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Maple Pecan Pumpkin Cheesecake

Ingredients 

Crust:
10-12 graham crackers, finely ground (1 1/3 cups of graham cracker crumbs) (I use Nabisco)
1/4 cup of sugar
5 tablespoons of melted butter
1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg*
1/8 teaspoon of cinnamon*

Cheesecake:

24 oz. of cream cheese at room temperature
3 large eggs (I use Sprouts XL Organic eggs)
1 (15 ounce) can of pure pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 (14 ounce) can of sweetened can of condensed milk **
5 tablespoons pure grade B maple syrup (I use Sprouts brand) ***
2 teaspoon pure vanilla flavoring
2 tablespoons of ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt (Sprouts brand)
1 teaspoon of pumpkin spice seasoning


Glaze:
1 Cup Heavy Cream
2/3 Cups of grade B maple syrup
3/4 pecan pieces

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

For the crust:

Break graham crackers into a food processor and pulse until finely ground.  The crackers should resemble fine meal.  Pour the crumbs into a heavy sauce pan and add sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, and melted butter.  Stir until well mixed.  Pour the crumbs into the bottom of a 9-inch spring form pan (I line the bottom of my pan with parchment paper so my cheesecake come out of the pan easily).  Press the crumbs evenly on the bottom of the pan and set aside.

For the cheesecake:

In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment beat the cream cheese on high speed until fluffy.  Reduce the speed and with the mixer running, add the eggs one at a time.  Taking the time between each egg to scrape the bowl.  Add in the pumpkin puree, sweetened condensed milk, maple syrup, and vanilla flavoring.  Next, add in the cinnamon, nutmeg, sea salt and pumpkin spice seasoning.  Beat the mixture for awhile, this will make the cheesecake light and fluffy (not too long).  Pour the mixture into the prepared crust.  Tap the pan lightly on the work surface to remove any air pockets.

Bake until the center appears set, but jiggles a little when shaken, 1 hour and 15 minutes (make sure you put a sheet pan under your spring form pan to catch any leaks.  Cool for 1 hour.  Cover and chill at least 4 hours or overnight.  I always chill my cheesecakes overnight.

For the glaze:

In a medium sauce pan, combine the cream and maple syrup and bring to a boil.  Boil until slightly thickened.  25 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Stir in pecan pieces.  Cover and chill.  Pour glaze over your cheesecake.  Serve to your guest.

*Hint:  Make sure your spices are fresh and please buy good spices.  I like to get mine from Sprouts or Trader Joes

**I only use Eagle Brand of condensed milk.  I have tried cheaper brands in my recipes and the recipes do not come out as good.  You can save a $1 or $2 and risk your creation or go with my tried and true.

***Please make sure you are getting pure maple syrup and not breakfast syrup.  This stuff is not cheap.  I pay $8.99 for a 12 oz. jar.  It is 100% pure organic Maple syrup.  Also it need to be Grade B which is Darker in color and have a heartier robust flavor.  Very important when making your glaze.