Almost Perfect Pumpkin Cheesecake

photos from Lori's Kitchen

One of Gary's favorite desserts is cheesecake. Christmas Eve a lady in our church gifted me a 10 inch spring form pan and I was so excited to receive it!

I take 2 extra steps in making this cheesecake by making homemade Graham Crackers & secondly, fresh pumpkin puree. Whatever can be made homemade, to avoid a processed food, is better! This is all delicious & very rewarding to make such a treat for my family!

It's best to make this a 2 day process because it's very time consuming. Or try making it all in one day.

Begin by mixing the graham cracker dough, it has to be refrigerated for several hours before baking.

Pumpkin Puree

Preheating oven to 350 degrees/375 degrees for high altitude.

Split pumpkin in half and seed it.

Remove stringy fibers by scraping the insides with a metal spoon.

Place the two halves cut side down in a roasting pan, along with 1 cup of water.

Bake pumpkin until melting tender. about 90 minutes.

Scoop the flesh out of each pumpkin half.

Puree in a food processor fitted with a metal chopping blade.

Graham Crackers

yields 24 crackers

1 cup white flour (substitute by sifting the whole wheat flour)

1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour

5 tablespoons sugar or (honey, add 1/8 tsp baking soda)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking soda(decrease 1/8 tsp for high altitude)

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

3 tablespoons butter, cold & sliced into small pieces

1/4 cup vegetable shortening(I use butter)

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon molasses

1/4 cup water

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. 1

   Combine flours, sugar, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon in a large bowl.

2. 2

   Work in the butter and shortening with your fingers until the mixture has the consistency of coarse crumbs.

3. 3

   In a separate bowl, mix the honey, molasses, water and vanilla.

4. 4

   Sprinkle this mixture over the dry ingredients and toss with a fork until well blended.

5. 5

   Form the dough into a ball.

6. 6

   Cover and chill for several hours.

7. 7

   Cut the dough in half and let it sit for 15 minutes at room temperature.

8. 8

   Sprinkle a piece of wax paper with whole wheat flour.

9. 9

   Roll out one of the dough pieces flat to about 7 x 15 inches.

10. 10

    If the dough cracks or breaks, just pinch the edges back together.

11. 11

    Poke a fork into the dough at 1/2-1" intervals.

12. 12

    Then cut into 2 1/2" squares.

13. 13

    Use a spatula to move the squares to a large, ungreased baking sheet.

14. 14

    You can place them close together.

15. 15

    Repeat with the other half of the dough.

16. 16

    Bake in the center of the oven for 15 minutes at 350 deg F or until lightly browned on the edges.

17. 17

    Store at room temperature in an airtight container.

18. 18

    Will keep up to a month (Remember there are no preservatives).

Ingredients

• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 2 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 2 3/4 cups sugar
• Salt
• 2 pounds cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin
• 6 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 cups sweetened whipped cream
• 1/3 cup toasted pecans, roughly chopped

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Directions

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

Brush a 10-inch springform pan with some of the butter. Stir the remaining butter with the crumbs, 1/4 cup of the sugar and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Press the crumb mixture into the bottom and up the sides of the pan, packing it tightly and evenly. Bake until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool on a rack, then wrap the outside of the springform pan with foil and place in a roasting pan.

Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile, beat the cream cheese with a mixer until smooth. Add the remaining 2 1/2 cups sugar and beat until just light, scraping down the sides of the bowl and beaters as needed. Beat in the sour cream, then add the pumpkin, eggs, vanilla, 1 teaspoon salt and the spices and beat until just combined. Pour into the cooled crust.

Gently place the roasting pan in the oven (don't pull the rack out) and pour the boiling water into the roasting pan until it comes about halfway up the side of the springform pan. Bake until the outside of the cheesecake sets but the center is still loose, about 1 hour 45 minutes. Turn off the oven and open the door briefly to let out some heat. Leave the cheesecake in the oven for 1 more hour, then carefully remove from the roasting pan and cool on a rack. Run a knife around the edges, cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight.

Bring the cheesecake to room temperature 30 minutes before serving. Unlock and remove the springform ring. To finish, place a dollop of the whipped cream on each slice and sprinkle with the toasted pecans.