Secretly Healthy Pumpkin Cheesecake (Low Fat!)

Step 2

Soak dates in boiling water about 10 minutes to get them soft.

Step 5

Grease 9 inch springform pan and adjust two oven racks, one in the middle and one on the bottom. Preheat oven to 350 F.

Step 8

Make the crust: Blend or pulse graham crackers in a high-speed blender or food processor. Drain the water from the soaked dates, and add them to the blender. Pulse again until a crumbly dough forms. Scraping down the sides when needed. (Dough should be crumbly, but stick together when pressed between fingers.)

Step 11

Transfer crust mixture to springform pan and press down into an even layer and up the sides a bit. (The crust may dry out a little if sitting on the counter, so just add a few drops of water to it when pressing into pan).

Step 14

Bake crust for 5-7 minutes at 350 F. until fragrant and slightly golden. After baking, reduce oven temperature to 325 F. Allow crust to cool to room temperature (I popped mine in the freezer for 5-10 minutes to speed this process up).

Step 17

Make the filling: Beat softened cream cheese and yogurt until smooth (make sure your cream cheese is very soft to ensure the smoothest texture). Add in maple syrup, eggs, vanilla, and cornstarch and mix until smooth.

Step 20

Pour half the batter into a separate bowl and mix in the pumpkin purée and pumpkin pie spice.

Step 23

Pour cheesecake batter into crust, switching between plain cheesecake batter and pumpkin batter. Use a spatula or spoon to intermix the batters together to create a swirl effect. Continue until all batter is gone. Make sure to leave some white for the top to create a swirl on top.

Step 26

Smooth the top, and lightly drop on the counter a couple times to remove any air bubbles.

Step 29

Fill a large baking dish halfway with water (I used my 9x13 Pyrex dish) and place on the lower oven rack (See Note 1 for explanation of this).

Step 32

Place cheesecake on middle rack and bake 55-60 minutes at 325 F. or until the middle is just set and the sides are slightly puffed. The middle should jiggle slightly like jello.

Step 35

Turn off oven and open door. Leave cheesecake in until slightly cooled (about an hour). Then chill cheesecake in the refrigerator 4-6 hours or preferably overnight to allow it to set completely.

Step 38

Serve with whipped cream and enjoy! Store cheesecake covered in cling wrap in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.