Thanksgiving Early
by Candice Watters on 11/25/2009 at 9:00 AM
UPDATED. Again. Oh the things you forget when you do too many things at once (you know, like move the furniture for the carpet cleaner, make sure the turkey is thawing, pick up the sides for tomorrow's feast, get groceries with four kids in tow, and the list goes on.) So I forgot the PUMPKIN in the pumpkin pie cheesecake. No small oversight! So here, again, is the recipe. This time with all the ingredients.
ORIGINAL POST: Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to have two Thanksgiving feasts this week. But when my sister and her husband and their four kids showed up the week before the holiday, we figured we'd go for it. And we did.
We roasted a turkey, sautéed green beans, tossed a mandarin orange salad, made our Mom's stuffing recipe, peeled and boiled and mashed the potatoes, baked banana-citrus-nut muffins, made a roux for the gravy, and for dessert, I merged two recipes to create this beauty.
What are your plans for Thursday? I'll be making another turkey. And hosting a few Boundless readers for our feast. Though blessedly, we're getting our sides this time around from Whole Foods!
If you're going to someone else's for Thanksgiving and are on for bringing dessert, the above pie is a sure hit. Just in case you're still trying to decide what to bake, here's the recipe.
Pumpkin Cheesecake
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 cup + 3 Tbsp. sugar divided
3 Tbsp butter, melted
3 boxes of Philadelphia cream cheese, softened (brought to room temperature)
1 15 oz. can of pumpkin puree
3 Tbsp. flour
1 Tbsp. vanilla
3 eggs at room temperature
1 cup sour cream
2 & 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
Mix crumbs, 3 Tbsp. sugar and butter; press onto bottom of 9" spring form pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.
Beat cream cheese, 1 cup sugar, flour and vanilla with electric mixer on medium till well blended and smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing on low speed just until blended. Blend in sour cream and pumpkin. Pour over crust.
Bake at 350 degrees for 65 minutes or till center is almost set. Run knife around rim of pan to loosen; cool before removing rim. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight before serving.
Cut with large knife. For clean slices, run knife under hot water between cuts.
Top with spiced pecans roughly chopped (see below) and freshly whipped cream (I chill my metal mixing bowl and beaters in the freezer before whipping; then add 1/2 cup of powdered sugar and 1 tsp. of vanilla just before cream peaks.)
Spiced Pecans
1 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
1 cup pecans
pinch salt
pinch cayenne pepper
pinch clove
Melt butter, add spices and pecans. Coat pecans. Spread pecans onto a sheet pan and bake in 350 degree oven. Cook until crisp, approximately 15 minutes. Try not to eat them all before the guests arrive and the pie is served!
1. rbjaneite said the following at 9:16 AM on Nov 25:
1
But there isn't any pumpkin in the recipe???
2. obewan said the following at 9:20 AM on Nov 25:
2
The singles from 10 churches are going to Calvary Chapel for a feast.
3. Candice Watters said the following at 9:37 AM on Nov 25:
3
Aack!!! I forgot the pumpkin. That's what happens when you blend multiple recipes!! So it's everything above PLUS a can of pumpkin puree. Doh!!!! Thanks for pointing it out rbjaneite. : )
4. Kellie said the following at 9:50 AM on Nov 25:
4
I'm working, but having Thanksgiving Saturday with family.
5. FutureMrsLarijani said the following at 9:58 AM on Nov 25:
5
I thought that Boundless was against advertising sin so blatantly . . .
And that's what that pumpkin cheesecake is - blatant sin.
6. JVR from Denver said the following at 10:00 AM on Nov 25:
6
I can't cook to save my life...
But that looks just awesome.
7. dmt said the following at 10:31 AM on Nov 25:
7
How much pumpkin puree? I need something more specific than "a can."
Pie looks and sounds wonderful.
8. dmt said the following at 10:37 AM on Nov 25:
8
Rereading the recipe to make a shopping list - how much cream cheese? What is the package size?
Thanks. (Not an intuitive cook but I can follow a recipe.)
9. Kristen in CA said the following at 10:54 AM on Nov 25:
9
@dmt - I would venture that it's a 15 oz. can as the cans that are double the size would likely make a runny product.
10. Rael said the following at 12:11 PM on Nov 25:
10
Wow. Yum, Candice! That looks amazing. I'll have to try that one.
(to dmt) I'm guessing it's the 8 oz boxes of cream cheese. Cheese cakes usually take about three boxes of that size, in my experience.
We're doing something weird this year for Thanksgiving. Eating with my grandparents for breakfast, then heading across Texas to meet my brother and his girlfriend in Fort Worth, go to the Botanical Gardens, maybe hit a bookstore, and eat at Rosa's, the best Mexican food restaurant (of fast-food prices but quality food) ever.
And we'll be listening to our newly purchased copy of FotF Radio Theatre version of Screwtape's letters in the car, muhahaha!
11. Kelly-1 said the following at 5:01 PM on Nov 26:
11
Am I the only one who looks at that recipe, mentally calculates the fat & calorie content, and recoils in horror? ;)
(That's why it's bad to know what actually goes into things. If I don't kow, I can pretend it's not so bad!)
12. Esther said the following at 11:50 AM on Nov 27:
12
So I know it's now after the fact, but I had a fun, somewhat mixed up holiday. I live in Florida, and my family lives in New England, and I couldn't afford the time or $ to fly home this year.
I'm a runner, so I met up with some running friends to run a 10K "turkey trot" race in the morning. Then I baked my famous strawberry-rhubarb pie to take to a friend's house to partake in their feast. I was actually the only 'religious' (that's what they call me) person there, so I had the honor of asking the blessing. It was an interesting mix of guests, who all brought their favorite recipes. I felt very much at home, and am so blessed to have good friends who welcomed a single girl to share in their celebration. But my parents said that it was a very quiet holiday at home, with my sister and I not able to make it.