As we head into October, the color palette on grocery store shelves is changing. The foodie world is getting increasingly orange and fragrant as pumpkin season hits and the myriad of insanely good pumpkin-themed foods hit center stage. But instead of carving or pie, have you ever tried a pumpkin cheesecake?

Above, Judy Parks runs through the ins and outs of a good pumpkin cheesecake and shows you how to whip it up. It's not only a great run-down of the recipe, but also a great general how-to. She offers tips on mixing, baking, and serving to get the perfect cheesecake.

Note: This recipe calls for canned pumpkin. If you'd prefer to use fresh, go here to see how to prepare your fresh pumpkin for the substitution.

There was a time - say, up to the age of 35 - that I didn't like either cheesecake or pumpkin pie. Maybe our taste buds change over time, but now I love both of them. You have to watch me or I'll eat an entire cheesecake myself.

Here's a recipe that sort of combines the best of both of those worlds, Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake. And it's pretty easy, especially if you use a can of pumpkin pie filling like some of the reviewers at the AllRecipes site suggest (it has a lot of the spices already in it). Full recipe after the jump.

If you were wondering what to make for this year's Thanksgiving dessert, or perhaps for an upcoming fall dessert in general, look no further. Mary, from alpineberry, was generous enough to share her recipe for Creamy Pumpkin Cheesecake w/ Ginger-Pecan Crust, which sounds delicious enough to replace plain old pumpkin pie as the holiday standard. She describes it as being creamy and smooth, with a good flavor of pumpkin and spices to cover any of the overtly cheesy taste that cream cheese can give to a dish. The crust for this dessert sounds even better than the filling, though, and seems like it would go well with a number of other desserts, including plain cheesecakes, pumpkin pie and other fruit pies and tarts. Instead of using a cookie-crumb base, which commonly accompanies cheesecake, the crust is made with a dough that has candied ginger and pecans incorporated into it. The dough isn't rolled out and is instead pressed directly into the pan, so it is as easy as it is flavorful.

Mini desserts are wonderful things. Not only are they automatically cute due to their size, but you will never have to worry about a cake being large enough or whether there will be enough ice cream/gelato to go around, since all you have to do is match up the number of desserts with the number of guests you need to serve. They also provide built-in portion control if you are just making them for yourself. These Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes, made by Nicole at Pinch My Salt, are a great way to eat a rich dessert without going overboard because indulging in one (or two) is much better than indulging in a whole cake! The pumpkin cheesecakes have a lot of fall flavor since she combined pumpkin with a touch or maple syrup in the filling and used a spiced graham cracker crust for the base. When serving, though it is not pictured, Nicole topped these with whipped cream, lightly sweetened and spiced with cinnamon.