Pumpkin Cheesecake Gluten Free

This may be my only post this week, for our son is getting married on Saturday, October 1, and I really need to spend serious time cleaning the house for family who will be staying here. Oh, who am I kidding! It's been misty and raining all day and I feel totally unmotivated to do anything like cleaning. Right now I've got piles of books (and dog hair) just about everywhere, but there is hope for the books because at some point Kevin is going to build bookshelves. There's no hope for the dog hair issue, and I don't want to hear any of your non-dog-lover-peanut-gallery solutions to this problem! Trust me, I've heard it all before from You-Know-Who.

The other problem is that we need to get the huge Christmas cactus, Jade, and Yucca plants, which have been living outdoors during the summer, into the house for October - May. There are about 15 others that would like to live in the house with us too, but I've finally decided to limit it to a few herbs and my aloe and smaller Christmas cactus. I'd planned on trying to winter over the basil, but it's already looking uncooperative.

Some of you may recognize this cheesecake recipe. I posted it last fall, but today, when I was thinking about pumpkin, I remembered this delicious cheesecake. So, just in case you didn't get the recipe the first time around, here it is again. It's the perfect dessert for a cold fall evening. Hope you enjoy it. I know I did...way too much. ;-)

 Pumpkin Cheesecake, just out of the oven

Chilled and ready to serve

I made an Autumn Apple cheesecake also, but that's another story. Both cheesecakes are delicious!

Just a wee sliver for...a taste test?

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cheesecake Recipe:

Ingredients

1 pkg. Gluten-free ginger snaps, crushed. I used Mi-Del, which I find at WalMart. Makes about 1.5 cups of crumbs. After I'd munched a few of the ginger snaps out of the bag, I had about the right amount remaining. Works out so well!

3/4 c. ground hazelnuts

3 T. brown sugar

6 T. unsalted butter, melted

Preheat Oven to 325 degrees F. Grease (cooking spray) a 9-inch springform pan.

Toss gingersnaps, hazelnuts, brown sugar, and melted butter until mixed. Press this mixture onto the bottom and a little up the sides of the springform pan.

Filling:

3   8-oz. packages of cream cheese, softened

1 c. brown sugar

1 1/2 c. canned solid pack pumpkin

1/2 c. heavy whipping cream

1/3 c. maple syrup

1 T. vanilla extract

3/4 t. ground cinnamon

1/2 t. ground allspice

4 eggs

With an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and brown sugar until fluffy. Stir in pumpkin. Mix in the cream, maple syrup, cinnamon, allspice, and vanilla. Beat eggs in, one at a time. Mix all until smooth.

Pour batter into prepared crust (above). I also set it on a cookie sheet because my springform pan was filled right to the top. I was supposed to bake it in the preheated oven for 90 minutes, but it took a good 120 minutes before it was done enough.

Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan for an hour, then refrigerate several hours before serving. I made mine in the afternoon of one day and served it the evening of the next day, so it was well chilled.

Which reminds me: Once I was in a restaurant in Stillwater, MN and ordered cheesecake. The server actually warmed it in the microwave before serving it to me. What?? She was young and ignorant. What more can I say. (well, plenty, but I won't.)

This is a great recipe to serve to guests.
(if there's any left)

Cut into 16 slices.

Reading this post again makes me hungry!
See you all next week.

This post is linked to: Making the World Cuter Mondays and Something I Whipped Up Monday and  Motivate Me Monday and Making Monday Marvelous and Made from Scratch Tuesday and Delectable Tuesday and Anything Related Tuesday and Take a Look Tuesday and Tasty Tuesday  and Tasty Tuesday and Tasty Tuesday and  Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays  and Two Maids a Baking and  Wandering Wednesday and What's Cookin' Wednesday and We Did it Wednesday and Cast Party Wednesday and Thrilling Thursday and It's a Party at Creative Princess and Lisa's Gluten-Free Blog and Favorite Things Friday and I'm Lovin' it Friday and It's a Hodgepodge Friday  and Fat Camp Friday and Fun With Food Friday