Pumpkin Cheesecake

Ingredients

• FOR THE CRUST:
• 2 cups Gingersnap Crumbs
• 8 Tablespoons Melted Salted Butter
• FOR THE FILLING:
• 24 ounces, weight Cream Cheese, Softened
• 1-½ cup Sugar
• 1 can (15 Oz. Size) Pureed Pumpkin
• 3 whole Eggs
• 1  Egg Yolk
• ¼ cups Ricotta (or Sour Cream)
• 2 teaspoons Pumpkin Pie Spice
• 2 Tablespoons All-purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 325ºF. Line springform pan tightly with foil. Butter foil. Wrap outside of pan tightly with foil (to create a watertight seal during baking), pressing wrinkles flat.

For the crust:
Stir together crust ingredients and press onto bottom and up the sides, stopping 1 inch shy of the top rim of the buttered 9 -inch springform pan. Place in the freezer while you prepare the filling.

For the filling:
Cream the cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar and continue to cream until combined. Add pumpkin and eggs until fully incorporated. Finally add ricotta, spices, flour and vanilla and mixed until combined.

Pour filling into the crust. Put the uncooked cheesecake into a deep baking dish. Fill the baking dish with hot water 1/3 of the way up. This will prevent cracking.

Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes but check on the cheesecake every 15 minutes after an hour, as all ovens are different.

Once finish baking, turn off oven and let the cheesecake rest in the oven for 1 hour. Remove and cool completely. Chill for 4-6 hours before serving.

Note: This can be made a day ahead of time.