I love pumpkin pie. I bake pumpkin pie, I eat pumpkin pie at every holiday gathering, I take home leftover pumpkin pie and have it for breakfast. In the time between the start of Halloween festivities (which seems to start earlier and earlier every year) and the holidays at the end of the year, I'll have overdosed on pumpkin pie, swearing that I'll never eat it again. (Until next October, of course.)

So in an effort to add some variety to the fall/winter dessert repertoire, I bake a pumpkin cheesecake at least once. It's a little more work than the evaporated milk and canned pumpkin that go into a pie, but what else would I be doing on a Saturday night?!

Finely grind graham crackers to make 2 cups graham cracker crumbs. Stir in 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 6 tablespoons of melted butter. Mix to moisten crumbs, then spread into bottom and up sides of lightly greased springform pan (mine is 9"). Bake for 15 minutes until slightly darkened.

Beat 3 8 oz. packages of room temperature cream cheese until smooth.

In a separate bowl, combine 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon cloves, 1/4 teaspoon ginger, and 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg. Add to cream cheese and beat until smooth.

Beat in 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract and 3 large eggs one at a time until smooth. Stir in 1 cup pumpkin puree. Don't beat the living daylights out of it - too much air in the batter will make it pouf up in the oven like a souffle, then fall into an ugly cracked mess.  Pour the batter into the baked graham cracker crust.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Reduce temperature to 325 and bake for an additional 15 minutes until only the center is wiggly. Remove from oven, cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for at least a few hours before serving. Chilling overnight is best, but who has the patience?