Jackie Aanonsen McEwan is the founder of glutenfreefollowme.com, a resource-rich website for people following a gluten free diet. After being diagnosed with celiac disease eight years ago, Jackie was unable to find a comprehensive guide that provided information about going gluten free–so she embarked on the project of creating one herself. Today, her website indexes more than 2,000 gluten-free eateries, delivery services, products, and recipes that she has reviewed and made. She was kind enough to share her pumpkin cheesecake recipe made with Outside The Breadbox graham cracker crumbs–a dessert that will definitely have your Thanksgiving guests giving thanks! To find more of her mouthwatering gluten-free creations, visit glutenfreefollowme.com/recipes.
Ingredients
Crust
- 1.5 cups Outside The Breadbox gluten-free graham cracker crumbs
- 6 Tbsp butter, melted
Cheesecake Filling
- 16oz cream cheese, softened
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 can (15 oz) pumpkin puree
- 2.5 tsp pumpkin pie spice
Topping
- whipped cream
Directions
- Grease the bottom and sides of a 9-inch non-stick springform pan with a bit of butter, then line the bottom with parchment paper.
- In a medium-sized bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs and melted butter to make the crust.
- Lightly press the graham cracker crumb mixture into lined pan so the bottom is completely covered.
- In a large bowl, combine the cream cheese, sour cream, and brown sugar, and mix well. Add the eggs and vanilla extract to the bowl. Fold in pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place pan on baking sheet. This protects the bottom of the crust from burning, and makes it easier to move the pan in and out of the oven.
- Spoon cream cheese mixture on top of graham cracker crust. Smooth the mixture well so it completely covers the crust.
- Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until edges are slightly golden and the center no longer wobbles.
- Remove the cheesecake from oven, and let it cool completely before refrigerating.
- Put the cheesecake in the fridge so it can chill for at least a few hours before cutting into it. I like to chill the cheesecake overnight.
- If you use a springform pan, then unlatch the pan, gently lift away the sides, and slide the cake onto a platter. Or you can simply leave the cake on its base instead of attempting to slide if off. To easily cut the cheesecake, heat a knife under hot water for a minute and then wipe knife dry. Cut into the cheesecake, and wipe knife clean after each cut. After I removed one slice, I was able to carefully remove the entire cheesecake from the pan.
- When ready to serve, top cheesecake with whipped cream. Store cheesecake in fridge if you don’t eat it all!
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