Layered Pumpkin Cheesecake

I made this instead of pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving. I normally am not a pumpkin fan, but this was really good! A nice change from the traditional pie!

CRUST
2 cups crushed gram crackers
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg

CHEESECAKE
4 packages (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
1 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

Heat oven to 300. Grease 9-inch spring form pan with shortening or cooking spray. Wrap foil around pan to catch drips. in small bowl, mix gram cracker crumbs and butter. Press crumb mixture in bottom and 1 inch up sides of pan. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set. Cool 5 minutes.

In large bow;, beat cream cheese with electric mixer on medium speed just until smooth and creamy; do not overbeat. On low, beat in eggs, one at a time, just until blended. Spoon 3 cups of the cream cheese mixture into pan; spread evenly.

Stir pumpkin, ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg into remaining cream cheese mixture; mix with wire whisk until smooth. Spoon over mixture in pan.

Bake 1 hour 25 min to 1 hour 30 min or until edges are set but center of cheesecake still jiggles slightly when moved.

Turn oven off; open oven door at least 4 inches. Leave cheesecake in oven 30 more minutes. Remove from oven; place on cooling rack. Without releasing sides of pan, run knife around edge of pan to loosen cheesecake. Cool in pan on cooling rack 30 minutes. Cover loosely; refrigerate at least 6 hours but no longer than 24 hours.

Run knife around edge of pan to loosed cheesecake again. Carefully remove side of pan. Place cheesecake on serving plate and store covered in refrigerator.

**This recipe is from betty crocker.com :)