Over the past years its has become expected of me to make a cheesecake for the family Thanksgiving dinner. Last year I did a Peanut butter cheesecake. That has become a favorite of our family. But I do chocolates and mint. This year my brother recommended a pumpkin cheesecake. I found a recipe in the Cooking Light Magazine. It was already a healthy cheesecake (as cheesecakes go), but with a few adjustments I made it even more healthy.
- Use 2 pre-made graham cracker crust or use the following to make your own.
- 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (about 5 cookie sheets)
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped pecans* or almonds
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar *can substitute Splenda (or like product)
- 1 tablespoon butter, melted *substitute spray butter
To make your own mix the above items, then press them on the bottom of a 9"spring form pan or pie tin (I like a pie tin because you can have smaller pieces)
the actual cheesecake:
- 1 cup (8 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened *substitute fat free cream cheese
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar *can substitute Splenda
- 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar *can substitute Splenda light Brown Sugar (follow directions)
- 1 (15-ounce) can unsweetened pumpkin
- 2 large eggs *can substitute egg whites
- 2 tablespoons bourbon *optional
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare your crust, if you made it yourself make sure you brown it first. To make the cheesecake, beat cream cheese, add the sugar and brown sugar in mixing bowl. Mix till smooth. Then add the pumpkin and eggs. Mix some more, add the remaining ingredients, mix well. Pour smooth mixture cover the graham cracker crust. If using a spring form pan and cooking all the cheesecake together (not doing to pie tins) its recommended to place the spring form pan in a roasting dish with 1 inch of water in it. Bake for 35 mins or until the center is cooked, do the tap test (tap the side-does the middle jiggle if so then its not done) or the toothpick test. Remove from oven and let cool, refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Serve with Whipped Cream.
As the recipe is written without substitute suggestions: cals: 284 fat:14 fiber: 2.7 cut into 6 servings, slightly over 6 points per serving (if you had 2 slices it would be 13 points) This includes homemade whipping cream that is 1.5 per serving with slice.
With my suggestions and using the light can whipping cream 2points for each slice in a pie tin or 3 points for a spring form pan slice.
Happy Holidays!!
