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| picture courtesy of BettyCrocker.com |
September has arrived. And the weather is hotter than ever. But my Fall is almost here, and I cannot wait. It is my favorite season, after all.
What better way than to celebrate Fall's arrival than making a yummy pumpkin recipe?
Layered Pumpkin Cheesecake
(I admit, I cheat. I buy the crust already made. I know. But they are really good and no one seems to mind in my family, so...)
The Crust
2 cups gingersnap cookie crumbs and 1/4 cup softened butter or margarine if you make your own crust.
4- 8 oz. packages of cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin (do not use the canned pumpkin pie mix though)
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Heat oven to 300°F. Grease 9-inch pan with shortening or cooking spray. Wrap foil around pan to catch drips. In a small bowl, mix cookie crumbs and butter. Press crumb mixture in bottom and 1 inch up side of the pan. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set. Cool 5 minutes.
For the pie:
In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with electric mixer on medium speed just until smooth and creamy. On low speed, gradually add in sugar. Beat in eggs, one at a time, just until blended. Spoon 3 cups of the cream cheese mixture into pan; spread evenly.
Stir pumpkin, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg into remaining cream cheese mixture; mix with wire whisk until smooth. Spoon over mixture in pan.
Bake 1 hour 25 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes or until edges are set but the center of cheesecake still jiggles slightly when moved.
Turn the oven off, and open the oven door at least 4 inches. Leave cheesecake in oven 30 minutes longer.
Remove from oven; place the cheesecake on a cooling rack. Without releasing side of the pan, run a knife around edge of pan to loosen cheesecake. Cool in pan on cooling rack 30 minutes.
Cover loosely; refrigerate at least 6 hours but no longer than 24 hours.
Run a knife around edge of pan to loosen cheesecake again; carefully remove side of the pan. Place cheesecake on a serving plate and enjoy!!
(Store left-over cheesecake covered in refrigerator.)