Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake

I am not a lover of pumpkin pie, so instead I have a few recipes that I substitute instead. This is one of them. This is WAY easier than the end product looks. The last time I made this I forgot to add the extra 1/4 cup of sugar into the pumpkin mixture and it was still delicious. In fact, it had more of a pumpkin pie flavor, which my dinner party loved. So if you want to cut a little sugar, it won't hurt. Another tip: when baking a cheesecake, either put the springform pan in a water bath or put a pan of water on the rack below the cake.

Ingredients

      25 Ginger Snaps, crushed

      1/2 cup finely chopped pecans (optional)

      1/4 cup butter, melted

      4 packages Cream Cheese, softened

      1 cup sugar, divided

      1 teaspoon vanilla

      4 eggs

      1 cup canned pumpkin

      1 ½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

                        OR

            1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

            1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

            1 dash ground cloves

Directions

1.         Heat oven to 325 degrees F. Combine cookie crumbs, pecans and butter. Press onto bottom of 9-inch springform pan.

2.         Beat cream cheese, 3/4 cup of the sugar and 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 ½ cup plain batter; place in small bowl. Stir remaining 1/4 cup sugar, pumpkin and spices into remaining batter. Spoon pumpkin batter into crust; top with spoonfuls of reserved plain batter. Cut through batters with knife several times for marble effect.

3.        Bake 1 hour 15 minutes or until centre is almost set. Cool completely. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight. Cut into 16 slices. Store leftover cheesecake in refrigerator.