Layered Pumpkin Cheesecake

I forgot to put the whipped cream on for the picture!

I was assigned to bring 3 pies to Thanksgiving dinner this year.  Normally I would just go buy 3 frozen Marie Callendar's pies, but decided that since I have a recipe blog and all, I should really try making at least a couple of them.  I did buy a frozen pumpkin pie, but then I also made pumpkin pie squares (wasn't great) and this cheesecake.  The cheesecake was fabulous.  I am not a huge pumpkin pie fan, or really even a huge cheesecake fan, but I really liked this. My husband loved it.  I am pretty sure he will be requesting this every Thanksgiving.

Layered Pumpkin Cheesecake

1 graham cracker crust

2 (8oz) packages of cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Blend in eggs one at a time. Remove 1 cup of batter and spread 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 for 35 to 40 minutes or until center is almost set. Allow to cool, then refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight.

Graham Cracker Crust
1 1/2 cups of crushed graham crackers
1/4 cup sugar
6 tablespoons of butter, melted

Mix all ingredients together until well blended. Then press into pie shell. Bake at 375 degrees for 7 minutes. (You don't need to bake it first for this recipe.  Just chill it before you fill it.)