A little slice of heaven

I've never liked pumpkin. Those suckers are for carving, stacking, or otherwise decorating with. At Thanksgiving I only take a small sliver of pumpkin pie to justify the 6 gallon helping of cool whip that I plop atop it. It's worth it, I think, to have reason for all that non-dairy goodness.

I got the family recipe for a friend's all-time favorite pumpkin bread and made it just because it makes him happy. One taste was ok, but my loaves were entirely under baked and the recipe needed to be tweaked to work perfectly in a different climate. Still determined to perfect it, I attempted it again changing the assembly and baking time to something I felt would be more effective here. What happened? Near perfection, that's what.

It was the most delightful pumpkin anything I'd ever had and suddenly those goofy squashes started to have different significance to me. What other delightful pumpkin yum-yums was I missing out on?? Couple that with my culinarily obsessive quest for the perfect baked cheesecake and there was no resistance when I stumbled upon the following recipe. Uncertain of putting a vegetable in my obesity ensuring dessert made me really nervous and it sat in the fridge for almost a week before I was brave enough to taste it. Ridiculous I tell you. It's honestly amazing. Probably the most decadent cheesecake I have ever made.

Maple-Pumpkin Cheesecake
1 1/2 cups finely crushed graham crackers (about 20 whole crackers)
1 cup maple sugar (or 1 cup sugar mixed w/2 tbsp. maple syrup)
1/2 cup butter, melted
3 8oz. pkgs cream cheese, softened
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs slightly beaten
1/2 cup caramel ice cream topping
Fresh currants or other small berries for decoration (if magazine photo results are your ambition)

1. Preheat oven to 325F. For crust: combine finely crushed graham crackers, 1/3 c. maple sugar, and the melted butter. Press crumb mixture onto bottom and about 2 inches up sides of an ungreased 9 inch springform pan. Bake for 8 min. Cool on a wire rack.

2. Filling: In large bowl, combine remaining 2/3 c. maple sugar, cream cheese, pumpkin, 1/4 c. maple syrup, and the vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until combined. Add eggs; beat on low speed until just combined.

3. Gently pour filling into crust lined pan. Place springform pain in a shallow baking pan. Bake for 1 to 1 1/4 hours or until center appears nearly set when gently shaken.

4. Cool in springform pan on rack for 15 min. Using small thin knife, loosen crust from side of springform pan. Cool for 30 min. more. Remove side of springform pan; cool for 1 hour. Cover and chill for at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours.

5. To serve, spoon caramel ice cream topping over top of cheesecake. If desired, garnish with berries and currants. Makes 10 servings.

*Making your own maple sugar, be sure to stir thoroughly to break up clumps.
**Adding 1 tbsp cornstarch with the sugar can help prevent cracks. I didn't do this, and mine did get one large crack straight through the middle. Doesn't affect anything but presentation, it still tastes just as fantabulous!

***I promised to never give out the Pumpkin Bread recipe that spurred this change of heart, but I'd be happy to make it for you sometime.