Recipe Wednesday- Pumpkin Treats

Since I have not been posting very many recipes lately, here are two of my favorite pumpkin treats to make... just in time for Thanksgiving.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

25 NABISCO Ginger Snaps, finely crushed (about 1-1/2 cups)

1/2 cup finely chopped PLANTERS Pecans

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted

4 pkg. (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

1 cup sugar, divided

1 tsp. vanilla

4 eggs

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

Dash ground cloves

Make It

PREHEAT oven to 325°F if using a silver 9-inch springform pan (or to 300°F if using a dark nonstick 9-inch springform pan). Mix ginger snap crumbs, pecans and butter; press onto bottom and 1 inch up side of pan.

BEAT cream cheese, 3/4 cup of the sugar and the vanilla with electric mixer until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing on low speed after each addition just until blended. Remove 1-1/2 cups of the batter; place in small bowl. Stir remaining 1/4 cup sugar, the pumpkin and spices into remaining batter. Spoon half of the pumpkin batter into crust; top with spoonfuls of half of the reserved plain batter. Repeat layers. Cut through batters with knife several times for marble effect.

BAKE 55 min. to 1 hour 5 min. or until center is almost set. (Test doneness by gently shaking the pan. If the cheesecake is done, it will be set except for an approximately 2-1/2-inch area in the center that will be soft and jiggly.) Run knife or metal spatula around rim of pan to loosen cake; cool before removing rim. Refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving. Store leftovers in refrigerator.

Simple Fall Dessert Squares

1 box yellow cake mix
8 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
3 Eggs
13.5 oz pumpkin butter (could also use Apple butter or Cranberry relish)
2 Tbsp milk
1 Tbsp all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 9x13 baking pan.

Reserve 1 cup of cake mix in a small bowl.

In another bowl, stir together remaining cake mix, 8 Tbsp melted butter, and 1 egg. Pour into prepared pan.

In another bowl, stir together pumpkin butter with the remaining 2 eggs and the milk. Spread over the cake batter in the baking pan.

Add the flour, sugar, and cinnamon to the small bowl with the reserved cake mix and stir together. Using a pastry blender or fork, cut the butter until pea sized crumbs form and the mixture clumps together. Crumble over the mixture in the baking dish.

Bake until golden, about 40 minutes. Transfer pan to wire rack to cool. Cut into squares and serve.

Happy Thanksgiving!