White Chocolate Pumpkin Cheesecake

I love Fall and I am always anxious to pull out my 'pumpkin' recipes and bake! This past weekend my husband and I had some friends over for dinner and while the hubby took care of the main course (sushi), I made the dessert. Sushi and pumpkin really don't go together, but I was really in the mood for a Fall dessert. I came across this recipe from the October/November 2007 Taste of Home issue. I baked it the day before as it needs to refrigerate over night and my house smelled wonderful while baking! Some people do not like cracks in the top of their cheesecakes...I personally don't care if I have small cracks. The nice thing about this particular recipe, you cover the top with an almond topping, so it hides any imperfections. My only complaint (before tasting) is that mine did not rise as much as a cheesecake should. I'm sure it has something to do with the altitude, but I wasn't sure what changes to make to the recipe to account for this other than decreasing the sugar a bit (which I did!). Hopefully if you choose to make this cheesecake yours will stand a little taller!

White Chocolate Pumpkin Cheesecake

1 1/2 cups crushed gingersnap cookies (about 32 cookies)

1/4 cup butter, melted

3 pkgs cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

5 squares (1 oz each) white baking chocolate, melted and cooled

3/4 cup canned pumpkin

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Almond Topping:

1/2 cup chopped almonds

2 Tbls butter, melted

1 tsp sugar

In a small bowl, combine gingersnap crumbs and butter. Press onto the bottom of a greased 9-inch springform pan; set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla; beat on low speed just until combined. Stir in melted white chocolate. Combine pumpkin and spices; gently fold into cream cheese mixture. Pour over crust. Place pan on baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 55-60 minutes or until center is just set. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the topping ingredients; spread in a shallow baking pan. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown, stirring twice. Cool. Carefully run a knife around edge of springform pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer. Refrigerate overnight. Transfer topping to an airtight container; store in the refrigerator. Just before serving, remove sides of pan; sprinkle topping over cheesecake. Refrigerate leftovers. Makes 12 servings.