Cheesecake Heaven

I decided to experiment with my basic cheesecake recipe for Bobby's Friendship Feast and received positive feedback. So I thought I would share the recipe this week.

You can either make the graham cracker crust from scratch or you can use the Keebler Ready Crust. It is completely up to you. If you use the Keebler Ready Crust you will need 2 pie shells. If you make the crust from scratch you will need:

1 1/2 cups graham crumbs

5 Tbsp. butter, melted

1 Tbsp. sugar

Combine the above ingredients. Press into the bottom and 1/2 way up the sides an ungreased 8" springform pan. Bake for 5 minutes at 350 degrees. Let crust cool before filling with cheesecake filling.

Cheesecake Filling

3- 8oz.pkgs. cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup canned pumpkin

3 eggs

1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Combine cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in large bowl. Mix until smooth with an electric mixer. Add pumpkin eggs, and spice. Beat till smooth and creamy. Pour the filling into the crust. (If you use the ready crust, you will have enough filling for 2 cheesecakes.) Bake for 60-70 min. or until the top turns a golden color. Gently feel the center of the cheesecake to make sure that it is firm. Remove from oven and allow to come to room temperature, then refrigerate overnight.

**To prevent cracking, place a baking dish below the cheesecake with 1" of water. You may need to refill the water halfway through the cooking time.**

Before serving, edge the cheesecake with whipped topping and sprinkle with cinnamon.

Enjoy! My next experiment is going to be a holiday mint cheesecake using Andes mints. I'll let you know what my taste testers think!