quintessentially free: pumpkin cheesecake

This Thanksgiving I wanted to try my hand at a cheesecake because my mom is probably the best cheesecake baker on the east coast and I wanted to see if any of those skills had been passed down to me. One of my favorite cheesecakes that momma makes is a pumpkin cheesecake, which perfectly combines two of my favorite holiday desserts, cheesecake and pumpkin pie. To make this recipe momma and I combined two that she had in her book... mostly because the bottom half of the one I was originally going to use was missing half of the instructions. And now I'll share it with you, happy baking!

You'll need:

9 inch spring form pan

1 1/2 cups crushed ginger snap cookies

1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

1/4 cup butter (melted)

2 packages (8 oz) cream cheese (softened)

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 eggs (lightly beaten)

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 tsp ground cinnamon

3/4 tsp ground nutmeg

You'll also need a cup of coffee and the Mariah Carey holiday Pandora station playing... its the secret to a successful cheesecake

Step 1: Crush ginger snap cookies and pecans. I used a food processor so that everything was an even consistency, plus its faster.

Step 2: Place the greased spring form pan on a double thickness of heavy duty foil. Securley wrap foil around pan and set aside.

Step 3: In a small bowl, combine cookie crumbs and pecans, stir in buter. Press onto the bottom and one inch up the side of the pan. Bake at 325 for 9-10 minutes or until set.

Step 4: In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add vanilla, pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg and beat. Add eggs ad beat on low speed until combined.

*Be careful not to over beat after the eggs have been added or the filling will be stiff.

Step 4: Pour filling into pan with crust. Put pan into broiler pan with 1/2 inch of water around it. Bake at 325 for 40-50 minutes. Filling will still be a little wobbly but will continue to firm as it cools.

Set out on a wire rack to cool.