Marbled Pumpkin Cheesecake

Usually, my go-to dessert for Thanksgiving is a basic apple bar recipe. They're so quick, easy, and crowd-pleasing! This year, though, I wanted to try something a little fancier and not-so-apple-centric. I'm not a huge fan of pumpkin pie, although I do buy into the fall hype of pumpkin-flavored everything, so I decided to try a pumpkin cheesecake. As an added bonus, cheesecake is a convenient option for Thanksgiving since it needs to be made in advance.

I used a basic crust recipe of graham crackers and butter. If you're not buying pre-crushed graham crackers, I highly recommend a rolling pin to smash the crackers for maximum catharsis.

First, cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla are mixed till smooth and combined with eggs. This is the plain cheesecake mix that will form the base and be stirred in at the end to form the marble pattern.

I first loaded the crust with a little less than half of the batter, but the amounts are definitely flexible. At this point, I also reserved about 1/2 cup of the plain cheesecake mix and set it aside.

Next, I added pumpkin pie filling to the remaining cheesecake batter and mixed it in. (You can also use plain pumpkin puree and customize your spice mix - e.g. cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, etc. - but I can be pretty lazy.)

This pumpkin flavored batter is then added to the prepared and partially-filled crust. The final step is to dollop the plain cheesecake batter you reserved earlier over the top, and then swirl it in to create the marbled effect. Here's a video of the marbling process:

Once that's done, it's time to pop it into the oven to bake in a water bath! After the cheesecake is baked, I recommend letting it cool slowly, and then refrigerating it overnight without taking it out until just before serving. Because of the pumpkin puree mixed into the batter, the texture of this cake was a bit looser than your standard cheesecake, and keeping it cold helps firm it up.

Marbled Pumpkin Cheesecake adapted from AllRecipes

Ingredients

2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cup melted unsalted butter

3 packages of cream cheese, 8oz each (room temperature)

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs (room temperature)

1/2 cup sour cream

1 cup pumpkin pie filling

1/2 tsp cinnamon if desired

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).

2. Mix butter and graham cracker crumbs. Press mixture evenly into a 9-inch springform pan that's at least 3 inches tall.

3. Bake crust for 10 minutes, then remove and let cool. 

4. In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Beat until smooth. 

5. Blend in eggs one at a time until evenly incorporated. 

6. Remove 1 cup of batter and spread into bottom of crust. Set aside an additional 1/2 cup of batter.

7. Add pumpkin pie filling (and cinnamon if using) to the remaining batter and stir gently until well blended. Carefully spread over the batter in the crust.

8. Dollop reserved plain cheesecake batter over the top and swirl in a marbled pattern.

9. Bake in a water bath for 35 to 40 minutes, or until center is almost set. Allow to cool, then refrigerate for at least 3 hours (overnight recommended.)

Enjoy!