Cheese Recipe ∞ Swirled Pumpkin and Cream Cheese Cheesecake

I invented this recipe and entered it into a contest held at my college. The texture is light as a cloud, though it is quite rich. It is prepared with the convenience of a microwave!

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups gingersnap cookie crumbs
• ¼ cup butter, softened
• 24 large marshmallows
• ½ (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• ½ cup pumpkin puree
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
• ⅓ teaspoon ground cloves
• salt to taste
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
• 3 caramels
• ¼ cup chopped pecans

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Prepare the crust by combining the cookie crumbs and margarine. Press into a 9 inch pie plate and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 10 minutes.
3. Prepare the filling in a microwave safe bowl by combining the marshmallows, milk and pumpkin. Cook on medium heat and stir until all marshmallows are melted and mixture is smooth.
4. Beat in cream cheese, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, salt and vanilla; fold in 1/2 container whipped topping.
5. Melt caramel in microwave and drizzle 2 tablespoons over crust. Pour filling into crust and top with remaining whipped topping, pecans and any remaining cookie crumbs. Drizzle remaining caramel over top. Refrigerate for 8 hours or until chilled.

Nutrition Facts

• calories508.7
• carbohydrateContent55.6 g
• cholesterolContent54.6 mg
• fatContent30.5 g
• fiberContent1.3 g
• proteinContent6.2 g
• saturatedFatContent18.3 g
• sodiumContent288.5 mg
• sugarContent41.5 g