Easy Pumpkin Cheesecake

Halloween is right around the corner and Thanksgiving (my favorite holiday) is soon to follow, so it gives me a chance to share my obsession with "Pumpkin"! For the next month or so I will be posting all my favorite pumpkin recipes and ideas, everything from pumpkin pie to pumpkin centerpieces.

Easy Pumpkin Cheesecake

ingredients:

• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker, chocolate or 12 mini crusts
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 pinch ground cloves
• 1 pinch ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup frozen whipped topping, thawed

directions:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Blend in eggs one at a time, then add pumpkin, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg, stir gently until well blended. 
• Place pie crust/crusts on a baking sheet, carefully spread batter over the crust.
• Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until center is almost set. Allow to cool, then refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight. Cover with whipped topping before serving.

Tips: 

You can substitute the cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg with 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice. 

If making the 12 mini crusts reduce cooking time by 5-10 minutes.

Prevent cracks by baking the pie at a moderate temperature and even better, bake custard pies in a “water bath”. This prevents the outer layer of custard from baking too fast. But if it does crack, just remember you can cover it with whip cream!