Serves 10 to 12
Ingredients
- 2 cups gingersnap crumbs (from about 40 cookies crushed in a food processor)
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 2 Tbsp dark brown sugar
- 3 8-oz packages cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 3 eggs, at room temperature
- 1 Tbsp molasses
- 2 Tbsp flour
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- ½ tsp ground cloves
- Powdered sugar, for sprinkling
Directions
- Preheat oven to 325?F and wrap the outside of a 9" springform pan with heavy-duty foil.
- Mix cookie crumbs, butter, and brown sugar in a large bowl until well combined. Using your hands or the bottom of a glass, press mixture into bottom of pan and about 1 ½ inches up the sides. Bake for 10 minutes; set aside to cool while you prepare the filling.
- Combine cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until well combined. Beat in the sour cream and vanilla. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in molasses.
- In a small bowl, whisk together flour, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, then add to cream cheese mixture and beat until combined. Pour filling into the prepared crust.
- Set cheesecake in a large roasting pan on an oven rack, then carefully pour hot water into the roasting pan until it comes about halfway up the sides of the springform pan. Bake for 1 hour, then turn off oven and let cheesecake continue cooking in the residual heat for 1 hour more (do not open oven door). Remove to a rack to cool completely before releasing springform pan.
- Immediately before serving, gently set a gingerbread-man cookie cutter on the cheesecake and sprinkle top of cake with powdered sugar. Carefully lift off cookie cutter.
Plus: More Gingery Treats!
Gingerbread Fudge
Gingerbread Whoopie Pies
Hot Cocoa with Spiced Whipped Cream
Photo Credit: Ryan Liebe