Melanie's Cookin

Y'all, I love me some Paula Deen!  She cooks like I do (lots of butter and not always good for ya stuff) and talks like I do.  Well, ok, if we're being honest she has more of a Southern Belle accent and I have a Southern Redneck accent but only true southerners can tell the difference!  I DVR all of her Food Network shows Paula's Home Cooking (which I believe should be spelled Cookin' cause you know how we Southerners leave the G off the ends of words). 

A week or so ago she made a Pumpkin Cheesecake that I KNEW Cory would LOVE! So, I decided to make one for Thanksgiving instead of the standard pumpkin pie.  I'm actually making it, along with some cookies, for Katherine's "feast" at preschool on Tuesday.  I figured whatever is left Cory can have on Thursday since I'm also making my personal fave, pecan pie.

Now, just so everyone knows, I've never made a cheesecake before so this is a new adventure for me and I thought I'd share the experience through pictures. 

Ingredients


Crust:

• 1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs

• 3 tablespoons light brown sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1 stick melted salted butter

Filling:

• 3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature

• 1 (15-ounce) can pureed pumpkin

• 3 eggs plus 1 egg yolk

• 1/4 cup sour cream

• 1 1/2 cups sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/8 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg

• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

• 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

For crust:

• In medium bowl, combine crumbs, sugar and cinnamon. Add melted butter. Press down flat into a 9-inch springform pan. Set aside.

For filling:

• Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add pumpkin puree, eggs, egg yolk, sour cream, sugar and the spices. Add flour and vanilla. Beat together until well combined.

• Pour into crust. Spread out evenly and place oven for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and let sit for 15 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours.

Just a note, 1 hour is NOT enough.  90 minutes will do the trick.  And apparently you need a warm water bath when using a springform pan and baking a cheesecake to avoid cracks.  Who knew??

I just put it in the fridge, I think I may have to let the husband have a little taste tonight to see if it's edible! It's definitely not as pretty has Paula's but I hope it tastes as good!

I'll be putting Whipped Cream on top before I drop it off @ Katherine's school tomorrow so that will cover all the imperfections so I'm not really too concerned with the cracks!

I'll let ya know how it turns out!

LOVES!!