the first new recipe that I am planning for Thanksgiving this year is a dessert recipe, a white chocolate pumpkin cheesecake! Cheesecake is my all time favorite dessert but and with a classic Thanksgiving dessert being the pumpkin pie I thought I would combine the two! A New York style baked cheesecake is pretty simple with a cookie crumb crust topped with a cream cheese and egg layer that is nice and dense, creamy and good! For this pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spices are added to the cream cheese and egg mixture and I enjoy adding plenty of white chocolate to make it even more decadently delicious! For the crumb crust I like to use crumbled gingersnap cookies as ginger is one of the spices in pumpkin pie spice and it goes really well with the cheesecake! This white chocolate pumpkin cheesecake is simply magical and although it does not need it, I like to drizzle it with a nice homemade caramel sauce!
White Chocolate Pumpkin Cheesecake
Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 1 hour Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes Servings: 12
smooth and creamy white chocolate cheesecake with pumpkin and pumpkin pie spices!
ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups gingersnap cookie crumbs
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup butter (melted)
- 3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, room temperature
- 3 eggs, slightly beaten
- 1 cup sugar
- 10 ounces white chocolate, melted
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
directions
- Mix the crumbs and butter and press into the bottom of a 8-9 inch springform pan.
- Beat the cream cheese, beat in the eggs, one at a time followed by the sugar, white chocolate, pumpkin puree, vanilla extract and spices.
- Pour the batter into the spring form pan, wrap the bottom of the pan in foil, place in a larger pan with a small amount of hot water and bake in a preheated 350F/180C oven until set, about 60 minutes. (It is recommended that you let the cheesecake cool completely on the counter and then chill it in the fridge overnight, but it's also amazing while still warm from the oven!)
Option: Replace the gingersnap crumbs with vanilla wafer crumbs, graham cracker crumbs or Oreo/chocolate cookie crumbs!
Option: Replace the cookie crumbs with coarsely ground pecans or walnuts.
Nutrition Facts: Calories 593, Fat 38g (Saturated 19g, Trans 0), Cholesterol 117mg, Sodium 394mg, Carbs 58g (Fiber 1g, Sugars 47g), Protein 7g