Cherry topped New York Cheesecake

Since I started cooking, I have only attempted one cheesecake.  I was talking to some friends that were coming over for Christmas dinner and I was talking about possibly making cheesecake for dessert instead of pies.  They seemed to jump on that idea, so I decided I would attempt another cheesecake.

Cherry topped New York Cheesecake
from Keebler
Ingredients
Crust
2 cups Keebler Graham Cracker Crumbs
1/2 cup margarine or butter, melted
2 tablespoons sugar

Filling
4 packages cream cheese (8 oz), softened
1 1/3 cups sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon vanilla
3 eggs
1 cup sour cream 
1 can cherry pie filling 

Direcitons
*make sure all ingredients are room temperature
1)  In small bowl toss together graham crumbs, margarine or butter and 2 tablespoons sugar. Reserve 2 tablespoons of crumb mixture for garnish. Press remaining crumb mixture onto bottom and 2 1/4-inches up sides of 9-inch springform pan. Chill in freezer while preparing filling.
2)  In large mixing bowl beat cream cheese on medium speed of electric mixer until fluffy. Add 1 1/3 cups sugar, cornstarch and vanilla. Beat until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until just combined after each addition. Stir in sour cream.
3) Pour into crust. Bake at 325°F about 1 1/4 hours or until center is almost set. Cool on wire rack for 15 minutes. Loosen sides of pan. Continue cooling on wire rack for 45 minutes more.
4)  Refrigerate at least 3 hours. Garnish as desired with cherry pie filling. Store in refrigerator. 

The second that the plates had been cleared from dinner, someone said,"Cheesecake?".  We all laughed and pulled it out.  This cheesecake got rave reviews from my friends.  It was creamy and had great flavor.  I loved the cherries, but I love cherries on everything.  This would also be amazing just plain.  I ended up covering mine because of a huge crack down the center.  I researched what happened and everything I read said your ingredients have to be at room temperature, which mine all were, so if you aren't going to top the cheesecake, research ways to keep it from cracking.  I'm thinking cheesecake may start to be a Christmas tradition, as I had fun making a dessert I normally don't make.  The only sad thing was this was the main thing people wanted to take home for leftovers, so I only have two small pieces left.