Pumpkin Cheesecake

By Serree

Ingredients

• * Crust:
• * 56 reduced-fat vanilla wafers (about 8 ounces)
• * 1 tablespoon butter or stick margarine, melted
• * Cooking spray
• * Filling:
• * 3 (8-ounce) blocks fat-free cream cheese, softened
• * 2 (8-ounce) blocks 1/3-less-fat cream cheese,
• softened
• * 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• * 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• * 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• * 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• * 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• * 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• * 1/4 teaspoon salt
• * Dash of allspice
• * 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• * 4 large eggs
• * 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 400°.

To prepare crust, place wafers in a food processor; pulse 2 to 3 times or until finely ground. Add butter; pulse 10 times or until mixture resembles coarse meal. Firmly press mixture into bottom of a 9-inch springform pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 10 minutes; cool on a wire rack.

Reduce oven temperature to 325°.

To prepare filling, beat cheeses with a mixer at high speed until smooth. Add the granulated sugar and next 8 ingredients (granulated sugar through vanilla), beating well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add pumpkin; beat well.

Pour cheese mixture into prepared crust; bake at 325° for 1 1/2 hours or until almost set. (Cheesecake is done when the center barely moves when pan is touched.) Remove cheesecake from oven; run a knife around outside edge. Cool to room temperature; cover and chill at least 8 hours.