Thanksgiving: Pumpkin Cheesecake with Ginger Cookie Crust

My pumpkin cheesecake recipe is a story of Matt's & my courtship, it really tells how much I adored him. Thanksgiving of 2005, Matt & I had been dating for a few months & he invited me to Thanksgiving with his family, who I had never met before. Wanting to impress, I asked Matt to check with his Dad what I could bring to help with dinner. I was given the assignment of sweet potatoes (I made the Wild Turkey recipe) & desert. I asked Matt what his favorite desert was, he said pumpkin pie or cheesecake. I really wanted Matt to know how excited I was to meet his family & a basic pumpkin pie didn't seem special enough, thus the tradition of Matt's Pumpkin Cheesecake was born. Now making a cheesecake might not seem like a great gesture but I am allergic to pumpkins.

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1 1/2 cups Anna's Ginger cookies crumbled

1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans

3/4 pound cream cheese softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

5 large eggs, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin puree

3/4 cup heavy cream

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 cups heavy cream

2 teaspoons sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Crust

Preheat oven to 325°F. In a small bowl, combine the butter, the cookie crumbs and the pecans and then press into the bottom of a buttered 10-inch springform pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.

Filling

In a large bowl, on the low speed of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until very smooth. Gradually add the sugars. Add the eggs, one at a time. Add the pumpkin puree and mix until just blended. To ensure that the batter has no lumps and that no ingredients are stuck to the bottom of the bowl, stop the mixer several times and scrape down the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula Stir in the heavy cream and cinnamon. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and set the pan on a baking sheet. Bake until the edges are set and the center moves only slightly when the pan is shaken about 1 hour. At the end of the baking time, turn off the heat and, using a wooden spoon to keep the oven door slightly ajar, cool the cake in the oven for 1 hour before removing. Cover and refrigerate for at least 12 hours or overnight.

Whipped Cream

Place all the ingredients in a medium-size bowl and whip with an eggbeater or a whisk until soft peaks form. Serve immediately or cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 4 hours. Remove the cake from the refrigerator 15-30 minutes before cutting and serving. Garnish with the sweetened whipped cream and toasted pecan halves.