Pumpkin Cheesecake with Gingersnap Crust

mmm...pumpkin. Double mmm...pumpkin cheesecake! Everything at my house lately has been about pumpkin. We've had pumpkin waffles, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin bread and now pumpkin cheesecake which is by far the family favorite of all the pumpkin recipes thus far. I have not make a classic pumpkin pie yet though, I usually save that for Thanksgiving.

Pumpkin Cheesecake with Gingersnap Crust

3 cups crushed gingersnap cookies
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, melted

3 packages cream cheese
1 15 ounce can pureed pumpkin
3 eggs plus 1 yolk
1/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cloves
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Using a rolling pin and ziploc baggy if you need to get out some aggression or a food processor if you want to go the easy route, crush ginger snaps into a fine crumb until you get 3 cups. Make sure to buy a hard, dry cookie. Add melted butter into food processor and pulse to combine crumbs and butter. Press cookie crumbs onto the bottom and up the sides of a 10" spring form pan, using a flat measuring cup. Be sure to firmly press crumbs so they are compact enough to hold shape in the pan.

Add cream cheese to your mixer bowl and beat until smooth. Add pumpkin, eggs, sour cream, sugar and spices. Mix again until combined, then add flour and vanilla. Beat on medium high until the batter is smooth and silky. Pour mixture into crust.

Bake for 60 minutes until center or cream cheese is set. Remove from oven and let rest on counter for 20 minutes, then cover with plastic and refrigerate for 4 hours before enjoying!!