Pumpkin Cheesecake.

Oh, baby. Are you in for a treat today! If I were you I would go ahead and do a test run of this cheesecake this weekend...just to make sure it's edible. Then I would go ahead and make it again for Halloween. That way by Thanksgiving you'll have it perfected. 

You can thank me later. But, you can thank Paula Deen now, for it is her creation. I ain't no chef. I just follow directions. And then I pass them on to you.

First you'll need to get the ingredients lined up in alphabetical order. If you're OCD. Which, I'm not.

You probably have everything lying around except for the obscene amounts of cream cheese and the pureed pumpkin. Oh, and maybe the graham crumbs.

Start by getting the crust ready. This ain't no ordinary graham crust, ya know. It's got cinnamon and brown sugar added to the crumbs and butter. That's how Paula Deen rolls, y'all.





Melt the butter, mix it all up and press it gently into a spring form pan. I've been told pressing it too hard results in a crumbling disaster...but I wouldn't know anything about that. Be sure some of the crust comes up the edges a bit. That way you'll have an edgy cheesecake. Haha. Get it? Edgy? Not boring?





Anywhooo...Set the crust aside and get started on the filling. But first, for God's sake, set out the cream cheese to bring it to room temperature. This will take a while so it's best to do this well before hand. Also, don't forget to take it out of the foil wrap it comes in. While you're waiting, kick back and pour yourself a cocktail. Or dust the house. Whatever suits your fancy.





Back to the filling. In a bowl combine sugar, nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon. Now set it aside and go make sure the cream cheese is at a nice ambient temperature.





In a mixer, begin by beating the cream cheese until it is smooth. Then add in pureed pumpkin.





Add 3 eggs and 1 egg yolk. The yolk is the yellow part, right? So, that's four yellow things total.





Next add a bit of sour cream. I went with light sour cream because I'm skinny like that.





Now you'll need a bit of all-purpose flour to add to the mix.





Drop in some vanilla when you're done.





Finally, pour in the pre-made bowl of sugar and spice. And everything nice. That's what little girls are made of.





Now pour that bad boy over top of the crust and pop it in the pre-heated over for 60 minutes. Or 65 if you're like me and your oven has a mind of it's own. You can have another cocktail right now while you're waiting.

Ba-da-bing-ba-da-boom! No exploding cheesecakes for this girl! It appears the curse has been broken.





This part is important. My mother says so. After the cheesecake has cooled for about 15 minutes, take a knife and cut around the edges. This will prevent cracking through the center.

My girl Paula Deen says to cover the cheesecake and place it in the fridge for at least four hours. Around here, what Paula says, Paula gets. So I left it in overnight just to be safe.

The next day when I removed the spring form I was greeted by a most beautiful pumpkin cheesecake.

If it isn't already on your Thanksgiving dessert menu, it should be.

Enjoy!

Copy and Pasteable:

Paula Deen's Pumpkin Cheesecake (It's Easy!)

Crust

:

1 3/4 cups gra

ham cracker crumbs 

3 tablespoons light brown sugar 

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 

1 stick melted salted butter 

Filling

:

3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature 

1 (15-ounce) can pureed pumpkin 

3 eggs plus 1 egg yolk 

1/4 cup sour cream 

1 1/2 cups sugar 

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 

1/8 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg 

1

/8 teaspoon ground cloves 

2 tablespoon all-purpose flour 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 

For crust:

In medium bowl, combine crumbs, sugar and cinnamon. Add melted butter. Press down flat into a 9-inch springform pan. Set aside. 

For filling:

Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add pumpkin puree, eggs, egg yolk, sour cream, sugar and the spices. Add flour and vanilla. Beat together until well combined. 

Pour into crust. Spread out evenly and place oven for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and let sit for 15 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours.