Pumpkin Cheesecake

My family celebrates Thanksgiving by having a big dinner feast with just the immediate family.  My mom usually makes pumpkin tort for dessert, but this year she decided she wasn't going to so I volunteered to make a pumpkin cheesecake instead.  I was a little nervous though because I had never made a cheesecake before!

I found a recipe online of Paula Deen's online that I decided to use.  After reading a bunch of the reviews I decided to add a pan of water in the oven when I cooked the cheesecake to help so it didn't dry out.  I also adjusted the baking time and added about 20 minutes to what Paula's recipe called for.  The cheesecake ended up cracking a bit, but I'm sure that is something that will be fixed with experience.  One side also ended up being a little darker than the rest of the cheesecake but I think that is because I placed the pan of water on the rack under the cheesecake unevenly.  The cheesecake turned out quite delicious anyways and got raving reviews, especially when topped with homemade whipped cream!

Crust

• 1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 stick melted butter

Filling

• 3 8oz packages of cream cheese at room temperature (I used low fat cream cheese)
• 1 15oz can pumpkin puree
• 3 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
• 1/4 cup sour cream (I used light sour cream)
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. For crust, combine graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, and cinnamon.
3. Add melted butter.
4. Press down flat into a 9-inch springform pan.
5. For filling, beat cream cheese until smooth.
6. Add pumpkin puree, eggs, egg yolk, sour cream, sugar, and spices.
7. Add flour and vanilla.  Beat together until well combined.
8. Pour filling into crust and spread out evenly.
9. Bake in oven containing a separate pan of water for 1 hour and 20 minutes, or until cheesecake only lightly jiggles.
10. Remove from oven and let sit for about 15 minutes.
11. Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.