This Friday it’s all about desserts. Amazing, sinfully fattening, delicious desserts. Last weekend we made the rounds to a few Thanksgiving dinners. I’ve never cooked a turkey or made a dinner by myself (I’m sure my time will come!) but I always like to bring something.

This year, it was desserts. I brought a caramel apple pie to my dad’s dinner (frozen, and bought at the Big Apple, hehe) but I made my very own, from scratch, gooey caramel pumpkin cheesecake for my Oma’s Thanksgiving feast. Recipe is adapted from The Pioneer Woman cooks.

I really liked the idea of a caramel glaze on the top of the cheesecake, but it stayed really runny and thin, and was a bit of a pain to transport, so I may skip that next time. The original recipe calls for a 10 inch springform pan, which I don’t have. I made a double crust and stuck it in the bottom of a big 9X13 pan.

The overall verdict? Lots of yummy noises from everyone.

Caramel Pumpkin Cheesecake

1 bag gingersnaps (2 rows for double crust)
1 cup Chopped Pecans
12 Tablespoons Butter, Melted (i used about 2/3 cups)
4 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
1 dash Salt (haha, just realized I forgot the salt. Oops.)

4 packages (8 0z. Packages) Cream Cheese
1-½ cup Sugar
1 can 15-ounce Pumpkin Puree
1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1 teaspoon Allspice (don’t have, used ginger)
½ teaspoons Nutmeg
4 whole Eggs
2 Tablespoons Heavy Cream
1 jar (about 12 Oz.) Caramel Topping (optional)

For crust:
Put gingersnaps into a Ziploc bag and crunch into crumbs (I used the pestle from my mortar and pestle, but a rolling pin or heavy can would work too).

Add pecans and crunch them up, too. Dump it all into a bowl and mix in the melted butter, brown sugar, and salt (if you remember it), and mix until thoroughly combined. Press into bottom of pan. Chill for 20-30 minutes.

For filling:
Microwave cream cheese until soft. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing for 20 seconds between each addition. Add pumpkin and spices and mix again. Add cream and mix until just combined.

Remove crust from fridge and pour cheesecake filling over top.
Bake at 300 degrees for 1 hour 15 minutes, or until no longer soupy. Cheesecake should still be somewhat jiggly.
Cool on counter for 30 minutes.

If you want, pour some caramel sauce over top and smooth it out. Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight. Bring to family dinner. Prepare for yummy noises.

So, Canadian Thanksgiving may be over but I’m still craving pumpkin recipes for fall! Here’s a round-up of some mmmm delicious sounding ones. I better stock up on pumpkin!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread (Two Peas and Their Pod)

Pumpkin Pie Bars (Brown Eyed Baker)

Chocolate Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars (Our Family Eats)

Pumpkin Spice Latte (The Family Kitchen)

Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal Bake (Jules Food)

Pumpkin and Feta Muffins (101 Cookbooks)