Pumpkin Pecan Cheesecake

Since it’s pumpkin season, I had to make another pumpkin dessert!

Ingredients:

• Graham Cracker Crust:

  • 1 package of gluten free graham crackers

  • 5 tablespoons of butter, melted

  • 1/3 cup of sugar

  • 1 teaspoon of cinnamon

  • Pinch of salt

• Cheesecake:

  • Two 8 ounces packages of cream cheese

  • 8 ounces of sour cream

  • ½ cup of sugar

  • 3 eggs

  • 1 ½ cups of pumpkin puree

  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla

  • 1 teaspoon of salt

  • 1 teaspoon of cinnamon

  • ½ teaspoon of ginger

  • ¼ teaspoon of cloves

• Pecan Topping:

  • 1 cup of pecans, halved

  • 1 cup of brown sugar, packed

  • 4 tablespoons of butter, melted

Steps:

• Graham Cracker Crust:

  • Preheat the oven to 350° F

  • Crush graham crackers finely with a rolling pin, or, if you are one of the lucky few, put them in a food processor until fine

  • In a medium bowl, mix graham cracker crumbs, butter, 1/3 cup of sugar, salt, and cinnamon until combined

  • Grease bottom of the pan with butter or spray and pour graham cracker mixture into pan, pressing the mixture into the bottom of the pan and slightly up the sides

  • Bake for 7 to 10 minutes

• Cheesecake:

  • Preheat the oven to 325° F

  • In a large mixing bowl (stand mixer or electric mixer is best) mix together cream cheese, sour cream, and sugar until smooth

  • Mix in eggs, one at a time

  • Mix in pumpkin, vanilla, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves

  • Pour mixture into dish with graham cracker crust

  • Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes to 1.5 hours, or until cooked through

  • Once cheesecake has cooked for an hour, prepare the pecan topping by combing the pecans, brown sugar, and melted butter

  • Once cheesecake is cooked through, spread pecan topping evenly on top of cheesecake and bake for another 10-15 minutes

  • Let cool before serving (it is best to leave it in the fridge for 8 hours)