Categories: Desserts

Ingredients

• 8 oz. gingersnap cookies
• 1/4 tsp salt, divided
• 3 tbsp melted butter
• 3 8-oz. packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 15 oz. can unseasoned pumpkin puree
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325. Coat a 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray. Tightly wrap the outside of the pan with a large piece of foil, covering the bottom and sides. Put a kettle of water on to boil.

2. Pulse cookies and 1/8 tsp salt in a food processor until finely ground. Drizzle in butter and process, scraping down the sides as needed, until the crumbs are evenly moistened. Press the mixture firmly into the bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides of the prepared pan. Put the crust in the freezer. Clean the food processor.

3. Combine cream cheese, sugar, eggs, and the remaining 1/8 tsp salt in the food processor. Process, scraping down the sides as needed, until completely smooth. Remove 1/4 cup of the batter to a small bowl. Add pumpkin, vanilla and pie spice to the food processor and process until smooth.

4. Pour the pumpkin batter into the chilled crust. Drizzle the reserved batter over the top and run a skewer or knife through the two batters to swirl together.

5. Place the springform pan in a roasting pan. Pour in enough of the boiling water to come 1 inch up the sides of the springform pan. Carefully transfer the roasting pan to the oven. Bake the cheesecake until set around the edges but the center still jiggles slightly, 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours.

6. Transfer the roasting pan to a wire rack. Let the cheesecake cool in the water bath until the water is room temp, about 1 hour.

7. Remove the pan from the water bath. Remove the foil. Refrigerate the cheesecake until very cold, at least 3 hours.

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