Unfortunately this year I won't be able to spend Thanksgiving with my family. A horrible phenonmena called BLACK FRIDAY exists and those working in retail know all too well how hectic life can get on that day. My boss has the whole crew scheduled to work that day, with no chance of having it off. Because of that, I am not able to go with my family to Southern California to visit more family and celebrate the day of thanks. So I went home this weekend and we did a pre-Thanksgiving together. I'm going to be so sick of turkey next week.Anyway, I really hate pumpkin pie, so I decided to take charge of dessert and made a pumpkin cheesecake. It was so delicious, so filling, so rich.
Pumpkin Cheesecake Recipe
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups gingersnap cookie crumbs
3/4 cup ground hazelnuts
3 tablespoons brown sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups canned solid pack pumpkin (I used fresh)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
4 eggs
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9 inch springform pan.
2. Using a fork, combine gingersnaps, hazelnuts, 3 tablespoons brown sugar and melted butter. Press mixture onto the bottom and two inches up the sides of the pan to form the crust.
3. With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Stir in the pumpkin. Mix in the cream, cinnamon, allspice and vanilla. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing until smooth.
4. Pour batter into prepared crust. Bake in the preheated oven for 90 minutes, or until center of cheesecake is set. Allow to cool in pan for 30 minutes, then refrigerate overnight.
