Pumpkin Cheesecake

Ingredients:

• Crust:
• ¾ c. quick oats
• ¾ c. chopped walnuts
• ¾ c. light brown sugar
• ½ tsp. Cinnamon
• ¼ c. melted margarine
• Filling:
• 2 8-oz. containers Tofutti cream cheese
• 1 12-oz. box silken tofu
• 1 cup sugar (I used organic turbinado sugar)
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 cup fresh pureed pumpkin
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• ¼ tsp. nutmeg
• ¼ tsp. ground ginger
• Topping:
• 1 12-oz. box silken tofu
• 1 Tbs. canola oil
• 1 ½ tsp. lemon juice
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• ¾ tsp. vanilla
• ½ tsp. cinnamon

Directions:

Crust:

Mix together all dry ingredients, then add margarine and mix well. Press into the bottom of a 9” springform pan and bake at 325 for about 20 minutes, until golden brown. Remove and allow to cool. I put a circle of parchment paper on the bottom to make it a little easier to remove the pie from the pan.

Filling:

Combine cream cheese and tofu in food processor and process until smooth, scraping down sides as necessary. Add sugar and blend until creamy. Add remaining ingredients, blend and pour into cooled prepared crust. Place on top rack of oven. Place a shallow pan filled with water on the lower rack of oven and bake at 350 for 50 minutes.

Topping:

While cheesecake is baking, place tofu in food processor and process until smooth, scraping down sides as necessary. Add other ingredients and process to blend. After 50 minutes, pull cheesecake out of oven and carefully spread on topping.

Return to oven and bake an additional 10 minutes. Turn the oven off and leave the cheesecake in the oven for an additional hour. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. Refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight before serving. Enjoy!!