ginger snap Archives - Beer Girl Cooks

It’s November and the sun has been missing from the south for almost 2 weeks, so we’re just moving on and celebrating the Thanksgiving countdown with a vengence. We’ve been talking about sides and vegetables and I love them all, but I’m in need of some sunshine and sugar because this time change early darkness business and the constant gloomy doomy rain is an absolute buzzkill.

To be fair, the sun did come out for a bit yesterday. I felt like a vampire coming out of my cave when the bright light hit my face. I cowered, cringed, and covered my eyes. I couldn’t find my sunglasses because it had been so long they ended up in the dark scary place in the bottom of my bag with stale gum and used tissues. Don’t judge me.

So I made you a cheesecake! A pumpkin one with a bourbon boozy whipped cream and just for kicks and giggles I made a ginger snap crust! Whaaat? And this pumpkin cheesecake is not for the faint of heart – it’s like 6 inches tall. Ok, that may be an exaggeration and it might be closer to 3.74 inches. Either way, it’s a hot mess over the top ginormous pumpkin cheesecake totally appropriate for a holiday party. DO IT!

And it would hardly be a holiday party without some swag, so a bunch of my blogger buddies and I got together to bring you this giveaway. Dudes! It’s a $650 AMAZON GIFT CARD! Booyah! Think of all the awesome stuff you can get at Amazon with $650!

We like to have fun on this here website, but on a serious note I’d like to add a reminder that today is Veteran’s Day. Thank and be thankful for your service members. And since this is an Amazon giveaway, I’ll let you know in case you didn’t, that if you go in through Smile.Amazon.com, you can choose a charity and Amazon will contribute a portion of the proceeds from your sale to the charity you choose. Mine is the Wounded Warrior Project.

Use the Rafflecopter below the recipe to enter and get a kick start on your holiday shopping! The giveaway runs for two weeks and ends on November 25 to residents of the US, UK, and Canada. Good luck, y’all! (CLOSED)

Pumpkin Cheesecake with Ginger Snap Crust and Bourbon Whipped Cream

Ingredients

For the Crust

about 1/2 box ginger snap cookies
2 tablespoons sugar
1 stick butter melted

For the Cheesecake

5 8 ounce packages cream cheese softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup confectioner's sugar
1/4 cup flour sifted
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
1 cup pure pumpkin puree
6 eggs at room temperature

Additional Items

Heavy duty aluminum foil
Spring form pan
Large roasting pan
Large teapot or measuring cup for boiled water

For the Whipped Cream

1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon bourbon I used Maker's Mark

Instructions

Wrap 2 sheets of heavy duty aluminum foil tightly around a spring form pan
Using a food processor, pulse gingersnaps until they become fairly fine crumbs
Transfer to a mixing bowl, add sugar and melted butter, and stir to combine and all crumbs are evenly coated
Transfer to the spring form pan, using hands press across bottom and up the sides
Set aside
Add the cream cheese to a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment
Beat cream cheese on low until fluffy, 2-3 minutes
Combine brown sugar and confectioner's sugar in a bowl, sift in flour
With the mixer still running on low, add the sugar - flour mix to cream cheese a little at a time
Add vanilla bean paste and pumpkin, scrape down sides if necessary
Add eggs, one at a time, making sure each is incorporated before adding the next
Turn of mixer, remove bowl, and tap on counter several times to remove air pockets, set aside for 20 minutes or so
Preheat oven to 350
Put the prepared spring form in the large roasting pan
Transfer batter to the prepared spring form pan
Boil about 6-8 cups water in a teapot or in the microwave in a measuring cup that can pour safely
Put the pan on the oven rack
Pour boiling water in the roasting pan, halfway up the sides of the spring form pan, careful not to splash the water on the cheesecake (or yourself)
Bake at 350 for 45 minutes
Reduce heat to 325 and bake an additional 60 minutes
Turn off oven, leave door open halfway with the cheesecake still inside for 30 minutes
Remove from oven and cool completely
Refrigerate overnight

For the Whipped Cream

Chill metal bowl and whisk of stand mixer in freezer for 20-30 minutes
Combine cream, sugar, and bourbon in the bowl and attach whisk to stand mixer
Start on low so you don't splash, whip and increase to medium until soft peaks form

a Rafflecopter giveaway