Happy Thanksgiving! My kitchen (especially my dishwasher) has been busy, busy, busy! I volunteered to take desserts to Thanksgiving at my in-law's house, so I decided on Peanut Butter Blossoms (see previous post) and Pumpkin Cheesecake, which I am trying to make into an annual tradition!  It's a bit of work to prepare, but is unbelievably scrumptious! I found this recipe in a magazine a year or so ago, and believe the credit is due to Kraft Foods. For this "project", you will need one of these:

Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake

38 ginger snaps, finely crushed (I used my food processor)

1/4 cup finely chopped pecans (I opted not to include pecans)

1/4 cup melted butter

4 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened (I used Neufchatel cheese)

1 cup sugar

1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin

1 Tbl. pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp. vanilla

4 eggs

Heat oven to 325.  Mix crumbs, nuts and butter; press onto bottom and one-inch up side of a 9-inch springform pan.  Beat cream cheese and sugar with a mixer until blended. Add pumpkin, spice and vanilla; mix well.  Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each, just until blended.  Pour into crust. Bake 1 hour 20 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes or until center is almost set.  Loosen cake from rim of pan; cool before removing rim.  Refrigerate 4 hours.  Serve with dollop of whipped cream, if desired. 

It's even better the next day - take my word for it!