Rosie's Pumpkin Cheesecake

Total Time: 3 hrs 30 mins Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 3 hrs

Ingredients

• Servings: 16
• 2 cups gingersnap crumbs (35 nabisco gingersnaps)
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1/4 cup pecans, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin puree
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 2 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
• 2 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 2 1/2 lbs cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 5 whole large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
• 1 cup sour cream, at room temperature
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 cup pecans, finely chopped
• 14 pecan halves

Recipe

• 1 preheat the oven to 375.
• 2 for the crust, place the gingersnap crumbs, sugar, butter, and nuts in a small bowl and toss lightly with a fork until well blended.
• 3 press this mixture firmly over the bottom of a 10-inch springform pan. bake it on the bottom oven rack until golden, 5-7 minutes, remove it from the oven and cool.
• 4 reduce the oven heat to 300 degrees and place a roasting pan or baking dish filled with hot water on the bottom rack of the oven to create moisture.
• 5 for the cake filling, lightly whisk together the pumpkin and spices in a small bowl until blended. set aside.
• 6 beat the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla in a medium-size mixing bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 30 seconds. scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula, then beat 30 seconds more.
• 7 add the whole eggs, then the egg yolks, one at a time to the cream cheese on low speed. blend each egg until incorporated, about 30 seconds. scrape the bowl after each addition.
• 8 add the pumpkin mixture to the cream cheese batter and blend on medium speed until the mixture is velvety, about 1 minute. scrape the bowl and beat another minute.
• 9 pour the filling over the crust. bake the cake on the center oven rack until the top is set and a tester inserted in the center comes out dry, about 1 hour 40 minutes. turn off the oven and leave the cake in the oven for an additional hour. remove the cake from the oven, place it carefully on a wire rack, and let cool for several hours.
• 10 while the cheesecake is cooling, prepare the topping: mix the sour cream and sugar together in a small bowl.
• 11 preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• 12 spread the sour cream mixture evenly over the surface of the cake with a spatula and sprinkle the chopped pecans on top. evenly space the pecan halves around the top edge of the cake.
• 13 bake the cheesecake in the oven for 5-7 minutes to set the topping. remove the cheesecake from the oven and refrigerate before serving.