TURTLE PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE!

Now, on to this crazy delicious dessert.  Before December hits, I wanted to post one last pumpkin recipe.  I made this turtle pumpkin cheesecake for Thanksgiving and it terrible.  Just kidding.  How could a creamy pumpkin cheesecake combined with all of the deliciousness of turtle-ness be terrible?!  As you can imagine, it was rich, decadent, and over the top.  But it was Thanksgiving and calories didn’t count.  A fun thing about this cheesecake was how it looked pretty impressive and made it appear like I have some serious cheesecake skills.   Here’s a little secret: if you can drizzle chocolate and caramel, you too can make an impressive looking cheesecake.   

Turtle Pumpkin Cheesecake

makes 9″ cheesecake

for the crust:

1 whole package of Oreos

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/3 cup caramel sauce, homemade or store-bought

for the cheesecake:

32 ounces (4 8 oz blocks) cream cheese, at room temperature

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 (15 oz) can pumpkin

4 eggs, at room temperature

2 1/2 tbsp heavy cream

1 tbsp pure vanilla extract

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp ground allspice

for the topping: 

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

caramel sauce

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Wrap a 9-inch springform pan with heavy duty foil around the edges.  

To make the crust: pulse Oreos in large food processor or put them in a large plastic baggie and roll them with a rolling pin until fine crumbs.  Add melted butter and mix to combine.  Press into prepared springform pan and bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and sprinkle pecans over crust, then drizzle with caramel sauce.  Set aside and reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees F.  

To make the cheesecake:  In large bowl with electric mixer, beat cream cheese, sugar, and brown sugar until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes.  Add pumpkin and mix on low.  Scrape down sides as needed.  Then add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides as needed.  

Add heavy cream and vanilla and beat until combined, about 1 minute.  Finally, add the spices and salt and mix well to combine.  Pour batter into prepared crust.  

Place the springform pan in a large roasting pan in which the springform pan will fit and add hot water to pan about halfway up the springform pan.  Bake in preheated oven for 60-70 minutes, until the edges are set and the middle still jiggles a little.  Keeping the oven door closed, turn off the oven and let the cheesecake cool in oven for 1 hour.  After an hour, remove from oven and take springform pan out of waterbath and let cool on a wire rack for 2 hours.  Lastly, place in refrigerator and let cool completely for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.  

Once cooled completely, sprinkle pecans on top of cheesecake.  Place semi-sweet chocolate chips in a plastic baggie and microwave in 20 second intervals until melted.  Snip one of the edges off the baggie to drizzle chocolate over pecans.  Then drizzle with caramel sauce to your liking.  Enjoy!