Nine years ago today we went to court in Hsinchu, Taiwan, and sat before a judge who sternly put our then 8-year-old Hannah through a series of questions to make sure she was in full agreement with our adopting her, moving to the other side of the world and leaving behind her birthplace to possibly never return. Hannah’s stoic and brave demeanor is something I will always be in awe of, that a child so young could manage such control of her emotions and be strong enough to say yes. Surely she must have been surrounded by angels because it was not in the least bit easy to have done.

July 11, 2011, was one of the most amazing days of my life, the moment I officially became Hannah Juliet Larson’s mother. She is the missing link to our family that we never had planned for or knew we needed. Every year since then, we honor Hannah and celebrate her becoming a Larson as our third and final adoption and the first who could speak for herself to choose or reject us. Thankfully she said yes!

I wanted to make something special for our ninth year of Hannah Appreciation Day, so I came up with this summertime cheesecake, just the right size for a few servings.

Petite Peach & Pecan Cheesecake

• 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 2 tablespoons chopped pecans
• 2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

• 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Topping:

• 2/3 cup sour cream
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon juice from peach sauce

Whisk topping ingredients together then spread over the baked cheesecake. Return to the oven to bake for 10 minutes.

Peach Sauce:

• 3 fresh peaches
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Hannah did all the photography for this post while I did the baking. We make a great team!