Pumpkin Cheesecake with Gingersnap Cookie Crust

Fall has arrived and i’m officially jumping head first onto the pumpkin everything train, starting with this awesome pumpkin cheesecake recipe. It’s a good thing that I only really like coffee-flavored coffee or I would certainly become super-duper morbidly obese drinking foofoo pumpkin spice lattes everyday. This recipe combines my favorite cheesecake recipe with all of the fall pumpkin flavors I could muster. Enjoy.

INGREDIENTS:

CRUST:
1 cup crispy gingersnap cookie crumbs
3 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp melted butter

FILLING:
3 (8 oz) packages of Cream Cheese
1 (15oz) can pure pumpkin puree
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup sugar
1 cup sour cream
1/3 cup Irish cream liqueur (Bailey’s etc…)
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2  tsp ground allspice
1/4  tsp ground cloves
3 eggs
Pumpkin Pie Spice for topping

DIRECTIONS:
Either you can place the cookies in a bag and beat the fuck out of them until they are super dead and a crummy pile of angst, or you can put them in a blender of sorts; the choice is yours. Might I suggest that one is a lot more fun. Anyhow… Combine Crumbs, 3 tablespoons sugar, and melted butter. Press this crumb mixture into the bottom of a 9-inch spring form pan with 2 3/4 inch sides. Bake at 350 degrees for about 8 minutes. Transfer to a rack and cool. Maintain oven temperature.

Beat cream cheese, 1 cup sugar, vanilla in large bowl until blended.

Add 1 cup sour cream, liqueur, pumpkin puree, and all spices. Beat. Add eggs one at a time, beating just until combined.

Pour the filling over the pre-cooked crust and provide samples.

Bake at 350 degrees until edges are puffed and center no longer moves when shaken (usually 1-1.25 hours). Transfer cheesecake to rack and cool for 15 minutes.

The cheesecake will settle and condense quite a bit when it cools. Dust some pumpkin pie spice over the top in a sad attempt at hiding all flaws (it’s okay little buddy). Refrigerate at least 6 hours before serving.

Done!

Random behind the scenes photo:

Dave’s Pumpkin Patch – West Sacramento, CA.

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Today we headed to Vierra farms to explore Dave’s Pumpkin patch and find some pumpkins to carve for Halloween. While the farm was busy, the parking situation was a lot more smooth than some other places we have been previously. Kennedy loved digging through the large sandboxes filled with corn and feeding all of the farm animals. Many of the activities were either geared toward slightly older kids or incredibly busy, so we did not participate in many of the attractions. By the time we got to actually hunting for a pumpkin, Kennedy was less interested in picking out the right one, and more interested in finding the nearest tree to fall asleep under; let’s just say it didn’t go exactly as planned, but it was still a worthwhile trip. We managed to juggle a few pumpkins and a whiny-tired lady to the car without incident, and she was fast asleep before even leaving the parking lot.

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