Three of my favorite things--cheesecake, chocolate, and pumpkin. Put them together and you get the most luscious, velvety Fall-inspired dessert. I always make this cheesecake for Thanksgiving...well, because it's my favorite! I know a lot of people are a bit of afraid of baking cheesecakes, but you really shouldn't be. They are actually pretty simple to make if you follow a few easy guidelines, which I've provided below.

Ingredients:

For the graham cracker crust:
* 2 cups finely ground graham cracker crumbs
* 1/4 cup white sugar
* 6 tablespoons butter, melted

For the filling:
* 3 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
* 1 cup sugar
* 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
* 1 cup canned pumpkin
* 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
* 4 eggs
* 3/4 cup Mini Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips


Directions:
1. Prepare graham cracker crust by combining graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter in a bowl until well blended. Using your fingers, firmly press mixture into an 8 or 9 inch springform pan making sure to go up the sides of the pan as well. Chill in the freezer for 15-20 minutes.



2. Preheat oven to 400°F.

3. Using an electric hand mixer or stand mixer {with beater attachment NOT the whisk attachment}, beat cream cheese, sugar, flour and pumpkin pie spice in large bowl until well blended. Add in the pumpkin and then the eggs one at a time. This is important...you only want to add in the eggs one at a time. As soon as the egg is mixed in, add in another egg and so on. The reason is that you don't want to beat in a lot of air into the batter. Once the eggs are all mixed in, stir in mini chocolate chocolate chips by hand and pour batter into prepared crust. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.



3. Reduce oven temperature to 250°F; continue baking 60 minutes or until almost set. Remove from oven to wire rack and gently run a sharp knife around the sides of the pan to loosen the cake from the side of the pan. This will keep your cheesecake from cracking too much as it cools. Cool completely and then chill in the refrigerator over night or at least 5 or 6 hours before serving. When you're ready to serve, remove sides of pan.

This cheesecake is lovely on its own...



or you can add some wow factor by garnishing with chocolate leaves...


I know...it looks like it would be hard, but making chocolate leaves is so simple. Promise.

What You'll Need:

Artificial leaves {non-toxic and washed}
Semi-sweet chocolate chips
Non stick spray

First, melt about 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips in a small bowl. Lightly spray the BACK of the leaves with non-stick spray. I usually give the leaves one quick spray and then rub it all over the back of the leaves using my hand.


Then, using a small offset spatula spread melted chocolate onto the BACK of each leaf. Don't be shy...really slather the chocolate on or else it will be too thin and your leaves will break as you unmold them.


Place the leaves onto wax or parchment paper and refrigerate for a few hours to let the chocolate really harden. Once you're ready to unmold, gently peel back the leaf from the chocolate. Make sure you begin from the stem end.


Make sure to make some extra chocolate leaves because chances are some will break during the unmolding process. It always happens to me!