Marbled Pumpkin Cheesecake
By: Helen Pitlick
Published: Friday, December 10, 2010 - 1:02am

Ingredients




8 ounces gingersnap cookies
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 tablespoons melted butter
2 packages (8 oz) neufchatel cheese (light cream cheese) or regular
3/4 cup firmly-packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 can (1 lb.) pumpkin puree

Preparation

1 Place about a third of the gingersnap cookies in a zip-lock plastic bag, seal, and roll with a rolling pin until cookies are finely crushed; repeat to crush remaining cookies (you need 1 3/4 cups). In a 9-inch cheesecake pan with removable bottom, mix cookie crumbs, granulated sugar, and butter. 2 Press crumb mixture over bottom and about 1 inch up sides of pan. Bake crust in a 325 degree oven until lightly browned, about 15 minutes. 3 With an electric mixer, beat together the cheese and the brown sugar until they are blended. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Remove 1/2 cup of the cheese mixture and set it aside. Stir the five-spice powder and pumpkin into the remaining mixture until they are well blended. 4 Pour pumpkin mixture into crustlined pan. Drop rounded tbls of the reserved cheese mixture randomly over the pumpkin mixture. With a knife or metal spatula, draw blade through the white and orange mixtures to marble. 5 Bake in a 325 oven until the center barely jiggles when cake is gently shaken, about 50 minutes. Cool on a rack. Cover and chill until cold, at least 2 1/2 hours or up to 1 day. Run a knife around edge of cake and remove pan sides. 6 Serve with sweetened softly whipped cream flavored with a little pumpkin pie spice or candied ginger.

Comments:
teri eskandari

I have a real weakness for the Pumpkin Cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory, but the calories and fat leave me speechless. I am so happy I found this recipe. It is smooth and luscious and "pumpkiny". It's easy to put together and beautiful to look at. Best of all no guilt. Everyone loved it!