Pumpkin Cheesecake Recipe

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Ingredients

Crust

·         1 cup pecans

·         1/2 cup all-purpose flour

·         1/2 cup brown sugar

·         1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs (approximately 4 graham crackers)

·         2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

·         1 egg yolk

Filling

·         4 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature

·         2 cups (1 pound) brown sugar

·         5 large eggs

·         3 tablespoons all purpose flour

·         1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

·         1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

·         1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

·         1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

·         1/4 teaspoon salt

·         2 tablespoons vanilla extract

·         2 15-ounce cans pumpkin puree*

·         2 tablespoons bourbon or other whiskey

Pan

·         1 9-inch diameter, 3-inch tall springform pan

* You can make your own pumpkin purée by cutting a sugar pumpkin in half, scooping out the seeds, placing the pumpkin halves cut-side down in a roasting pan with a 1/4 inch of water in it, and cooking it in a 350°F oven for an hour, until soft. Scoop out the flesh and purée it in a blender or food processor. Strain out excess water.

Method

1 Pulse pecans, flour, sugar, and crumbs in a food processor. Add butter and egg yolk. Pulse until mixture is homogenous. Press into bottom of 9” springform pan and bake for 10 minutes at 375°F. Remove from oven and let cool.

2 Drain or strain any liquid from pumpkin purée. Take pumpkin purée and place on several layers of paper towels. Cover with several layers of paper towels and use your hands to gently squeeze out as much liquid as you can from the purée. Not that you will probably go through a lot of paper towels (can use tea towels too). Two 15-ounce cans of puréed pumpkin should yield a little more than 2 cups of purée, with the excess moisture removed. You want exactly 2 cups of the purée.

3 Whisk together the flour, cinnamon, ground ginger, grated nutmeg, and allspice in a medium bowl. With a wooden spoon (no need for a mixer for this step), mix in the salt, pumpkin purée, vanilla, and bourbon. Beat in the eggs.

4 In a large bowl, (helps to use a mixer for this step) combine the cream cheese and the brown sugar until fully creamed and smooth (no lumps). Gradually add the pumpkin mixture until fully incorporated. Bring a kettle of water to a boil.

5 Place crust-baked springform pan in the middle of two layers of large sheets of aluminum foil (to help prevent water-bath moisture from leaking into the pan). Fold the aluminum foil up the sides of the pan and trim. Place the aluminum wrapped pan in a large roasting pan (large enough so that there is room on all sides). Pour the pumpkin cream cheese mixture into the springform pan.

6 Place the roasting pan containing the springform pan in a 325°F oven on the middle rack. Pour boiling water into the pan so that it comes halfway up the side of the springform pan. Cook for 1 1/2 hours. Turn off the oven heat and prop the oven door open. Let the cheesecake sit in the oven, cooling for another hour. Then remove from oven and let come to room temperature. Once it has cooled down, chill for several hours in the refrigerator, preferably overnight.

Serve cheesecake with caramel sauce, candied pecans, and whipped cream.

Makes 16 servings.

Sweet Potato Pie with Pecan Topping Recipe

Ingredients

·         1 1/2 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2 inch pieces

·         2 large eggs

·         1/3 cup plus another 1/2 cup packed brown sugar

·         3 Tbsp maple syrup

·         1/4 teaspoon salt

·         1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

·         1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

·         3/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp heavy cream

·         1 pre-baked pie crust (see pie crust recipe for instructions on pre-baking a pie crust)

·         3 Tbsp butter

·         1 cup of pecans, half of them lightly chopped, the other half whole

Method

1 Make the pie crust. (See pie crust recipe for instructions on pre-baking a pie crust.) If you use a store-bought frozen crust, you do not need to pre-bake it, just defrost it 10 minutes and prick the bottom all over with a fork before using.

2 Make the sweet potato purée. In a large saucepan, cover the sweet potato pieces with water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 15 minutes or until the sweet potato pieces are soft when poked with a knife or fork. Drain. Purée in a food processor until smooth. You may need to add back a little liquid (a tablespoon or two of water) to get a smooth consistency. Let cool completely before using.

3 Prepare the pie. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Place rack at bottom of oven. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, 1/3 cup brown sugar, and maple syrup until smooth. Add the sweet potato purée, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and 3/4 cup of cream. Mix until completely smooth. Pour into cooled crust.

4 Bake the pie. Bake on lowest rack for 50 minutes, until filling has set. You may want to tent the edges of the pie with aluminum foil or a pie crust protector to prevent the pie crust edges from burning. Cool on rack for one hour. Then transfer to refrigerator and chill completely.

5 Make the pecan topping. Melt 3 Tbsp butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add 1/2 cup of brown sugar and cook, stirring, until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add 1 Tbsp cream, and mix in. Add the pecans, mix to coat the pecans with the sugar mixture. Let cool for 1 minute. Pour mixture over cooled pie. Use a rubber spatula to spread topping over the top of the pie. Cool until topping has hardened, about 30 minutes.

Red Velvet Brownies

Ingredients

§  1 1/2 cups sugar
§  3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
§  1 teaspoon vanilla
§  2 eggs
§  2 oz red food coloring
§  1 cup flour
§  1/4 cup cocoa
§  pinch of salt
§  1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips
Instructions
1.       Butter a 9 inch square pan.
2.      Preheat oven to 350F.
3.      Cream the sugar and melted butter until smooth.
4.      Add the eggs, one at a time, stirring well after each.
5.       Combine the dry ingredients and stir into the butter mixture.
6.      Spread in the pan and bake 25 – 30 minutes.
7.       Take the brownies out of the oven when they are slightly underdone.
8.      Cool completely before cutting.