Have you noticed that certain recipes become a holiday tradition over the years? About 5 years ago, I found a recipe in my Taste of Home cookbook that I decided to make for Thanksgiving that year. It was a white chocolate pumpkin cheesecake. It was served with candied almonds and it was a big hit! The following year, my Grandpa requested that I make it again, and from then on, I've made it every year. :) I did make a couple changes...one of them being that I switched the nuts. The almonds were really good (they actually came out tasting similar to roasted pumpkin seeds), but I prefer pecans.
Ingredients
Crust:
1 1/2 c. gingersnaps, crushed
1/4 c. butter, melted
Filling:
3 pkg cream cheese, softened
1 c. sugar
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
5 oz. white chocolate chips, melted then slightly cooled
3/4 c. canned pumpkin
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
Directions
Mix crushed gingersnaps and melted butter.
Press into a 9-inch springform pan.
In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar.
Beat in eggs, one at a time, and then vanilla.
Stir in melted white chocolate.
In a separate bowl, combine pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
Fold pumpkin mixture into the cream cheese mixture.
Pour into crust and spread to even it out.
Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 1 hour.
(Per my sister, Tricia's recommendations, you can bake your cheesecake in a water bath. Wrap the pan in aluminum foil, place it on a sheet pan and pour some water into the sheet pan. Just be sure not to let water seep into the cheesecake!)
Once done, remove from the oven, place on a cooling rack, and let cool 10 minutes.
Run a butter knife along the edges to loosen and remove the sides of the pan.
Let cool for 1 hour.
Cover and refrigerate until completely chilled (or overnight).
Garnish with candied nuts.
(Directions with Photos)
If you have a food processor, throw your gingersnaps in there.
Pulse it until you have small crumbs.
Mix crushed gingersnaps and melted butter.
Press into a 9-inch springform pan.
In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar.
Beat in eggs, one at a time, and then vanilla.
Melt your chocolate.
(To melt the chocolate, you can microwave it, stirring every 15 seconds until it's melted. Cool it slightly before adding it to the cheesecake. Mine cooled a little too much, that's why you'll see chunks of the chocolate. It's fine either way, but I prefer it really mixed in.)
Stir in the white chocolate.
In a separate bowl, combine pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
Fold pumpkin mixture into the cream cheese mixture.
Pour into crust and spread to even it out.
(Per my sister, Tricia's recommendations, you can bake your cheesecake in a water bath. Wrap the pan in aluminum foil, place it on a sheet pan and pour some water into the sheet pan. Just be sure not to let water seep into the cheesecake!)
Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 1 hour.
Once done, remove from the oven, place on a cooling rack, and let cool 10 minutes.
Run a butter knife along the edges to loosen and remove the sides of the pan.
Let cool for 1 hour.
Cover and refrigerate until completely chilled (or overnight).
Garnish with candied nuts. :)
*If the chocolate is completely melted when you add it, you won't have those chunks of white chocolate that you see here. It will be more like a solid cheesecake. It depends on what you prefer. :)
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