Holiday Cooking

Overwhelmed with Joy is hosting a Holiday Cooking Carnival, where everyone submits their tried and true recipes. Well, I’ve got one for you. I stole this recipe from my friend Amber, who made it for book club a few years back, and she got it from Allrecipes.com and Eagle brand. But since then I’ve made this ONCE a year for Thanksgiving. I can’t make it more often than that, or I would eat it all myself, and that would be a bad thing. So, if you enjoy pumpkin and you enjoy cheesecake, this is the one for you. Maple Pumpkin Cheesecake INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
• 3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 (14 ounce) can EAGLE BRAND® Sweetened Condensed Milk (NOT evaporated milk)
• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Maple Pecan Glaze:
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 3/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• whipped cream (optional)
• pecan halves (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter; press firmly on bottom of 9-inch springform pan.
3. With mixer, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in EAGLE BRAND® until smooth. Add pumpkin, eggs, syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt; mix well. Pour into prepared pan.
4. Bake 1 1/4 hours or until center appears nearly set when shaken. Cool 1 hour. Cover and chill at least 4 hours.
5. To serve, spoon some Maple Pecan Sauce over cheesecake. Garnish with whipped cream and pecans (optional). Pass remaining sauce. Store leftovers covered in refrigerator.
6. Maple Pecan Glaze: In medium-sized saucepan, combine 1 cup (1/2 pint) whipping cream and 3/4 cup pure maple syrup; bring to a boil. Boil rapidly 15 to 20 minutes or until slightly thickened; stir occasionally. Stir in 1/2 cup chopped pecans. Cover and chill until served. Stir before serving.