Fa-la-la-la-la Pumpkin Cheesecake

The Filling:
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp Ginger
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 c sugar
3/4 c brown sugar
Juice of one lemon
Zest of one lemon
Zest of one orange
3 eggs
1 can (15 oz) of pumpkin purée
36 oz of cream cheese (4 1/2, 8 oz packages)

The Crust:
2 packages cinnamon Graham crackers, pulsed to crumbs in a blender or food processor
1/4 c sugar
1 stick of melted butter

Oven temp:
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

For the crust:
Make the crust by combining all ingredients of for the crust into a food processor and pulse just to combine. You can crush the crackers by putting them into a ziplock bag and beating the crap out of it or just roll a rolling pin over the top in a civilized manner, depending on your mood. Once the butter and sugar are incorporated, dump it all into a large 10" spring form pan or use whatever you have handy. You will want to form the crust so that it is even in thickness, starting from the bottom of your pan and slowly working all the way up the sides. Once it's formed, set it aside. We will par bake this crust for 5-10 minutes before we add the filling.

For the filling:
Everyone in the pool! Yes, just put all ingredients into a large bowl and whip it until your satisfied or at least until the lumps are gone. If you let your cream cheese soften at room temperature this will be a breeze even if you have to do this part by hand. A handheld emersion blender works well, a blender, stand or handheld mixer.

Bake:
1st, par bake the crust at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 5-10 minutes. This is the temp we will later use for baking the cheesecake. We aren't trying to brown it, but rather firm it up before we put the wet ingredients in so it isn't some soggy, sorry mess. :)

2nd, once the crust has cooled from this quick bake exercise, add your filling and smooth it out, tapping it gently to remove any bubbles from the batter. Go easy, you don't want to dislodge your crust!

Now, bake this big beast for about an hour at 375 degrees Fahrenheit if you are using a deep spring form. The deeper your pan, the longer it will take. If you are using a regular pie pan and splitting your batter into two smaller cheese-pies, bake at the same temperature and start checking on them after 25 -30 minutes. When done, the center should be set and the whole "cake" will start to shrink away from the sides, but the cake should not wobble in the center at all or you will have pumpkin cheesecake mudslide... :) no one wants this, speaking from experience.

This recipe is for my family! My sister resorted to threats and said this was the third and final request before phone stalking begins in earnest. I hear ya loud and clear, sis. Hope it turns out awesome for you. Take pics and we will use the for this blog. Big hugs! Happy Thanksgiving from Minnesota!

*** Update: to keep it from cracking like the one in this picture, use the water bath technique I talk about in my American Cheesecake post. :)

Pumpkin Drop Muffin Tops

2 c. blueberry pecan cereal, bran or any other favorite cereal

1 c raisins or dried fruit such as cherries, blueberries, etc.

1/2 c sugar

3 c flour

3 c unsweetened pumpkin puree (go ahead, make your own; it's easy!)

3 tbsp milk or cream

1 tbsp + 1/8 tsp baking powder

3/8 tsp baking soda

2 eggs

2 sticks of butter, softened at room temperature

Bake 22 minutes @ 350 degrees for cookies. 70 minutes for small loaf pans.

This recipe is posted for my sis who is doing some Olympic style marathon training. I won't go into all the gory details of the awesome training regimen she is pursuing, but suffice it to say that this girl needs some fuel for the trail! She needn't worry about her caloric intake at this point, except to ensure she is taking in enough calories for her training. Those of us that don't train as hard may be tempted to use only one stick of butter for this recipe, but I warn you that they will not be the same if you do. The extra stick of butter was an accidental butter overdose one baking day but to my credit, it actually made a huge impact on the flavor and texture of these muffin tops which are in reality, just very large drop cookies. Ever since then, I don't stray from the recipe or attempt to alter the fat or calorie content of this recipe. It makes that big of a difference.

Also worth noting, my original recipe called for 3 tbsp of baking powder. One baking day, I was running low on baking powder and decided to google baking powder and came across either a wikipedia entry or some other post that talked about the leavening power of both baking powder, yeast and baking soda. It turns out that if you combine baking powder and baking soda, you can actually use less baking powder and it significantly reduces the amount you need. So I tested it and it worked beautifully.  So here is how it works:

2 tbsp of baking powder is the equivalent to:

2 1/4 tsp baking powder PLUS

3/4 tsp of baking soda

For our recipe above, I needed 3 tbsp of baking powder as noted above and the math, if I actually did it correctly, is this:

1 tbsp plus 1/8 tsp of baking powder PLUS

3/8ths tsp of baking soda

How cool is that? Even if my math isn't what it used to be, those measurements work for me. :) Glad I paid attention in school after all. Cooking is pretty math intensive sometimes. At any rate, maybe it is helpful to you and if not, go ahead and use the 3 tbsp of baking powder. Just thought you might like an alternative if you are running low as everyone usually has a little baking soda in the fridge or cabinet, but not everyone has a steady supply of baking powder, which I seem to use in abundance during the baking season.

Also, experiment with different cereals. I use something bran-y, granola-like as anything that doesn't have texture and substance doesn't seem to come through in the recipe. We are looking for some texture and of course, something that will make an excellent breakfast substitute. It's a cookie, it's a muffin top, it's a bowl of love when you don't have time for milk and cereal. :)

And making your own pumpkin puree couldn't be easier... Just cut the pumpkin into large wedges or chunks and place on a large un-greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for about 40-45 minutes and let cool. Remove the rind, add the pulp to a food processor or blender and pulse or puree until smooth. Take what you need and freeze the rest in quart size freezer bags, which as I know from experience, will perfectly hold 3 cups of puree which is the perfect amount for this recipe. Don't forget to save the seeds! You can roast the seeds with a little seasoned salt sprinkled on top after the pumpkin comes out of the oven which may take 12-15 minutes or so for the seeds to roast and brown up a bit. Keep an eye on them as your oven may be different. Just try to save some for later... impossible!

Happy Fall, sis! Let me know how they turn out!