Thanksgiving Dessert: Pumpkin Cheesecake
Hi Gardening and Wellness Friends 👋🏼
Thanksgiving will be here before I know it. There are so many different Thanksgiving desserts. I’m not a fan of pecan or apple pies. On occasion I’ll have a slice of pumpkin or sweet potato pie, but my ultimate Thanksgiving dessert is pumpkin cheesecake. If I’m going to a\relatives for Thanksgiving. I’m guaranteed to be the one bringing this pumpkin cheesecake.
All desserts are sweet, but I like this one isn’t overly sweet. It has a rich creamy texture and it’s perfectly spiced. I wish mine looked as aesthetic as this pie.
I make the pumpkin cheesecake more for ease than aesthetics. I prefer putting it in a 9×13 Pyrex dish and serving it straight from the Pyrex. It makes for easy transporting when attending gatherings away from my kitchen. I don’t have to worry about it falling off of a cake plate, getting smashed, or punctured. It’s in the Pyrex with a lid on it. Easy peasy. This recipe is modified for the 9×13 Pyrex dish.
This is a great pie to make ahead of time and freeze. Taking the stress off of is one of my ultimate goals. This pie can be made weeks ahead, frozen, thawed and then served making more room for fellowshipping and appreciating loved ones on Thanksgiving Day.
This time of year I harvest many pumpkins and squash that I can use for this recipe. The key for the pumpkin puree is ensuring it’s strained through cheesecloth to remove the excess moisture. If I’m in a time crunch I will always opt for organic store bought pumpkin puree because we need the puree dry like what I get from a can. If I have time to strain my homemade pumpkin puree then I’ll use the homemade for this cheesecake.
Many recipes I adjust to my own liking. Specifically I like to switch refined sugar with maple syrup in many recipes. Because we want this cheesecake mix to be dry to allow for the creamy, custard texture, I don’t replace the brown sugar so as not to add additional moisture to the batter.
Ingredients
For the crust:
3 cups graham cracker crumbs
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Pumpkin Cheesecake Filling:
3 8 ounce packages of cream cheese at room temperature
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
15 ounce pumpkin puree, or homemade puree well drained
4 large eggs
1/4 cup sour cream
2 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Make the Crust:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
Pulse graham crackers in a food processor until fine crumbs form.
In a medium bowl mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter
Transfer the crust mixture to a 9×13 Pyrex dish and use a large spoon to press crumbs into the bottom of the dish
Bake at 350 degrees F for 8 minutes and then remove from oven and cool to room temperature
Pumpkin Cheesecake Filling
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F
With a hand mixer or stand mixer beat together softened cream cheese and brown sugar on med speed until light and fluffy and without lumps. Make sure to scrape down the bowl to ensure there are no chunks of cream cheese
In a separate bowl whisk together pumpkin puree, eggs, sour cream, pumpkin pie spice, salt, and vanilla extract. Mix until well combined. Add this mixture to the cream cheese filling and continue mixing on low speed just until well combined, scraping down the bowl as needed
Pour the filling into the pre-baked and cooled crust. Lightly tap the pan on the counter to release air bubbles
Place in over and bake at 325 degrees F for 35 to 40 minutes or until the edges are set and there is a slight wobble in the center of the dish. Turn the oven off and slightly prop the door open for 30 minutes to cool slowly
After 30 minutes remove from oven and run a knife around the edges of the pan. Cool for about 2 hours on a rack until the cheesecake comes to room temperature
. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight then serve
Enjoy!
If you decide to freeze some of this cheesecake, allow it to cool completely in the refrigerator then lay a layer of parchment paper over the top of the pie and then add a layer of foil before adding the lid to the dish (or no lid if your dish doesn’t come with one).
Tell me, what is your favorite Thanksgiving dessert?
Until next time…..
🌿To our health and the health of our gardens🌿
Tina