Mina's Pumpkin Cheesecake

My prayers were answered! Mina sent me the recipe to a cheesecake that will be perfect for the Fall! I am so excited to try this out.

Ingredients:
Crust-
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup ground pecans (reserve a couple whole pecans for decor)
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 cup butter or margarine

Cheesecake Batter-
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
3 egg yolks
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 (8 oz) packages cream cheese
3/8 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. To make crust - combine the graham cracker crumbs, ground pecans, 2 tablespoons white sugar, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, and the melted butter/margarine. Mix well. Press mixture firmly into a 9-inch springform pan.
3. In a medium sized mixing bowl, Combine 3/4 cup of white sugar, the pumpkin, 3 egg yolks, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground ginger, and salt. Mix well and set aside.
4. In a separate bowl, beat cream cheese with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, gradually adding 3/8 cup white sugar. Mix well. Add the whole egg, 1 egg yolk, and the heavy whipping cream, beating well. Add cornstarch, vanilla extract and lemon extract, beat batter until smooth.
5. Combine pumpkin mixture (step #3) with cream cheese mixture (step #4) and mix well. Pour this batter into the prepared pan.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 to 55 minutes in a water bath. (Note: center maybe soft, but will firm up once chilled).
7. Important steps to prevent cracking - After turning oven off, crack the oven door open and let the cheesecake sit for about 5 minutes. Once out of the oven, let the cheesecake cool on a wire rack for about in hour with a cookie sheet on top of it to slow down the cooling process. Finally, refrigerate the cheesecake for several hours before serving.

Additional tips/notes:
- Bringing cream cheese to room temp to aid with mixing.
- Double crust mixture to make a thicker and more defined crust.

xoxo Mina