Martha Stewart's ‘silky smooth’ pumpkin cheesecake is perfect for Thanksgiving
The autumnal twist on traditional New York-style cheesecake is a delicious dessert to add to your Thanksgiving dinner table.
Martha Stewart says having a pumpkin dessert of some sort is a “must-have” for her Thanksgiving holiday meal.
Just as turkey and gravy, stuffing, mac and cheese, and sweet potato pie is traditional, so to is an autumnal pumpkin recipe for America's hospitality maven. She touts her New York-style pumpkin cheesecake recipe as “silky smooth” and “light as air.”
However, if cheesecake isn’t your jive, you can try pumpkin soup, pumpkin pancakes, and pumpkin pasta.
You can even make a pumpkin cocktails from a pumpkin spice mule to a pumpkin spice white russian or a non-alcoholic pumpkin spice latte.
You can make Martha Stewart's perfect pumpkin cheesecake yourself in 10 steps with just 30 minutes of prep.
READ MORE: Delicious Gilmore Girls' pumpkin pancakes recipe in seven simple steps
Ingredients
For the Crust
1 ¼ cups graham-cracker crumbs (from 10 whole crackers)
¼ cup sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
For the Filling
4 packages (8 ounces each) bar cream cheese, very soft
1 ¼ cups sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons pumpkin-pie spice
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt
4 large eggs, room temperature
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Directions
Step 1: Preheat oven, prepare pan, and make crust
Preheat oven to 350°F with the rack in center. Assemble a 9-inch nonstick springform pan with the raised side facing up. Add cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter to a medium bowl. Mix until moistened.
Step 2: Press crust into pan
Press crumbs firmly into bottom of pan to form crust.
Step 3: Bake crust
Bake until golden around edges, which should take about 10 to 12 minutes.
Step 4: Mix cream cheese filling
With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar on low speed until smooth.
Step 5: Add flour
Mix in flour. She warns to not overmix.
Step 6: Add pumpkin and spices
Add pumpkin puree, pie spice, vanilla, and salt. Mix just until smooth.
Step 7: Add eggs
Add eggs one at a time, mixing until each is incorporated before adding the next.
Step 8: Assemble cheesecake
Place springform pan on a rimmed baking sheet. Pour filling into springform and gently smooth top.
Step 9: Bake cheesecake
Transfer to sheet to the oven and reduce the oven's heat to 300°F. Bake for 45 minutes. She warns to not open the oven during that time frame. After 45 minutes, turn off oven and let cheesecake stay in oven 2 hours more, again, without opening. This will help to prevent the top from cracking.
Step 10: Cool, refrigerate, and serve
Remove from oven to let cool completely. Refrigerate until firm, which should take at least 4 hours. Unmold before serving.
