Pumpkin Cheesecake (Cheesecake Factory Style)

Have you ever looked around and noticed all the differences between different people and different families?

This concept especially come to light for me during the holidays. Everyone has a different holiday tradition.

Sometimes these traditions can be similar to other families, but differences are often in abundance as well.

In my family, Christmas dinner was the exact same menu as Thanksgiving dinner.

I have a friend whose family celebrates Thanksgiving with turkey and Christmas with roast beef (or roast beast as I like to call it).

In The Hubble's family, brisket is not far from the Christmas menu.

My favorite part of the holiday tradition though has always been the pumpkin pie.

Pumpkin pie has always made an appearance at both Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Until I discovered pumpkin cheesecake that is.

Usually, we buy our pumpkin cheesecake from Barnes & Noble because they sell the whole Cheesecake Factory pumpkin cheesecake.

But this year for Thanksgiving I decided to make one instead.

I found a recipe for the Cheesecake Factory pumpkin cheesecake in a cookbook I have and I had to try it. And let me tell you, it tastes exactly like the Cheesecake Factory pumpkin cheesecake!

It was so good that I ate half of the Thanksgiving pumpkin cheesecake on my own and I whipped one up the other night for a dinner party as well.

Thankfully this recipe is super simple. The only thing that makes it difficult to make and serve quickly is the chill time.

But, if you have a few hours before your event, I suggest you throw one of these together. Or hey, let this bad boy grace your Christmas dinner table.

No matter when you eat it, just eat it. And enjoy!

Here's how to make it:

Grab your ingredients: graham cracker crumbs, ground cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla extract, sour cream, butter and cream cheese.

Butter up a 9 inch springform pan.

In a small mixing bowl, combine the melted butter, graham cracker crumbs, ground cinnamon and granulated sugar until the mixture is crumbly.

Press the graham cracker mixture into the bottom and along the sides of the springform pan.

In a large mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese, sour cream, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract until smooth.

Add in the pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice and ground cinnamon. Mix until combined.

Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well between each addition. And ummm...let's all just pretend that egg was beaten and not just dropped in the bowl all whole and everything.

Now pour the batter into the crust in the springform pan.

Bake 40-45 minutes (the center should be almost set but still jiggly). After the cook time, leave the cheesecake in the oven (turned off) for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, allow to cool then chill it in the fridge for several hours until chilled completely and set.

Serve the cheesecake with whipped cream, nuts and caramel sauce if desired. Since this was my piece and it was moments away from spending some time in my belly, I didn't garnish it with anything. I like my pumpkin cheesecake au natural.

Serve and enjoy!!

Pumpkin Cheesecake (Cheesecake Factory Style)
Retrieved from America's Most Wanted Recipes by Ron Douglas

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Ingredients:

Crust

• 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 5 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling

• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 4 eggs, beaten
• Whipped cream, nuts and caramel sauce for garnish (optional)

Direction:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Make the crust: mix ingredients until crumbly. Press the mixture into a 9 inch springform pan, along the bottom and up the sides. Set aside.
3. In a mixer, combing cream cheese, sour cream, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla until smooth. 
4. Add the pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon, mix until well blended.
5. Add the beaten eggs, one at a time, and blend until well mixed.
6. Pour into pan in prepared crust.
7. Bake 40-45 minutes until center is almost set.
8. Turn oven off and leave cheesecake in oven for additional 30 minutes.
9. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Refrigerate several hours until cheesecake cools completely and firms.
10. To serve, run a knife or metal spatula around edges of pan to release crust. Remove outside of springform pan. 
11. Garnish with whipped cream, nuts and caramel sauce if desired.
12. Serve and enjoy!