PUMPKIN WALNUT CHEESECAKE

Crust:

1-1/2 c. vanilla wafer crumbs
¼ c. sugar
6 TB butter, cut up

Mix in the food processor until it forms a mass. Press into a 9” springform pan.

Filling:

3-8 oz. packs cream cheese
¾ c. sugar
¾ c. brown sugar
5 eggs
1 t. cinnamon
½ t. nutmeg
½ t. allspice
¼ t. gr. Cloves
¼ c. heavy whipping cream
1 lb. Can pumpkin

Cut each bar of cream cheese into about 1/5’s. Turn on food processor and drop in cream cheese. Add everything else except cream and pumpkin. Process until smooth. In large bowl, mix cream and pumpkin. Add processed mixture and stir. Pour into crust.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. DON’T OPEN OVEN DURING THAT HOUR.

Topping:

6 TB butter, cut up
1 c. sugar
1 c. walnuts

Grind walnuts in processor. Add butter and sugar and blend well. Sprinkle on top of hot cheesecake and bake 15 minutes more. Refrigerate overnight before serving. (I generally bake mine the week before, cover it with foil, and freeze it in the pan. The night before serving I put it in the refrigerator to thaw.) Remove the sides of the pan and place the rest on a serving platter. Set it out approximately one hour before serving to soften.

TIP: When baking, I put foil on the next rack down. Sometimes butter seeps through the bottom of the pan and makes the rest of holiday baking smell like burnt oven if I forget!