This one is T and T.....notice it has half the amount of pumpkin and more egg....I would be concerned about the one you posted being a little hard to cut....the orange flavor sounds wonderful....but again the strings of orange peel found in marmalade might make it hard to cut...if you want the orange flavor....just add some grated rind. Also the one you posted calls for low fat cream cheese....in my experience that makes a softer less dense cake. Cheesecake Factory Pumpkin Cheesecake Bonnie Benesh Prep time: 30 minutes Serves: 10-12 Cooking time: 65-75 minutes Crust: 1½ cups graham cracker or ginger snaps (I like ½ of each) 5 T. butter, melted 1 T. sugar Filling: 3-8oz. pkgs. cream cheese, softened 1 C. canned pumpkin 3 eggs ½ t. cinnamon ¼ t. nutmeg ¼ t. allspice Topping; 1 C. heavy cream ½ C. sugar 1 t. white vanilla ½ C. chopped pecans Mix crust ingredients together, just until coated and crumbly. Press onto the bottom and two-thirds of the way up the sides of an 8" spring form pan. Bake for 5 minutes at 350F. Set aside. Combine cheese, sugar and vanilla in large bowl, mix until smooth with an electric mixer. Add pumpkin, eggs, and spices and beat until smooth and creamy. Pour into the crust. Bake for 60-70 minutes or until the top turns a bit darker. Remove from oven and allow to come to room temperature, then refrigerate. Just before serving, whip the cream, sugar and white vanilla. After cake has thoroughly chilled, add the whipped cream topping and sprinkle nuts over the cream. Remove the pan sides and cut.

Here's the one I like to use. PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE WITH GINGERSNAP CRUST Crust 1 ¼ cups Gingersnaps, crushed ¼ cup melted butter Filling 1 cup pumpkin puree ½ cup heavy cream 2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon cinnamon ½ teaspoon ginger ¼ teaspoon nutmeg 1/8 teaspoon cloves ¼ teaspoon salt 1 ¼ lbs (20 oz) cream cheese, at room temperature ½ cup granulated sugar ½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar 1 Tablespoon cornstarch 4 large eggs, at room temperature Crust Preheat oven to 350°. Wrap the outside of a 9 inch spring form pan with 2-3 layers of aluminum foil, making sure it extends up the sides, to the top edge of the pan. Combine the gingersnaps and melted butter and press onto the bottom of the spring form pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Set aside. Cool crust completely. Filling Reduce oven temp to 325°. In a bowl, whisk together pumpkin, heavy cream, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. Set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the cream cheese on medium-low speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the sugars and beat on low speed until smooth. Mix in the pumpkin mixture, then add the cornstarch and mix until just blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing just until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and do a final mix by hand to make sure all the ingredients are well incorporated. Pour the filling in the cooled crust. Set the still wrapped spring form pan in a large roasting pan. Carefully pour enough hot water into the large pan to come 1 inch up the sides of the spring form pan. Bake for 70-80 minutes until the center is set but still a bit wobbly . Remove cheesecake from the water bath to a cooling rack. Carefully remove the foil and run a thin knife tip around the edge of the cake. This will loosen the cake and help prevent the top from cracking. Cool completely at room temperature. Refrigerate the cooled cheesecake for at least 4 hours or overnight before serving. Serves 16 Oly

I also agree that a 5-7 timeframe would need heavier foods as it would be around suppertime and some/many would not have eaten their evening meal before that time. So, possibilities? Gougeres, cheese straws, cheese thumbprints filled with hot pepper jelly, hot cheese and artichoke dip, spinach dip, Teresa's cheeseball or pimento cheese suggestion. A bit heavier would be sweet potato biscuits with a sliver of honey/glazed ham, rye puffs filled with cream cheese and corned beef, like a Rueben, small dinner rolls or croissants with chicken, turkey, chicken salad, ham, thin slices of roast beef. Desserts could be Christmas cookies, of course, or fudge, some "bark", which is fast and easy, truffles or peanut butter balls, bundt cake, mini cupcakes, brownies, pecan pie bars. I think bars would be faster and more efficient than something like rolled out sugar cookies or frosted and decorated types, so you could have a good assortment with less time spent. Refrigerator type cookies are good too, the kind you make ahead of time and then freeze or refrigerator, then slice and bake fresh when they are needed. You could even serve a crockpot of some type of soup or chili, if you are adventurous, with cups and spoons instead of bowls, so people could eat standing up or walking about. Have fun, it sounds like a very nice idea. Annie

Yep! But remember to add it last (like you do vanilla) and a little goes a LONG way.... I make a low-sodium, low-carb recipe for Easy Caramel Popcorn and I add all kinds of flavorings to that recipe as another way to change up the mundane: cinnamon oil, pumpkin pie or apple pie spice, coconut flavoring, rum flavoring, butterscotch flavoring, orange extract, caramel extract, root beer extract...... Now that I've mentioned the recipe, I'd better go ahead and post it. A nice way to use up those flavorings that seem to linger in the cabinet. EASY CARAMEL POPCORN (source: The Diabetes Snack Munch Nibble Nosh Book- by Ruth Glick) Nonstick cooking spray 10-cups popped corn (I use an air-popper.) 6 (Kraft) caramel candies, cut into small pieces [Grainlady note: If you can find Kraft Caramel Bits - check baking isle near chocolate chips - you can use 1/4-cup of the bits and not have to cut the caramel candies - woo-hoo!] 2 T. dark or light corn syrup 1/2 T. water Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a large jelly roll pan or rimmed cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray and set aside. Place the popcorn in a large ceramic or glass bowl and set aside. In a 1-cup measure or similar microwave-safe bowl (one with a handle is preferred), combine the caramels, syrup, and water. Cover with wax paper (I omit this step) and microwave on high power for 40-seconds. Stir. Microwave for an additional 30-seconds until the caramels are completely melted. Being very careful to keep fingers away from the hot wyrup, slowly pour the caramel mixture over the popcorn, stirring with a large wooden spoon to coat evenly. Spread the mixture evenly on the prepared baking pan. Bake the popcorn for 4-6 minutes until the syrup hardens slightly (4-1/2 minutes in my oven). Cool before serving. Store in tightly covered container at room temperature. Leftover popcorn will keep for 4-5 days. [Grainlady add-ins: Add to the hot mixture, stir, then pour over popcorn.] -1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice mix OR apple pie spice mix -1/8 t. cinnamon oil (keep your face away from the hot mixture and don't inhale the fumes from the cinnamon oil) -1/8 - 1/4 t. of other liquid flavorings/extracts - or to taste Makes 10 1-cup servings. Per 1-cup serving: Exchanges- 1/2 carbohydrate Calories - 53 Calories from fat - 7 Cholesterol - 1 mg Sodium - 59 mg Total Carbohydrate - 11 g Dietary Fiber - 1 g Sugars - 6 g Protein - 1 g