Philly pair-adise western boots

HEAT oven to 325°F.

LINE 13x9-inch pan with foil, leaving ends of foil hanging over sides of pan. Combine graham crumbs, butter and 2 Tbsp. sugar; press onto bottom of prepared pan.

BEAT cream cheese, vanilla and remaining sugar in large bowl with mixer until blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each just until blended. Pour over crust.

BAKE 45 to 50 min. or until center of cheesecake is almost set. Cool completely.

REFRIGERATE 4 hrs.

USE foil handles to transfer cheesecake from pan to cutting board. If necessary, trim edges of cheesecake to make top of cheesecake level. Discard trimmings or reserve for snacking. Use 3-1/2- inch cookie cutter to cut out 4 rounds from cheesecake. Freeze remaining cheesecake for later use.

MELT candy melts as directed on package. Pour into silcone boot/sole mold (See tip). Refrigerate 30 min. or until firm.

UNMOLD melted candy melts. Use sharp knife to cut frozen cheesecake into shape to fit in toe box of boot (just to the arch on bottom of boot). Stack cheesecake rounds. (This will be for the shaft of the boot.) Insert wooden dowel into center of top cheesecake all the way through to center of bottom cheesecake round to secure stack.

MICROWAVE chocolate chips and whipping cream in microwaveable bowl on HIGH 30 sec. or until chocolate is almost melted. Whisk until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is well blended. Spread chocolate mixture over cheesecake stack, completely covering top and side of stack.

REFRIGERATE 1 hr.

ROLL out red fondant to 1/8-inch thickness, lifting fondant as it is rolled out to prevent it from sticking to the work surface. Cut out into shaft of boot using boot template found online. Wrap fondant shaft over cheesecake stack, gently pressing fondant into cheesecake to secure.

ROLL out pink fondant to 1/8-inch thickness; cut out shapes using boot template. Place on toe box of cheesecake boot, wrapping over red fondant as shown in photo and lightly pressing pink fondant into cheesecake to secure. Reserve fondant trimmings for later use.

ROLL out blue fondant to 1/8-inch thickness; cut out heel and edge trimming using appropriate templates. Turn fondant sheet over; brush lightly with water. Place fondant, moistened side down, over heel and shaft, gently pressing top fondant layers into bottom fondant layers to secure.

ROLL out pink fondant trimmings to 1/8-inch thickness. Use small sharp knife to cut out 2 straps. Lightly brush backs of fondant straps with water; place, moistened sides down, on both sides of boot collar, pressing gently into collar to secure.

USE fondant tool to add decorative stitching to different fondant pieces as shown in photo.