INGREDIENTS
for the cheesecake
3 (8-oz.) blocks cream cheese, softened
1 (15-oz.) can pumpkin purée
4 large eggs
¾ cup granulated sugar
½ cup brown sugar, packed
¼ cup sour cream
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
for the Oreo crust
1 package of Oreos (24 used for bottom crust)
6 Tablespoons melted butter
for the ganache
6 oz. semi-sweet Ghirardelli chocolate chips (must use Ghirardelli)
½ cup heavy whipping cream
for garnish
remaining Oreos, crushed
Nutter Butter cookies
Halloween sprinkles of choice
METHOD
Preheat oven to 350º, place baking rack in the middle position.
CHEESECAKE: Using a hand mixer, beat cream cheese until creamy. Add pumpkin, eggs, both sugars, sour cream, vanilla, flour, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and salt. Beat until smooth. Set aside.
CRUST: Add 24 Oreos to a large Ziplock bag. Crush cookies until small crumbs form, pour into bowl. Melt butter, then combine with cookie crumbs. Stir until crumbs are coated.
Spray 8″ springform pan with non-stick spray and double wrap the outside of the pan with foil. Press cookie crumb mixture into pan, allowing it to come 1/3 way up the side, packing the crumbs in tightly. Pour cheesecake onto crust and place prepared pan in a baking dish. Place on oven rack, then pour in boiling water until it reaches halfway up the pan. Bake until the cheesecake slightly jiggles in the center, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Turn off oven, open door and let cheesecake cool for 1 hour. Remove pan from water bath, take off foil. Place in refrigerator until completely chilled, at least 4-6 hours.
for the ganache
IMPORTANT – Use high-quality Ghirardelli chocolate chips, or Baker’s chocolate, chopped. Regular chocolate chips do not make a great ganache. Add chocolate to a bowl, set aside. Heat whipping cream in the microwave for about one minute. You want it to bubble but not boil over. Pour hot cream over chips, let sit for 3-5 minutes, covering to trap the heat. Stir gently to combine until smooth. Let sit for 5 minutes. Pour over center of cheesecake and let drip down the edges. Garnish the top with cookie crumbles, Nutter Butter cookies piped with words of choice, and Halloween sprinkles.
TIP:
Add a bit of melted chocolate to a small Ziploc bag, seal to close. Snip off a tiny corner of the bottom of the bag and write the words on your cookies.
