Pumpkin Love

It would be an understatement to say that I’m a little obsessed with pumpkin right now. Mainly because it’s autumn. All I want to do these days is cook with root vegetables and gourds and eat sweet desserts filled with spice. I’m going through cinnamon like it’s nobody’s business, and I’m pretty sure I’m close to cleaning out my local Superstore’s supply of canned pumpkin.

I am aware that October is over…and as soon as November starts to come to a close, I’ll be getting into the holiday spirit with Christmas goodies (and adding peppermint and red and green sprinkles to just about everything) so I might as well embrace my pumpkin obsession while I still can. The U.S. still haven’t had their Thanksgiving yet…so it is still perfectly acceptable to cook with pumpkin. At least, that’s the excuse I’m going with.

Therefore, I have a pumpkin-tastic dessert recipe for you today! Courtesy of Ms. Martha Stewart. I tend to go a little crazy on her website sometimes…there’s your warning.

Today I made pumpkin cheesecake, originally made famous by my best friend, Krystyn. I think it’s a nice alternative to pumpkin pie (as I’m really not a huge pumpkin pie fan, surprisingly enough) as it’s got just the right amount of pumpkin and spice without being too sweet. Plus it’s cheesecake, and who doesn’t love cheesecake?

(I apologize if you’re not a cheesecake fan…and I feel sorry for you.)

Anyways, onto the recipe! It’s remarkably simple, so you don’t need to be a cheesecake connoisseur to pull it off. Trust me. Every boy I’ve ever dated has loved cheesecake so I’ve made my fair share of cheesecake masterpieces and fails, and this one takes the cake (heh…) for easiness. Krystyn swears it’s difficult to mess up, especially if you stick to the recipe. Which I did. And I rarely do that.

Super-Easy Pumpkin Cheesecake
(Recipe from Martha Stewart)

Ingredients:

FOR THE CRUST
1 1/4 cups graham-cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

FOR THE FILLING
4 packages (8 ounces each) bar cream cheese, very soft
1 1/4 cups sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons pumpkin-pie spice
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs, room temperature

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with rack in center. Assemble a 9-inch nonstick springform pan, with the raised side of the bottom part facing up.

Make the crust: In a medium bowl, mix cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter until moistened; press firmly into bottom of pan. Bake until golden around edges, 10 to 12 minutes.

Make the filling: With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar on low speed until smooth; mix in flour (do not overmix). Add pumpkin puree, pie spice, vanilla, and salt; mix just until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, mixing until each is incorporated before adding the next.

Place springform pan on a rimmed baking sheet. Pour filling into springform, and gently smooth top. Transfer to oven; reduce oven heat to 300 degrees. Bake 45 minutes. Turn off oven; let cheesecake stay in oven 2 hours more (without opening).

Remove from oven; cool completely. Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate until firm, at least 4 hours. Unmold before serving.


It’s a bit of a lengthy process, but so totally worth it. It can get a bit pricey too, but I started stocking up on my cream cheese at Costco (3-8 oz. packs for $8.99 – can’t go wrong with that!!) so it’s not so bad.

P.S. I also have another pumpkin dessert recipe that I’m going to try next week, so keep your eyes peeled for that!!