Pumpkin Cheesecake with Pecan-Gingersnap Crust

ere's another recipe that Kyla and I made for out Thankful for Pie Night...yeah, I know it's not a pie, but I just can't pass up making a cheesecake whenever I can... Anyway, this was Kyla's first REAL cheesecake and it was a lot of fun to teach her the basics of making a cheesecake and I think she enjoyed it as well. This is really rich but is delicious...found the recipe over at Our Best Bites.

Pumpkin Cheesecake with Pecan-Gingersnap Crust

Recipe by Our Best Bites

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Crust:

1 3/4 C gingersnap crumbs (about 30 small cookies)

6T real butter, melted

3 T brown sugar

3/4 C ground pecans

Filling:

3 8oz blocks cream cheese

3/4 C canned pumpkin puree

6 oz melted white chocolate (that's about 1 C white chocolate chips)

1 C sugar

3 eggs

2 t vanilla

1/4 t nutmeg

1 1/2 t cinnamon

1/8 t cloves

Topping:

- 1 C whipping cream, beat with 1/2 tsp vanilla and 4 Tbs powdered sugar until medium peaks form.

- 1/3 C roughly chopped pecans, either toasted or caramelized

- 2 Tablespoons jarred caramel sauce

Preheat oven to 350. Using 2 large pieces of heavy duty foil, securely wrap the bottom and outside of your cheesecake pan. This will prevent leaks when using the water bath. (just to reiterate...make sure you wrap it SECURELY...you don't want water leaking into your cheesecake or it makes a HoRrIbLe mess!)

For Crust:

Use a food processor (or blender as I did) to crush gingersnaps. Then do pecans. Combine gingersnaps, pecans, brown sugar, and butter and stir well to combine. Press into a 9" spring form pan. Evenly spread across the bottom of pan and up the sides about 1 inch.

To melt chocolate, place in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until smooth. Set aside.

With an electric mixer beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time. Add pumpkin, vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves.

With the mixer running, slowly add in white chocolate in a steady stream (or steady blobs).

Pour mixture on top of the crust.

For water bath: (I sometimes just completely skip this step...it may crack on you, but it will still be good!)

Place cheesecake pan inside of a larger pan. The larger pan should be at least 2-3 inches in depth. Place in pre-heated oven. With a kettle or pitcher filled with hot water, pour water into the larger pan about halfway up, or approximately 1 1/2 to 2 inches.

Bake for 60-75 minutes or until set. The center should be almost set. It will finish cooking while cooling.

When it's done, remove from oven and place on a rack until completely cool. Place in the fridge for at least 12 hours. This is a very soft cheesecake so sufficient chilling is a must!

When ready to serve spread sweetened whipped cream on top, drizzle caramel sauce over it, and sprinkle with pecans.