Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake

On the day after Halloween, Starbucks started using its signature red holiday cups.  It got rid of pumpkin spice lattes and pumpkin scones, and introduced peppermint mochas and holiday blend teas.  Did I miss something?  How can they skip fall and Thanksgiving and go right to Christmas?? It's not time for peppermint yet! It's still pumpkin season!  And you should expect several more pumpkin recipes as we approach Thanksgiving :)

This cheesecake was a request from one of my coworkers.  He asked for pumpkin cheesecake, but I decided to keep with a traditional cheesecake base, and swirl pumpkin into it.  It turned out so well! This cheesecake is seriously yummy, and not overly-pumpkiny (can there even be such a thing as too much pumpkin?) so it's a nice compromise for cheesecake lovers and pumpkin lovers and before you know it, the whole pan is gone!

Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake
adapted from Elegant Made Easy and Gingerbread Bagels

Ingredients
Crust

• 1 1/2 cups crushed graham cracker
• 3 Tablespoons packed brown sugar
• ½ cup melted butter

Cheesecake

• 3 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 Tablespoons flour
• 3 eggs
• 8 oz. sour cream
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla

Pumpkin Swirl

• 2/3 cup of pumpkin puree
• 2 Tablespoons of flour
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger

Directions

1. Add cookies and sugar in a food processor; pulse until ground. Add in butter and pulse.
2. Press mixture into a 13×9 buttered or parchment lined pan.
3. Preheat oven to 325 degrees
4. For the cheesecake, cream the sugar, cream cheese, and flour with an electric mixer on medium until light and fluffy.
5. On medium low, add eggs one at a time, mixing well with each addition.
6. Add sour cream and vanilla and mix until just combined, then set cheesecake mixture aside.
7. In a separate bowl, combine the ingredients for the pumpkin swirl (pumpkin puree, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger).
8. Add 1 cup of the cheesecake mixture to the pumpkin swirl mixture, and stir until combined and smooth.
9. Pour the plain cheesecake mixture over crust and evenly smooth out.
10. Add dollops of approximately 1 teaspoon of pumpkin-cheesecake mixture every few inches. Take a wooden skewer and run it gently through the pumpkin mixture and cheesecake mixture to make swirls.
11. Bake for approximately 35 – 40 minutes or until set.
12. Let cool and then chill in refrigerator for at least 2 hrs before slicing.

Yummy Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownies

Wednesday was my coworker Joanna's birthday. I usually bring something to celebrate such occasions, but I was having trouble deciding what to bake this time. We've had cookies, pie, and even bread, but I was not really inspired by any of those options...

Inspiration definitely hit when I stumbled upon a recipe for Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownies just two days ago - I just couldn't get it out of my head! I had to make them. Yum!

[Side rant: I went to my neighborhood Safeway to get the ingredients for these brownies, and I was disappointed.yet.again. (remember when they didn't have bread flour?) All I wanted was some canned pumpkin. Seems simple, right? But apparently, according to two separate employees, "they discontinued canned pumpkin." Excuse me? Discontinued? I was shocked and asked how they expect people to make pumpkin pie?! They shrugged and said they hope "they" start making it again before Thanksgiving. Are you serious, Safeway? Do I need to call Libby's and file a complaint? I find it very hard to believe that canned pumpkin has been discontinued forever. What kind of excuse is that? Safeway, you are running out of chances in my book. If you weren't a block away from my house, I would never go back again.]

No canned pumpkin. No. Canned. Pumpkin. How the heck was I supposed to make these delicious brownies?! I had already set my mind on making them. I had to have them. So I did something very uncharacteristic of a lazy and impatient baker: I got desperate and I bought a real-live whole pumpkin, roasted it, then pureed it.

I know. I surprise even myself sometimes...

So much extra effort! But it was worth it. And I even got to enjoy roasted pumpkin seeds as a byproduct!

Pumpkin married with chocolate and cheesecake...mmmmm! These brownies were a huge hit. Even Joanna, who as it turns out, doesn't like pumpkin OR cheesecake, really loved the brownies! They are the perfect way to welcome the fall (or celebrate a special 25th birthday!)

Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownies

Adapted from Beantown Baker

Brownies

• 3/4 c. melted butter
• 1 c. sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 c. flour
• 1/2 c. cocoa powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon

Cheesecake

• 8oz pkg cream cheese, softened
• 1 egg
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1/2 c. pumpkin puree (I hope they didn't "discontinue" canned pumpkin at your grocery store)
• 1/4 tsp vanilla
• 2/3 tsp cinnamon
• 1/3 tsp ground cloves
• 1/3 tsp ground ginger

Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Grease an 8x8" square pan (I also lined with parchment paper)

For the brownie batter: beat together melted butter, sugar and vanilla, then add the eggs. Mix the dry ingredients together, then stir into the butter mixture with a spoon.

Beat together the cheesecake batter ingredients in a separate bowl.

Spread about 2/3 of the brownie batter into the pan, then pour the cheesecake batter over it. Spoon the rest of the brownie batter over the cheesecake batter. Swirl the dark and light batters together with a knife (Looks seem to be important with this recipe, but even though my swirls didn't turn out to be so pretty, the brownies were YUMMY)

Bake for 40 minutes, or until center is set. Cool completely on wire rack, then chill for a couple of hours (or overnight) before cutting and serving.