My Famous Pumpkin Swirl CheeseCake- The Perfect Addition to Any Holiday Party!

One of the things I make that I always get compliments on is my Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake. Its rich, delicious, and to die for. And while I wouldn't exactly call it "healthy," its the holidays. Holidays are a great time to splurge a little. I ease my conscience by making this treat with low fat cream cheese (I love Lucerne 1/3 fat cream cheese), or you can use Neufchatel cheese, which is similar to cream cheese, but lighter in texture and calories.

 



My favorite part of this dessert is the crust. To make it, you need:

• 25 Gingersnaps, crushed
• 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
• 1/4 cup butter, melted



I took all three of these and mixed them in a bowl together, until its uniform. Then, spoon it into your spring form pan- in this case, a nine inch. Don't be alarmed that its still crumbly. After you spread it around, you will press it firmly into the bottom of the pan until its well packed. No need to precook this crust- you can bake it with the cheesecake all at once!

This is where the fun starts. Slap that oven on to 325 degrees and gather up this stuff:

• 16 oz. (2 packages) light cream cheese
• 3/4 c. Splenda or Sugar
• 1 tsp. Vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 1 c. Pumpkin puree
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. cloves

 



Ok, get ready to do some electric mixing. In my case I broke out my trusty old KitchenAid with the wire whisk attachment. Its my favorite for this kind of recipe, and I love to use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl for even mixing. The first thing I do is toss the cream cheese, about 1/2 a cup of sugar, and your vanilla into the mixing bowl and fire it up. Remember to scrape down those sides and the bottom with your trusty spat.
 Next, add your two eggs, one at a time, on a slow slow blend. You want one blended in before you add the next. Now that you're all blended up, you need to remove one cup of the batter and set it aside.



 

Now go back to your original mixing bowl and toss in the rest of your ingredients. You should have your spices, the pumpkin, and a little sugar left. This is where you are going to make the major part of your cheesecake, the pumpkin base.

 



Pour half of the pumpkin mixture into your spring form pan, making sure you cover the entire base.

 

This is where that special cup of white batter you set aside earlier is going to come into play. Take a spoon and dollop some of the white batter on top- and don't waste time trying to make it look pretty, because you're going to mix it up anyway. Take a butter knife and slice down and around and through the white dollops. This creates the swirl pattern in the base of the cheesecake, shown in the picture here as 1 and 2.



Next, you are going to repeat this process, although for the top layer I like to use a toothpick to make some of the swirls a little finer and more filigreed. I also love to let my daughter help with this step- its awesome to see it at work. Her face lights up as he magically creates these fun designs. :)

Anyhoo...You are ready to bake in your preheated oven. Although the color difference may not be significant now, it will darken up greatly as you bake it (approx. 45 minutes, then check the center with a toothpick).

After it cools (I placed mine on a wire rack in the kitchen for an hour or so), store it chilled in the fridge. I always leave the outer ring on my spring form pans on until I am ready to present the dessert- just to limit the chance of damaging the masterpiece.

The nutrition for a slice of this pie, made the way pictured (Splenda and reduced fat cream cheese) is as follows:

• 110 Calories
• 6.9 g. Fat
• 10.4 g. Carbs
• 4.9 g. Sugar
• 1.6 g. Protein

Remember, this is for a serving size of 1 piece, if the pie is sliced into 16 slices. So, if you're like me and have a hard time taking a sliver, account for that in your values. I hope you all enjoy this- let me know you're feedback in the comments below! I love the rich blend of the pumpkin with the gingersnap- my secret surprise at the bottom of this cheesecake that keeps people asking for the recipe. I'd love to hear what you think!