Cheesecake

Pumpkin Cheesecake was my endeavor for today and I am proud to say that it went really well!  This is the first cheesecake that I've made that didn't sink or crack.  I am so impressed that I had to share it with all of you!  I took a recipe from a book I had and modified it a bit to fit what I had in my pantry!  So the recipe below is my altered version!

Crust:
1/2 cup of chopped walnuts
32 gingersnap cookies, coarsely crushed
3 tablespoons of brown sugar
6 tablespoons of melted butter


Filling:
3 packages of cream cheese softened
1 cup of packed brown sugar
1 1/2 cups of canned or fresh pumpkin
1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup of pancake or maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon of almond extract
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves
4 eggs lightly beaten

1.  Place a greased 9 inch springform pan on a double thickness of aluminum foil; securely wrap foil around pan.  Place walnuts and gingersnaps in the food processor; cover and process until ground.  Add the brown sugar and butter; cover and pulse until blended.  Press onto the bottom and 2 inches up the sides of the prepared pan.

2.  In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and brown sugar until smooth.  Beat in the pumpkin, cream, syrup, almond extract and spices.  Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined.  Pour into crust.  Place springform pan in a large baking pan; add 1 inch of water to larger pan.

3.  Bake at 325 degrees for 60-70 minutes or until center is just set.  Remove pan from water bath.  Cool on wire wrack for 10 minutes.  Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer.  Chill overnight. 

4.  EAT and ENJOY!!!  (Serve with whipped cream)

I am so excited about eating this and don't think I will be able to wait the "overnight" it calls for!!!  My crust is not so superb looking but this might have something to do with the fact that I do not have a food processor and I used my blender...which wouldn't be so bad but I do believe my blender was very angry with me and it didn't get it as smooth as it should!  Oh well!  I can't wait to cut into this beauty!!!  Hope everyone has a great night and wonderful weekend!!! It should be glorious!!!