National Pumpkin Cheesecake Day: Bake in a Chocolate Crust

Today is National Pumpkin Cheesecake Day: Add Chocolate...I love pumpkin and chocolate... and cheesecake is my thing, so here's an easy recipe for a Pumpkin Chocolate Cheesecake! Celebrate. Great for Halloween and Thanksgiving!

The filling for this pumpkin cheesecake is adapted from Hershey's Kitchens. I like this recipe because it has a Chocolate Cookie Crust and Mini-Chocolate Chips in the filling! I've posted the Hershey's chocolate crust recipe, but I also posted another simple Chocolate Cookie Crust using Chocolate Wafers. The second is my favorite.

PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE WITH CHOCOLATE COOKIE CRUST

Ingredients
1 Chocolate Cookie Crust (see two possible recipes below)
3 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 cup canned pumpkin
4 eggs
1-1/2 cups Mini Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

Directions
1. Prepare Chocolate Cookie Crust. Increase oven temperature to 400°F.
2. Beat cream cheese, sugar, flour and pumpkin pie spice in large bowl until well blended. Add pumpkin and eggs; beat until well blended. Stir in mini-chocolate chips; pour batter into prepared crust. Bake 10 minutes.
3. Reduce oven temperature to 250°F; continue baking 60 minutes or until almost set. Remove from oven to wire rack. With knife, loosen cake from side of pan. Cool completely; remove side of pan. Refrigerate about 5 hours before serving.

I. CHOCOLATE COOKIE CRUST
Heat oven to 350°F.
Stir together 1 cup vanilla wafer crumbs (about 30 wafers),
1/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup melted butter.
Press mixture firmly onto bottom and 1/2-inch up side of 9-inch springform pan.
Bake 8 minutes; cool slightly.

II. CHOCOLATE COOKIE CRUST
30 chocolate wafers (Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers makes abt 1 1/2 cups crumbs)
5 tablespoons sweet butter, melted and slightly cooled
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon Madegasse vanilla extract
Put cookies in container of food processor; process until finely ground.
2. Transfer crumbs to mixing bowl; combine crumbs, butter, salt, and vanilla; stir until crumbs are moistened.
3. Press mixture evenly across the bottom of 9-inch springform pan and all the way up sides of pan; pack tightly so crust is even and compacted.
4. Bake in 350° oven for 6-8 minutes or until crisp.
5. Let cool completely before filling.