Recipe: Layered Cranberry-Pumpkin Cheesecake with Gingersnap Crust

CRANBERRY-PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE

FOR THE CRUST:
15 gingersnap cookies
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (or your choice)
2 tbsp. butter, melted
FOR THE CHEESECAKE:
4 pkg. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
5 eggs
1 (8 oz) container sour cream
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup canned pumpkin
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1 (16 oz) can whole-berry cranberry sauce, stirred
whipped cream

Position oven racks in center and lower third of oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9x3-inch spring form pan with cooking spray

TO PREPARE THE CRUST:
In food processor process cookies and nuts until finely ground; stir in butter. Press crumb mix onto bottom of pan and 1-inch up side of pan.

Bake 8 minutes. Cool.

Place a roasting pan on lower oven rack filled 1/2 way with water.

TO PREPARE THE CHEESECAKE:
At medium-high speed, beat cream cheese and sugar until fluffy, about 3 minutes. On low speed beat in 1 egg at a time. Beat in sour cream, flour and vanilla on medium speed for 2 minutes. Pour half of batter onto cookie crust, in spring form pan.

Bake (immersed in water bath) 40 minutes or until it jiggles slightly. Remove from oven.

Spread cranberry sauce over still hot cheesecake layer but leave 1/2-inch border of cheesecake uncovered.

Meanwhile, at low speed, beat pumpkin, cinnamon and ginger into remaining batter. Pour pumpkin batter onto cranberry sauce layer, it will come almost to top of pan.

Bake another 40-45 minutes (immersed in water bath). Turn off oven and let cheesecake sit with oven door closed for 20 minutes.

Run knife around edge of spring from pan to loosen. Remove from spring form pan. Cool, refrigerate overnight. Add whip cream and serve.

Source: Woman's World Magazine