Pecan Pie Cheesecake

Recipe & Image taken from http://jujugoodnews.com

FOR THE CRUST:
3 cups Graham Cracker Crumbs
½ cups Butter, Melted
½ cups Granulated Sugar

FOR THE FILLING:
3 packages (8 Oz. Package) Cream Cheese, Softened
¾ cups Granulated Sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
2 whole Large Eggs
½ cups All-purpose Flour
¾ teaspoons Cinnamon
¼ teaspoons Nutmeg

FOR THE TOPPING:
1-½ cup Pecan, Halves, Lightly Toasted*
2 cups Good Quality Caramel Syrup (homemade Is Best)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a large bowl, mix together all ingredients for the crust until moist. Press into a 10-inch springform pan and set aside.

For the filling, in a stand mixer, whip cream cheese and sugar together until smooth.

With the mixer on low, stir in vanilla and eggs, one at a time. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and stir again. Whip in flour, cinnamon and nutmeg. Scrape sides and stir again if necessary. Pour filling into prepared crust and smooth the top. Bake for 40-45 minutes until cheesecake is set and hardly jiggles, if at all, when moved. Remove from the oven and cool completely to room temperature.

Arrange pecan halves on top of the entire cheesecake in concentric circles. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Once ready to serve, run a knife around the edges of the cheesecake and remove the sides of the springform pan.

To serve you can either drizzle 1 cup of caramel syrup over the entire cheesecake and cut (with extra syrup to serve along with) or cut first and drizzle individual pieces.

Side note: I prefer to warm my caramel syrup to have a delicious contrast of hot and cold for this dessert. Totally optional!