Pumpkin Cheese Cake

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

Ingredients

• 2 cups pie pumpkin
• 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
• 1/2 cup low-fat butter
• 16 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese (one third less fat)
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
• 1/2 cup low-fat sour cream
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon clove
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons water

Recipe

• 1 cut pumpkin in half. scoop out seeds and strings. place cut sides down on a greased cookie sheet. bake at 350 for 30-45 min or until skin pierces easily with a fork.
• 2 when the pumpkin is cool, scoop out flesh and mash. put the pumpkin in the refrigerator while you make the rest of the cheesecake.
• 3 for the cheesecake.
• 4 combine gram cracker crumbs and ½ cup packed brown sugar. add melted butter and mix well. press crumb mixture into a 9 inch spring form pan. refrigerate for 20 minute.
• 5 mix together cream cheese and sour cream. add spices, 1 cup brown sugar and eggs. mix together well. add pumpkin.
• 6 pour mixture into crumb pan. bake at 300 degrees for 1-1/2 hours or until center shows cooked threw with the tooth pick test.
• 7 place in refrigerator for 3 hours.
• 8 topping:.
• 9 in a saucepan combine sugar and water. constantly stir until sugar is dissolved. bring sugar water to a boil. watch closely because it will burn fast. cook until you get a light golden color. remove from heat. let set 1-2 min until starts to thicken a bit. stir with fork. using fork, drizzle over cake quickly before the sugar hardens.
• 10 cake will keep for 48 hours.
• 11 if you would like to make mini cakes instead of one big one:.
• 12 press the ginger crumb mixture into 30 muffin tins. place the tins in the refrigerator while you make the cake batter.
• 13 scoop about 1/2 cup of cake mixture into each tin.
• 14 bake at 300 degrees for 30-45 min or until center is cooked through.