Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake

By Suebee9

Ingredients

• 1 cup crushed gingersnap cookies (approx. 20) (double for thicker crust)
• 1/3 cup pecans, finely chopped (double for thicker crust)
• 1/4 cup better, melted (double for thicker crust)
• 4-8 oz pkgs cream cheese, softened and divided
• 1 1/2 cups sugar, divided
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon (extra to sprinkle on top if desired)
• 1 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg (extra to sprinkle on top if desired)
• Can sub pumpkin pie spice for cinnamon and nutmeg
• Garnish: drizzle caramel ice cream topping, additional crushed gingersnaps, whipped topping (see recipe).

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350°. Place a greased 9-inch springform pan on a double thickness of heavy-duty foil. Securely wrap foil around pan.

In a small bowl, combine cookie crumbs, pecans and butter. Press onto the bottom of the prepared pan. Place on baking sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes or until set. Cool on wire rack.

For filling, in a large bowl beat 1 pkg of cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar and cornstarch until smooth, about 2 minutes. Beat in remaining cream cheese, one package at a time until smooth. Add remaining sugar and vanilla. Add eggs and beat on low speed until combined.

Place 2 cups filling in a small bowl and stir in pumpkin and spices. Remove 3/4 cup pumpkin filling and set aside. Pour remaining pumpkin filling over crust. Top with remaining plan filling. Cut through with a knife to swirl. Drop reserved pumpkin filling by spoonfuls over cheesecake. Cut though with a knife to swirl.

Place springform pan in a large baking pan. Add 1 inch of hot water to larger pan. Bake 55-65 minutes or until center is just set and top appears dull. Remove springform pan from water. Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run knife around edge of pan to loosen. Cool 1 hour longer. Refrigerate over night. Garnish as desired.