I hope you enjoyed Sandy's project yesterday.  Our third designer is Roseann Kermes from Rosebud's Cottage.  Roseann has a tremendous amount of energy which she needs for all her fabulous ideas.  Be sure to check out what she has for you today.

Today's topic:  Taste.  My son's wedding is coming up in 2 months and I'm supposed to be losing a few pounds. But, like was mentioned yesterday, many of us turn to comfort foods  this time of year.  Comfort food for me.... breads, potatoes (with gravy, of course!) and pretty much anything with cream cheese!  I haven't even dared get on the darn scale....

Last weekend we had a full house and I wanted to bake something special for company.  Knowing I had this post coming up too, I decided to try a different recipe... and boy, oh boy... it was a good choice!  I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

I've heard, "It was just a taste" too many times from the guys in this family.  I thought it best to remind them to keep their paws off until I had pictures taken.

They all seemed shocked when I said WE were going to have it at dinner.  Usually (I guess) I'm bringing the goodies somewhere else.

I found a recipe on allrecipes.com, but changed it up a bit.  I substituted ginger snaps for the crust and nutmeg instead of mace. I hope you enjoy this version of Pumpkin Cheesecake.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

3/4 cups ginger snaps crushed

1/2 cup ground pecans

2 tablespoons white sugar

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/4 cup butter

3/4 cup white sugar

3/4 cup canned pumpkin

3 egg yolks

1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese   :-)

1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons white sugar

1 egg

1 egg yolk

2 tablespoons whipping cream

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whole pecans for the top edge.

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

2.  Combine the ginger snap crumbs, ground pecans, 2 tablespoons white sugar, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, and the melted butter.  Mix well.  Firmly press mixture into one 9" springform pan.

3.  Combine 3/4 cup of the white sugar, the pumpkin, 3 egg yolks, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and salt.  Mix well and set aside.

4.  Beat cream cheese with an electric mixer until light and fluffy; gradually add 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons white sugar and mix well.  Add the whole egg, remaining egg yolk and the whipping cream, beating well.  Add cornstarch and vanilla.  Beat batter until smooth.

5.  Add pumpkin mixture and mix well.  Pour into the prepared pan.

6.  Bake for 50-55 minutes.  Cool on wire rack and then refrigerate.

Glaze  (this really added!!)

Simmer 1 cup whipping cream with 3/4 cup maple syrup for about 20 minutes. Stir in 1/2 cup chopped pecans and chill.

Once cooled enough, spread on top of baked cheese cake.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Okay, I dare you... get on the scale after eating a few pieces of this!

Don't forget to take advantage of the blog hop sale:  buy any 2 patterns and get a free Clearly Perfect Angles.