PHILADELPHIA 3-Step Pumpkin Cheesecake

On Halloween my mom went to a family friend's house for dinner and dessert. One of the desserts was a pumpkin cheesecake, which my mom just loved. She brought a few slices home for us and she was right - it was delicious! I think the family friend got it at Costco, but Mom wanted me to make it for Thanksgiving. So last week I started my search. After a while I remembered the obvious: the Philadelphia Cream Cheese website. So I searched there and found a few choices, finally choosing the 3-step cheesecake since it would be quick to make on my pre-Thanksgiving, double-baking day.

PHILADELPHIA 3-Step Pumpkin Cheesecake (source)

• 2 pkg.  (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup  canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup  sugar
• 1/2 tsp.  vanilla
• 1/2 tsp.  ground cinnamon
• Dash  ground cloves
• Dash  ground nutmeg
• 2  eggs
• 1  HONEY MAID Graham Pie Crust (6 oz.)
• 1 cup  thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping (This is for topping when serving. We ended up using the Reddi-wip that my mom bought for the other pies)

1. PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Beat cream cheese, pumpkin, sugar, vanilla and spices in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs; beat just until blended.
2. POUR into crust.
3. BAKE 40 min. or until center is almost set. Cool. Refrigerate 3 hours or overnight. Top with whipped topping (or Reddi-wip) just before serving. Store leftovers in refrigerator.

By the time everyone left on Thanksgiving, the cheesecake was almost gone - and this was AFTER people took some slices home. Anthony even high-fived me about the desserts I made.