Brown Sugar Pumpkin Cheesecake with Chocolate Shortbread Crust

I made this for Thanksgiving, but it could easily make an appearance at Christmas time as well!  It turned out very well...it tasted good and looked really pretty!  Often, my cheesecakes crack on top, but this one was almost picture perfect!  Too bad I don't have an actual good picture of it...that's what happens when I have a hundred things going on at once.  This recipe came from The Hungry Mouse via Pinterest.

Brown Sugar Pumpkin Cheesecake with Chocolate Shortbread Crust

Crust
1 1/2 cups flour
5 Tbls. unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
10 Tbls. butter, diced and softened
1/2 cup + 2 Tbls. confectioner’s sugar
2 egg yolks
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Filling
1/4 cup flour
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 Tbls. cognac *I used vanilla extract but I think cognac would be amazing
1 15-oz. can 100% pure pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
24 oz. cream cheese (that’s 3 8-oz. bricks), at room temperature
1 3/4 cups dark brown sugar
4 eggs

Directions

crust - 

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. 
• Lightly grease a 9-inch springform pan with butter, oil, or cooking spray. Set aside. 
• Add powdered sugar and butter in the bowl of your stand mixer (or in a large bowl if you’re mixing by hand). Beat together until well combined.
• Add in the egg yolks and vanilla. Beat until fluffy.
• Add the flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Beat until the dry ingredients are well combined. 
• Scrape the dough into your prepared pan. With your hands, press the dough so that it lines the bottom and sides of the pan (stop about a half an inch from the top edge). 

• The dough to be relatively even in thickness. Prick the dough in several places with a fork to keep your crust from getting air bubbles. 
• Bake crust for about 20 minutes, until it’s opaque in color and the edges are starting to brown. When done, set on a wire rack to cool. 

Filling - 

• When crust has cooled to room temperature, make the filling. 
• Preheat  oven to 325 degrees. (If you left your oven on, don’t forgot to drop the heat. The cheesecake itself bakes at 25 degrees cooler than the crust.) 
• Add the cream cheese and brown sugar to bowl of mixer. Beat until light and fluffy. 
• Add eggs. Beat well. 
• Add pumpkin, and vanilla (or cognac). Beat to combine. The filling will be thick and creamy. 
• Toss in the flour and pumpkin pie spice. Beat gently to combine. 

Bake - 

• Pour the filling into your cooled crust just until it fills the crust. Depending on how high up the sides of the pan your crust comes, you may wind up with a little extra filling. I had enough filling to fill a small store-bought graham cracker crust. So I made that for my Grandma! 
• Pop the pan into your pre-heated 325-degree oven. Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes, until it *looks* set (i.e. firm and opaque) but the center jiggles a little when you move the pan.
• Turn the oven off, crack the oven door about 4 or 5 inches. Leave the cheesecake in there (with the door cracked open) for an additional 30 minutes. 
• Then, let if finish cooling in the pan on a rack for another 30 minutes. 
• Refrigerate  for at least 6 hours or overnight before serving.

**Verdict - YUM! You could really taste the brown sugar and the chocolate shortbread was a different twist.  It would also be awesome with a gingerbread crust!  We also had cinnamon cool whip for the top, but it didn't really need it. Check out the original recipe post for step by step pics.

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I'm linking this recipe up with Everything Under the Moon, Homemaker on a Dime, Delightfully Dowling, Mouthwatering Monday @ A Southern Fairytale, Skip to my Lou, Just Something I Whipped Up @ The Girl Creative, Eat at Home