Tickling Our Tastebuds

by Denise Valentine

Hello, everyone. As we look forward to the upcoming Holidays with cautious optimism, and begin to plan for family gatherings, I thought a dessert recipe would be an excellent choice for this month. I love pumpkin pie, and I love cheesecake, so this recipe for “Pumpkin Cheesecake” is the ultimate combination.

I just typed “recipe for pumpkin cheesecake” into my phone and got several responses. There were many variations, but this particular recipe was simple and had the highest rating, with 4.9 out of 5 stars. It originated from Natasha’s Kitchen. I hope you enjoy it, and Happy Thanksgiving! Please stay safe.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

  Crust

1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs

6 tbsp. melted, unsalted butter

1 tbsp. sugar

½ tsp. cinnamon

Filling

3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese,

   room temperature

1 ½ cups packed brown sugar

15 ounce canned pumpkin pie mix

4 large eggs

¼ cup sour cream

2 tbsp. all-purpose flour

2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

¼ tsp. salt

1 tbsp. real vanilla extract

  Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, stir together the crust ingredients. Press crumbs into a 9-inch springform pan with 3-inch tall

walls using a large spoon, about half-inch up the sides. Bake for 8 minutes. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature.

Step 1: In the bowl of your mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and brown sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy and without lumps (5 minutes), scraping down the bowl once to make sure you don’t have chunks of cream cheese.

Step 2: In a separate bowl, using a whisk, stir together pumpkin pie mix, eggs, sour cream, flour, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla extract. Mix until well combined. Add this mixture to the cheesecake filling and continue mixing on low speed just until well combined, scraping down the bowl as needed.

Step 3: Transfer filling into pre-baked crust and bake on the middle rack for 1 hour. Turn off heat, prop the oven door open slightly, and let cheesecake sit in the oven for another 45 minutes. Then remove from the oven and let cool completely. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.