Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake

I made this for Thanksgiving.  Mine didn't look quite this pretty, but it was tasty.  Brian is a big cheesecake fan and he loves pumpkin pie, so this was his request and he loved it.



Makes 16 servngs

38 Nabisco Ginger Snaps, finely crushed (couldn't find Nabisco, so I used the Meijer brand instead)
1/4 cup finely chopped Planters Pecans
1/4 cup butter, melted
4 pkg. (8 oz each) Philadelphia cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin
1 Tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. vanilla
4 eggs

Heat oven to 325*.  Mix crumbs, nuts and butter, press into the bottom and up 1 inch of the sides of a 9" springform pan.

Beat cream cheese and sugar with mixer until blended.  Ass pumpkin, spice and vanilla. mix well.  Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing after each addition just until blended.  Pour into crust.  Bake 1 hour 20 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes or until center is almost set.

Loosen cake from rim of pan, cool before removing ring.  Refrigerate 4 hours.  Serve with a dollop of whip cream and a sprinkle of nutmeg.