Recall there were three pies that I made for Thanksgiving… Coconut Custard, French Silk Chocolate and this sumptuous one right here, a Pumpkin Cheesecake.  I love cheesecake to start with – a good cheesecake, that is ;-) And I love pumpkin pie.  For years I’ve coveted pumpkin cheesecake no matter the time of year.  The way I feel about pumpkin cheesecake is pretty much the way my family feels about egg nog… I wait for it all year.  I mean wait all year. I reminisce about it in spring… talk longingly about it in summer….  anticipate it in early autumn… and come close to Thanksgiving I begin to pretty much stalk restaurant menus.  But this year I declared my freedom from all that and made my very own pumpkin cheesecake.  The fact that it turned out so amazingly good can only mean one thing – my waistline is in trouble!  And that’s trouble with a capital “T” :)

This picture above gave me the giggles.  Isn’t that just the cutest little, petite, small, diminutive, lady-like, bite-sized morsel on the fork?  Certainly nothing like the big ol honkin bites I tend to take of pumpkin cheesecake!  I can’t help myself.  Really, I can’t.  I love it so much!  But with most things in life we need to slow it down… remain in the moment… savor it… enjoy it… not rush thru it so fast that it’s just a fleeting memory in only a matter of minutes.  I believe in that.  The problem is for me it remains a goal, not a reality.  Especially when I’m eating pumpkin cheesecake for heaven’s sake!  When I made this I had every intention of taking it to work and sharing it with my co-workers.  The problem was that as much as I like my co-workers and know they’d enjoy it, I was certain they wouldn’t enjoy it more than me… and I just couldn’t bear to part with it! hahahahah.  But I also knew another problem was that if I were left to my own devices, I’d eat the entire thing  since my family has no interest in it whatsoever (oh sure, integrate some chocolate into it and that might change but that would detract from my enjoyment of it and hey, this one is most definitely, without a doubt, all about me!!).  The solution?  Cut the entire thing into slices, freeze them individually and stick them outside in the deep freezer in the garage.  Out of sight – out of mind :)  And yes, this baby freezes and thaws just beautifully – you can take my word for it!!! =)

 Now there, that’s more like it.  That’s a more realistic sized bite for me ;-)

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Ingredients

2 cups graham cracker crumbs

6 tablespoons butter, melted

1 cup granulated sugar, plus

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

3 8oz packages cream cheese

1 tablespoon vanilla

2 cups canned pumpkin

3 eggs

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 teaspoon allspice

1 teaspoon ground ginger

Method

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Make the crust by combining the graham cracker crumbs with the melted

butter, 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 tsp each of cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and

ginger in a medium bowl. Stir well enough to coat all of the crumbs with the

butter, but not so much as to turn the mixture into paste. Keep it crumbly.

Put foil partway up the outside part of an 9-inch springform pan.

Press the crumbs onto the bottom and about two-thirds of the way up the

sides of the springform pan. You don’t want the crust to form all of the way

up the back of each slice of cheesecake.

Bake the crust for 5 minutes, then set aside until you are ready to fill it.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment combine the

cream cheese, 1 C sugar, and vanilla.  Mix until smooth.

Add the pumpkin, eggs, remaining cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and ginger and

mix thoroughly on medium speed.  Switch to the whisk attachment and continue

beating until smooth and creamy.

Pour the filling into the pan.

Bake in a water bath for 70 minutes.

Turn off oven and prop the door open with a wooden spoon.  Allow the

cheesecake to come to room temperature while still in the oven – about 3

hours

Remove cheesecake from oven and refrigerate while still in the springform

pan

When the cheesecake has chilled, remove the pan sides and cut into slices

Have a delicious day!

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