RECIPE DOCTOR
Turn a pumpkin pie into a cheesecake

By Elaine Magee
Knight Ridder News Service

I love pumpkin pie, and so does the rest of my family. This pumpkin cheesecake recipe is the best of both worlds — the world of cheesecake and the world of pumpkin pie. It is so good, I had to give the rest of the cheesecake away to neighbors for fear I would finish it all by myself (and I am usually not susceptible to such things).

I took the fat and calories down a few notches from the original recipe by using light cream cheese, egg substitute in place of one of the eggs, and light whipped topping as a garnish.

But as with many cheesecake recipes, much of the extra fat and calories can be found in the crust. So instead of he prepared graham cracker crust normally called for in this recipe, we are making our own crust using low-fat graham crackers, chopped pecans, a bit of melted butter and light pancake syrup.

Double-layer Pumpkin Cheesecake

• 1 cup low-fat graham cracker crumbs (put 6 1/2 whole low-fat graham crackers in a food processor to make the crumbs)
• 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
• 2 tablespoons light pancake syrup or maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 2 (8-ounce) packages light cream cheese (in block), softened
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup egg substitute
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 pinch ground cloves
• 1 pinch ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup light frozen whipped topping, thawed, or light whipped cream (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, stir together the graham cracker crumbs, 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans, 2 tablespoons light pancake syrup, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and melted butter; press into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan.

Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes.

Reduce the oven to 325 degrees. In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Blend in egg and egg substitute, beating well. Remove 1 cup of batter and spread evenly into bottom of crust; set aside.

Add pumpkin, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg to the remaining batter and stir gently until well blended. Carefully spread over the batter in the crust.

Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes, or until center is almost set. Allow to cool, then refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight. Cover with light whipped topping before serving.

Makes 12 servings.

Note: if you want to reduce the fat a bit more, use 1 package of fat-free cream cheese and 1 package of light cream cheese.

Per serving: 190 calories, 6 g protein, 16 g carbohydrate, 11 g fat (5.7 g saturated fat, 2.9 g monounsaturated fat, 1 g polyunsaturated fat), 40 mg cholesterol, 1 g fiber, 238 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 52 percent. Omega-3 fatty acids 0.3 g; omega-6 fatty acids 0.7 g. Weight Watchers, 4 points.

(The original recipe had 265 calories, 22 grams fat, 11 grams saturated fat and 87 mg cholesterol per serving.)

Elaine Magee is author of "The Recipe Doctor Cookbook" and "The Flax Cookbook". Readers may write to her through her Web site at www.recipedoctor.com. Personal responses cannot be provided.