I didn’t enjoy pumpkin pie as a child. I have no idea why. When my mother-in-law made this streusel-topped pumpkin pie, I fell in love. I didn’t think anything else could take its place.
Until now.
The kids were a little skeptical when I said that I was making a pumpkin cheesecake. They love pumpkin pie, and they love cheesecake. They figured that the parts were better than the sum of the parts.
But, now they are believers.
There’s enough cheesecake in this dessert to justify its cheesecake status. Likewise, there’s enough pumpkin and spice to make it pumpkiny. As my tween would say, “It’s like a pumpkin pie and a cheesecake got married. This is their baby.”
Or something like that.
Regardless, it is delicious. Great for dessert, even better for breakfast the next day. Or lunch. Ask me how I know.
Recipe: Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (about one packet of crackers)
- 1/3 cup butter, melted
- Two 8-ounce packages neufchatel cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- one 15-ounce can pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- zest of 1 orange
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- In a large bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs and the melted butter. Stir well to combine.
- Press the crumb mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan.
- Bake the crust for 8 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and set on a rack.
- Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F.
- In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in the pureed pumpkin. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Mix in the vanilla extract, orange zest, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger.
- Pour the batter into the prepared crust.
- Bake the cheesecake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until set in the center.
- Cool the cheesecake for 15 minutes on a rack. Carefully run a knife around the
- edge of the cake. Remove the sides of the pan and allow the cake to cool to room temperature on the rack. Chill the cake for several hours in the refrigerator.
Preparation time: 15 minute(s)
Cooking time: 1 hour(s) 10 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 12
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G’day! LOVE pumpkin pies, true!
Your photo makes this recipe so mouth watering too!
Cheers! Joanne
The timeliness of this… Costco had samples of their bakery’s pumpkin cheesecake a few days ago. It was DELISH. It reminded me that I had not made one in ages, and caused me to wonder if I still had a recipe for one or if I needed to go searching. Guess I’ll start with yours!
Yum! This looks delicious. I’ve made pumpkin cheesecake before, but it required baking in a water bath, which was more hassle than I wanted. I’m looking forward to trying your recipe!
Supposedly, the water bath will prevent cracking, but that’s never been my experience, so why bother?
Exactly! I’ve tried all the methods and my cheesecakes still crack. That’s okay, because a little crack doesn’t hurt the taste at all! 🙂
I’m sure this will make my husbands day. His two favorite desserts combined in one is sure to be a winner!
My springform finally bit the dust. Anyone tried with a cake pan? Pie plate?? I’m not worried about presentation, just taste!
I’ve made a similar recipe in a 9×13. http://lifeasmom.com/2013/04/honey-lemon-cheesecake-bars.html
My husband is the cheesecake maker in our house, we have an entire cookbook of only cheesecake recipes. We’ve made a 10-inch pumpkin one before that’s very similar to this one! Ours calls for a shortbread crust instead of graham cracker. Sooooo good this time of year!
Try home made ginger bread cookies crumbled for the crust instead of graham crackers fantastic . 🙂