Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake with a Gingersnap Crust

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups gingersnap cookie crumbs
• 3 tablespoons melted butter
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 2 packages cream cheese, softened
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 can pumpkin puree
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Place an oven rack in the center position and preheat the oven to 350°F. For the crust, process the cookies and brown sugar in a food processor until the mixture is evenly blended and finely crumbed. Pour the crumbs into a medium bowl and stir in the melted butter. Mix it well with a spoon, then use your fingers to work it through until the crumbs are damp throughout, still crumbly, and clump when pressed in your hand. Pat the mixture in an even layer across the bottom and partially up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Refrigerate for 5 minutes, then bake for 10 minutes. Set it aside to cool.
2. For the filling, bring a kettle of water to a boil. Using an electric mixer or a wooden spoon, beat the cream cheese until it is completely smooth. In another bowl, whisk the brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, and salt together. Add the spiced sugar mixture to the cream cheese and beat until combined, stopping to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl when needed. Beat in the eggs and yolks one at a time, fully mixing in each addition before adding the next and scraping the bowl after each one. Mix in the vanilla and pumpkin.
3. Pour the batter into the cooled crust. It will rise above the crust and fill the springform pan all the way to the top. Lightly tap the pan on the counter once or twice to bring up any trapped air. Put the springform pan inside a larger baking dish, such as a roasting pan, then pour in enough hot water from the kettle to reach about halfway up the outside of the springform pan. Bake until the surface is dark golden and glossy-looking and the center is set, with the cake only just starting to crack if at all, 1 hour 35 minutes to 1 hour 45 minutes. When you tap the pan, the cheesecake should still have a slight wobble. The top may puff a little, then sink back down during cooling. Take the cheesecake out of the oven and slide a thin-bladed knife around the inside edge of the pan between the crust and the sides, which helps keep it from splitting as it cools. Cool the cheesecake to room temperature in the pan on a wire rack. Cover it and refrigerate overnight.