Pumpkin & Pecan Pie Cheesecake (Thanksgiving Dessert 1)

Hope you all had an amazing Thanksgiving with plenty of turkey and desserts. I'm still enjoying those holiday leftovers. Especially when it comes dessert. In my family pies, tarts, and cheesecakes are a must-have at the Thanksgiving dinner table. This year I got to put a cake in the mix for our birthday girl in the family which is always a plus. After a few hours of recipe books and internet surfing I finally made my picks. For our Thanksgiving dinner we had Pumpkin & Pecan Cheesecake, Apple Pie Tart, Owl Reese's Pieces Cake, and one sleepy baker.

Pumpkin & Pecan Pie Cheesecake

Prep: 30 minutes

Bake: 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes, 350°F

Cool: 2 hours

Chill: Overnight

Yield: 16 servings

¼ cup butter, room temperature

2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature (Add in 2 more packages if you prefer a thicker texture)

1 cup melted white chocolate chips

4 eggs, room temperature

¼ cup sugar

½cup flour

½cup crushed Oreo cookies

1½ cups sugar

1 15-ounce can pumpkin

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

¾ cup chopped pecans

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Wrap a double layer of foil around outside of 9 inch springfoam pan to a form a watertight seal. For crust, beat on medium the butter and ¼ cup sugar in a small bowl until light and fluffy. Add flour and crushed cookies; beat until combined. Press cookie mixture onto bottom and sides of pan. Bake for about 10 to 15 minutes just so it sets in.

2. For filling, in a large bowl beat on medium the cream cheese, white chocolate and the 1½ cups of sugar until fluffy. Lightly beat eggs with a fork and add to cream cheese mixture. Add in pumpkin, 2 teaspoons of cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla and beat on low until combined.

3. Pour half of batter into crust-lined pan. In small bowl combine brown sugar, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, and pecans. Sprinkle pecan mixture onto batter and pour remaining mixture on top. Place foil-wrapped pan in roasting pan filled with water that reaches about half way up the springfoam pan. Place in oven and bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes or until a 2-inch area around the outside appears set when gently shaken. Cool on wire rack for 

2 hours. Remove from springfoam pan and cover and refrigerate over night.

Sweet Flukes

At around 1a.m. fours begin to like twos. I was short half the amount of cream cheese which was kind of a good fluke to me. The cheesecake had a smoother and creamier texture. Although it was a little difficult to serve into nice slices, which still not certain if that was the lack of cream cheese or the fact that water seeped through my fail of a foil wrap. Hence why I mention to double wrap it. Heck, just triple wrap to be sure. In the end I still had a delicious extra creamy pumpkin pecan cheesecake for the family.