Pumpkin Cheesecake With Maple and Bourbon

Cheesecakes are pure satisfaction, and this one will impress your most discriminating guests. It’s creamy and rich, and the pumpkin gives it a seasonal flair. Other than the bourbon, you can find organic versions of every ingredients in your local supermarket or natural food store.

To make the crust

1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Combine all crust ingredients in a medium bowl until the mixture has the consistency of wet sand. Press mixture into the bottom and up the sides of a lightly greased 10-inch springform pan.
3. Bake for about 10 minutes, until just starting to set and browning slightly on the edges. Remove from oven and set aside while preparing filling. Reset oven to 325F.

To make the filling

1. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar with a hand or stand mixer on medium-high speed until smooth and fluffy.
2. Add eggs, one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition and scraping the bowl well.
3. Add all remaining filling ingredients and mix until smooth. Pour filling into crust and shake the pan gently to level.
4. Bake at 325F for 45 minutes, leaving the oven door closed throughout the bake. After 45 minutes, turn the oven off, but do not remove the cheesecake. Keeping the oven door closed, allow the cheesecake to remain in the oven for an additional hour with the oven off. After that time, remove cheesecake from the oven, set aside, and reset oven to 375F.

To make the topping

1. While oven is preheating again, prepare the topping. In a medium bowl, mix all topping ingredients until well combined. Spread evenly over the top of the cheesecake and bake for 12 minutes.
2. Remove cheesecake from the oven and allow to cool at room temperature. Once at room temperature, chill for at least 3 hours before removing the pan. Serve chilled.