Pumpkin Cheesecake and Cinnamon Caramel Sauce

Sounds delicious, right?! It's pretty darn good. My only concern is this turned out more like a creamy pumpkin pie than a cheesecake. It's okay though, that's the first time I've ever made a cheesecake so now I know for next time! So be warned, this is like a creamy pie not a cheesecake. If you want it more like a cheesecake I recommend using more cream cheese and less ricotta.

Pumpkin Cheesecake
      makes 8 servings

• Phyllo dough, cut in half, about 15 sheets? (you could also used crushed ginger snap cookies for the crust, that's what I originally wanted to do!)
• 4 ounces low fat cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 cup fat free ricotta cheese
• 3 whole large eggs
• 1/4 cup Splenda blend sugar, or 1/2 cup regular cane sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 12 ounces pumpkin puree

Preparation & Cooking Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and spray a pie pan with cooking spray. Roll out the phyllo dough and cut it in half so you have two large square shaped halves. One at a time arrange the phyllo dough around the pan, fanning it out so you cover all the edges of the pie pan. Once the dough is arranged in the pan start on the pie filling. Add the cream cheese and ricotta cheese to a large bowl; using an electric beater, whip until combined. Add all of the remaining ingredients to the bowl and combine until smooth and creamy. Scrape the batter into the pie crust; bake in the oven on the middle rack for 60 minutes. The cheesecake is set when knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool completely; refrigerate, covered, until you're ready to serve ^_^

Cinnamon Caramel Sauce

• 1/2 cup brown sugar, light or dark will work
• 1/2 tablespoon flour
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup water, I zapped it in the microwave for a minute
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation & Cooking Instructions

In a small sauce pan over medium heat all the brown sugar and flour, stir to combine. Whisk in the hot water and cook until slightly thickened. Add in the butter and cook an additional 8-10 minutes or so until thick and creamy. You can definitely tell when it's ready; besides the consistency, the caramel will become dark in color and have uniform bubbles on top. Remove from heat, whisk in the cinnamon and vanilla. You can serve this hot or at room temperature; it will thicken quite a bit once it cools. 

That's the consistency you're looking for. You want it to be sticky, but don't cook it too long or the sugar can harden up and you'll have to start all over. Transfer caramel into a small container, store at room temperature for a couple days or in the fridge for up to a week. It will begin to crystallize in the bowl, just pop it in the microwave for 10-15 seconds and stir well. Now you don't have to waste your money on caramel sauce from the grocery store! Those have high fructose corn syrup in them anyway, we don't want any of that.