My Maple Pumpkin Cheesecake

Believe it or not, cheesecake was how my love for cooking began. I've been making them since high school though not as often since I married. Dearest Carl and I can't eat a huge cheesecake by ourselves. But the holidays are a great time to bust out the big guns when it comes to dessert. This maple pumpkin cheesecake has been a favorite for a long time and Thanksgiving is the perfect opportunity to dust off my springform pan. Now I can't wait until Thursday!

MAPLE PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE

INGREDIENTS:
Crust:
- 2 1/2 cups ginger snaps, crushed (I just used most of a 16oz box)
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted

Filling:
- 5 8oz packages cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 6 eggs
- 1 cup pumpkin puree (NOT pie filling!)
- 1 TBSP vanilla
- 3 TBSP lemon juice
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 TBSP ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp ground allspice


INSTRUCTIONS:

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Line a 10 in. springform pan with parchment paper.
- Combine gingersnaps and butter and press into bottom of springform pan.
- Place pan in freezer.
- In a large bowl, mix together cream cheese, sour cream and sugar.
- Add eggs two by two, mixing after each set.
- Add all remaining ingredients and mix until thoroughly combined.
- Pour filling onto frozen crust and place pan on a cookie sheet.
- Bake for an hour, or until center of cheesecake is not jiggly. (Mine took an hour and a half.)
- Cool on the counter and store in the fridge.

I hope you enjoy yours as much as we will enjoy mine!