Thanksgiving is coming! Only a couple of more days. I’ve been gearing up for the holiday by searching for recipes. Pinterest is such an amazing site. I’ve only recently started using it but, I was able to find recipes from tons of different resources and put together a Thanksgiving inspiration board . It’s the best because you have all of the food you can think of, with recipes and pictures, in one, very visual and beautiful place! This tool is perfect for me!
I am not hosting Thanksgiving this year. I’m going to my mother-in-law’s. However, I am bringing the turkey, some roasted potatoes (probably with chorizo, like these), stuffed mushrooms and dessert. What is the perfect dessert for Thanksgiving? Well, anything with pumpkin, I think! So, here is my version of a pumpkin cheesecake inspired by several different recipes.
I found one on Allrecipes that looked nice because it was layered. I combined that with my own seasonings and used the cooking process in my raspberry cheesecake recipe inspired by Ina Garten. I also used a combination of gluten free graham crackers and ginger snaps to make the crust. Overall, it was a pretty easy dessert to put together, other than having to watch the oven for a little bit. Top it with this homemade maple-cinnamon whipped cream. Enjoy and have a great holiday! 
- CRUST:
- 1 C gluten-free graham crackers, crushed (I used S'moreables)
- ½ C gluten-free ginger snaps (I used Mi-Del)
- 4 T butter, melted
- 1 t sugar
- FILLING:
- 3 8 oz packages of cream cheese, softened
- ¾ C sugar
- ¾ t vanilla extract
- ¼ t Cointreau (optional)
- 3 eggs, room temperature
- 1½ cup pumpkin puree
- ½ tsp pumkin pie spice (or cinnamon plus a pinch of nutmeg and cloves)
- Preheat the oven to 350 and prepare a 9" springform pan by placing parchment paper on the bottom
- CRUST:
- Combine all ingredients, press into the bottom of the pan and slightly up the sides
- Place springform pan on top of a baking pan and bake for 8 minutes
- Remove from the oven
- FILLING:
- Heat oven to 450 degrees
- Combine cream cheese, sugar, vanilla extract and Cointreau and mix for about 5 minutes, until creamy.
- Add eggs, one at a time, until fully combined (scrape down sides, as needed)
- Remove about 1½ cups of mixture and spread on the bottom of the pan, over the crust
- Add pumpkin puree to remaining mixture, along with seasoning and mix until combined
- Pour pumpkin mixture gently on top of cream cheese mixture. Do not mix.
- Place springform pan on a baking sheet and bake at 450 for 15 minutes
- Reduce oven temperature to 225 and bake for an additional hour and 15 minutes
- Open oven door fully and allow to rest in the oven for 30 minutes
- Take out of the oven and allow to sit at room temperature for 2-3 hours until completely cooled
- Cover and refrigerate overnight
- Serve with your favorite homemade or store-bought whipped cream dolloped on top and enjoy!
This cake is HEAVENLY. I was lucky enough to taste it from Jackie herself. DEVINE!!!!
🙂 xo
AGREED! I would have never guessed it was gluten free 🙂
Is there any thing I can replace the cream cheese with?
Hi Eva! I haven’t tried to make it dairy-free but I just researched and found these dairy substitutions on-line http://dairyfreecooking.about.com/od/techniquessubstitutions/tp/Best-Dairy-Free-Cheeses.htm Maybe the Tofutti’s will work. Please let me know if you try it!