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Thanksgiving: Marbled Pumpkin Cheesecake

Source of Recipe


Sunset, November 1997






List of Ingredients



• 8 ounces gingersnap cookies
  
• 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
  
• 3 Tbsp melted butter or margarine
  
• 2 large packages (8 ounces each) Neufchâtel cheese or regular cream cheese
  
• 3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
  
• 2 large eggs
  
• 1½ tsp Chinese five-spice powder or pumpkin pie spice
  
• 1 can (1 pound) pumpkin
  






Instructions



1. Place about a third of the gingersnap cookies in a ziplock plastic bag, seal, and roll with a rolling pin until cookies are finely crushed; repeat to crush remaining cookies (you need 1¾ cups). In a 9-inch cheesecake pan with removable bottom, mix cookie crumbs, granulated sugar and butter. Press crumb mixture over bottom and about 1 inch up sides of the pan. Bake crust in a 325° oven until lightly browned, about 15 minutes.
   
   
2. 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 ½ cup of the cheese mixture and set it aside. Stir the five-spice powder and the pumpkin into the remaining mixture until they are well blended.
   
   
3. Pour pumpkin mixture into crust-lined pan. Drop rounded tablespoons 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.
   
   
4. Bake in a 325° oven until the center barely jiggles when cake is gently shaken, about 50 minutes. Cool on a rack.
   
   
5. Cover and chill until cold, at least 2½ hours, or up to 1 day. Run a knife around edge of cake and remove pan sides.
   
   Makes 8 to 10 servings.