Pumpkin Cheesecake

Pumpkin Cheesecake (Sugar-free)


It has been a very happy and joyful holiday. Christmas, this year, was spent with my fiance's family in Northern California. I didn't want to show up empty handed, so I decided to try a pumpkin cheesecake recipe from Kalyn's kitchen that looked fantastic. 






I used an almond crust that I made the night before so it could cool while I slept before a busy morning.

Almond Pie Crust
(adapted from glutenfreegoddess)

1 cups (heaping) almond meal
1/4 cup multigrain oatmeat or old-fashioned oatmeal
1/4 cup olive oil (or butter/vegan stick margarine, melted)
8 packets of splenda (or 2/3 cup brown sugar)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Dash of cinnamon and nutmeg

(1) Preheat oven at 350 degrees F.
(2) Combine all of the ingredients to form a sticky dough. 
(3) With moist fingertips, press the dough into a greased 9x12-inch baking pan or 2 8-inch glass pie plates. Bake the crust for 20 minutes. Allow to cool completely before filling (approximately 20 min).
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The next morning, I made the pumpkin cheesecake, allowing it to completely set in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours before the drive from San Francisco to the North Bay. For my first cheesecake, I thought it turned out well.


Pumpkin Cheesecake

(adapted from Kalyn's kitchen)

2 packages (8 oz. each) neufchatel cheese or light cream cheese

1/2 cup Splenda
2/3 tsp. Vanilla extract
2 eggs + 1 egg yolk
1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling which contains sugar)
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. cloves

prepared almond (or pecan) crust

Preheat oven to 325 F. In large bowl combine softened cream cheese, Splenda, and vanilla. Beat with electric mixer until smooth. Blend in eggs, one at a time.

Add pumpkin and spices to remaining batter and stir until blended. Carefully spread pumpkin layer over first layer. Bake in preheated oven 35-45 minutes, or until center is almost set. Allow to cool, then chill several hours or overnight. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. 

Being that it was Christmas, I put a small sliver next to a piece of buttermilk pie and 7-up cake and stopped there.

I am still recovering from the holiday food but thankfully I always stay firm with serving myself, taking small portions, and taking foods that I want to try instead of everything.


Oh, another tip, leftovers (if there are any) can be frozen and saved for a rainy day.