Dulce de Leche Pumpkin Cheesecake

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Prepare graham cracker crust by mixing graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter together. Lightly spray the sides of the springform pan with baking spray, pat into an 8 or 9-inch springform pan. Set aside.

Combine filling ingredients. Pour into the prepared graham cracker crust. Bake for 45- 55 minutes or until golden brown. When the 45-55 minutes are up, turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake inside for one hour. The cheesecake should look held together, but still have a lot of jiggle to it in the center. You don’t want it to be completely firm at this stage. Keep the oven door shut and let the cheesecake rest in the cooling oven for one hour. This lets the cake finish cooking and cool down gently enough so that it won’t crack on the top.

After one hour, remove the cheesecake from the oven and the cheesecake is no longer jiggly. Insert knife to test for doneness; when knife comes out clean, the cheesecake is done. Let cool, remove the springform pan and spread melted dulce de leche over the top of the cheesecake. Add about 6 -8 pecans halves around the edges. I melted the dulce de leche in the microwave on the defrost setting for about 20 seconds. Chill overnight and serve.