Pumpkin Cheesecake with Pecan Crumble

This Pumpkin Cheesecake with Pecan Crumble on top just screams holiday dessert. The cheesecake itself has that same dense silky texture we all love in a cheesecake but it also has the flavor of a pumpkin pie thrown into the mix. The pumpkin puree in the recipe takes up the volume of 2 additional blocks of cream cheese and trims a ton of calories and fat. The low fat cream cheese and sour cream save even more calories. This one is sure to make an impression at the holiday dessert table.

Notes

For the cookie crumbs I used 14 of the honey ginger spice cookies I made in a previous video which was 3 cups by volume and 10 oz by weight. You can substitute any other gluten free ginger cookie or graham cracker. If you’re not following a gluten free diet you can use regular ginger cookies and also use all purpose flour instead of the gluten free Bisquick in the crumble topping.

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Ingredients

FOR THE CRUST:
3 cups gluten free ginger cookie crumbs
4 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons sugar
FOR THE BATTER:
3 8-oz packages of light cream cheese
1 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup low fat sour cream
5 eggs
1 15-oz can pumpkin puree
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
FOR THE CRUMBLE:
1/2 cup gluten free Bisquick
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
4 tablespoons cold diced butter
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F and line the exterior of a 10 inch spring form pan with foil then place it on a baking sheet to prevent any leaking into the oven.
To make the crust, mix all of the crust ingredients together until the mixture resembles wet sand then dump the mixture into the bottom of the pan and press the mixture firmly along the bottom and up the sides of the pan. A flat bottom glass with straight sides is useful for both the bottom and the sides.
Once the crust is formed bake it for 10 minutes then carefully remove it from the oven and let it cool.
To make the batter, in a mixer, cream together the cream cheese, brown sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. Turn the mixer off, scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add the sour cream and beat until thoroughly combined.
Add the eggs one at a time until theyâ€™re all incorporated then scrape down the bowl again and add the pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice then beat on medium speed for 5 minutes stopping the mixer periodically to scrape down the bowl.
Pour the batter into the prepared crust and bake for 1 hour before adding the pecan layer.
To make the pecan crumble, stir together the gluten free Bisquick, brown sugar, and cinnamon until well combined then add the cold diced butter and using your fingers or a pastry cutter work the butter into the dry mixture until you have a coarse crumbly texture then stir in the pecans and set aside in the refrigerator until the cheesecake has baked for 1 hour.
Evenly sprinkle the pecan crumble over the cheesecake and raise the oven temperature to 350Â°F (or 175Â°C) then bake it for an additional 15 minutes.
Remove the cake from the oven, let it cool completely then cover it and refrigerate for at least 6 hours but overnight is better for the easier slicing and serving.