Yummmmm!!

I love pumpkin!! I like it in breads, muffins, waffles, pies, and most recently.........cheesecake.

Rachael's mom Joyce made this a few weeks ago and it was fantastic!!! She was kind enough to share the recipe with me and now I will do the same.

I made mine last night, after making dinner, in my kitchen(!!)

Here's a pic of how mine turned out - a bit lumpy, but I think that's because I was too impatient to wait for the cream cheese to be room temperature before I started. Ditto on the cracked top -- too impatient again, I wanted to get it in the fridge so that Pete and I could dig in even sooner.

Hannah definitely approved.

Paula Dean's Pumpkin Cheesecake:

Ingredients

Crust:

1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs

3 tablespoons light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 stick melted salted butter

Filling:
3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
1 (15-ounce) can pureed pumpkin
3 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
1/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Joyce's extra tips: I baked this in a water bath (fill a cookie sheet with sides with water and place the springform pan in the cookie sheet). I also let it cool in the oven after I turned it off for an hour or more. This really helps to keep it from getting cracks in it.

For crust:

In medium bowl, combine crumbs, sugar and cinnamon. Add melted butter. Press down flat into a 9-inch springform pan. Set aside.

For filling:

Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add pumpkin puree, eggs, egg yolk, sour cream, sugar and the spices. Add flour and vanilla. Beat together until well combined.

Pour into crust. Spread out evenly and place oven for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and let sit for 15 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours.