prepared crust, ending with dollops of chocolate on top, gently swirl with knife or spatula.

Bake 10 minutes then decrease temperature to 250 degrees. Continue to bake 35 minutes. Cheesecake will look solid, but a little jiggly in the middle and the circle around edge will be slightly puffed up. Remove from oven, set pan on rack to cool, and loosen cake from rim of pan immediately. Run a spatula around edge and release spring.

Cool completely, then remove rim. Refrigerate.