Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake

Since Fall is officially here, I decided it was time to make a cheesecake and what better ingredient than Pumpkin! This cheesecake is as beautiful to look at as it is to eat! The cheesecake coupled with the gingersnap crust was smooth and delish!

Fall is one of my favorite times of the year and Halloween is MY Holiday! I decorate to the MAX and enjoy ever single minute of the holiday and the days leading up to it!

Two things of note regarding this cheesecake

*To cut into nice sharp slices run your knife thru hot water and dry then cut

*Serve at room temperature

Ingredients:
· Crust (see Notes below):
· 2 cups finely crushed ginger snaps cookies
· 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
· 6 Tbsp butter or margarine, melted

· Filling:
· 3 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
· 1 cup sugar, divided use
· 1 tsp vanilla
· 3 large eggs at room temperature
· 1 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix) OR 1 cup cooked mashed pumpkin
· 1 tsp ground cinnamon
· 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
· 1/8 tsp ground cloves

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. (300 degrees F. for a dark springform pan) and position the oven rack in the center of the oven.

For the Crust (see Notes below):

Mix ginger snap crumbs, pecans and butter; press onto bottom and 2 inches up side of 9-inch springform pan.

For the Cheesecake Filling:

Using an electric mixer on medium speed, combine cream cheese, 3/4 cup of the sugar, and the vanilla until well blended. On low speed, add eggs one at a time, mixing each time just until blended.

Remove 1-1/2 cups of the plain batter and set aside.

To the remaining plain batter, add remaining 1/4 cup sugar, pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Using a large spoon, stir to combine.

Pour 1/2 of pumpkin batter over crust in springform pan. Spoon 1/2 of plain batter over pumpkin layer. Repeat until all batter is used.

Using a long butter knife, gently swirl through all layers of cheesecake batter without disturbing crust to achieve a marbled effect.

Bake for 55 minutes or until center is almost set. Do not overbake. Use a thin knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the crust.

Cool completely on wire rack.

Remove outer pan and refrigerate at least 4 hours, preferably overnight, before serving.

Notes for Optional Pie Crust: If you don't want to bother with a springform pan, purchase or make two small or one 10-inch oversize graham cracker or gingersnap pie crust shells. Skip the crust part of this recipe above and proceed to the fillings. Divide both fillings equally between the small pie crust shells or use same instructions for large crust and swirl. Bake at 325 degrees F for about 40 minutes for the small crusts and 45 to 50 minutes for the large.