Perfect Pumpkin Cheesecake

I've made this recipe a few times and it's always a crowd pleaser. I used to be afraid to make cheesecake. I was intimidated for some reason. Fortunately for me, my friend Amy is a cheesecake baking pro and was happy to show me the ropes. 

I adapted my recipe from this one that I found several years back in a magazine.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Printable Recipe

Crust:

1-3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs

2 tbs sugar

1/2 cup melted unsalted butter

Cheesecake:

1/4 cup flour

2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin

1 tbs pure vanilla extract

4 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

1 cup packed brown sugar

2/3 cup sugar

5 eggs

Heat oven to 325℉

Grease a 9" springform pan. Make sure to get up the sides. It'll help prevent cracking and make it easier to remove the pan later.

In a small bowl, mix graham cracker crumbs, 2 tbs sugar, & melted butter. Press mixture into the bottom of the pan and about an inch up the sides. Wrap foil around the outside of the pan to catch drips & bake for 8-10 min. until set. Let Cool 5 min. at room temperature & then refrigerate for 5 minutes more until completely cooled.

In a medium sized bowl, mix flour, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla extract, and pumpkin; set aside.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with an electric mixer on medium until smooth & creamy. Gradually beat in brown sugar & 2/3 cup granulated sugar until smooth. Add your pumpkin mixture and beat until smooth.

On low speed, beat in 1 egg at a time. Only mix until blended. It's important not to overheat your batter once you've added eggs.

Pour filling over crust.

Some people like to do a water bath in the oven. I'm always afraid the water will end up in my cheesecake pan. Instead, I fill a glass baking dish 1/2 way with water and place it on the rack below the cheesecake while it's baking.

Bake 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 25 minutes until set, but center of the cheesecake has 2-3" of jiggle in the middle.

Turn oven off and open the door about 4 inches. Let the cheesecake remain in the oven another hour.

Remove from oven and run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the cheesecake. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight before serving.

Of course, I never have pumpkin pie spice when I need it, so I made my own with this recipe.

Btw, I give mad props to food stylists. Cutting pretty cheesecake is HARD. I hear that they freeze them first and use a really sharp knife. I don't have time for that...

Give this a shot and let me know how it turns out! Don't be scared like I was!