OH, SNAP!:

Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake (ELIZABETH PUDWILL, Houston Chronicle)

* 2 cups finely crushed gingersnap cookies

* ½ cup finely chopped pecans

* 6 tablespoons butter, melted

* 3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

* 1 cup sugar, divided

* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

* 3 eggs

* 1 cup canned pumpkin

* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

* ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

* Dash ground cloves

* Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

To make the crust, mix the gingersnap crumbs, pecans and butter. Press
onto the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan.

To make the filling, beat the cream cheese, ¾ cup sugar and vanilla
with an electric mixer until very smooth. Add the eggs, 1 at a time,
mixing on low speed after each addition, just until blended. Remove and
reserve 1½ cups of the plain batter. Stir the remaining ¼ cup sugar,
pumpkin and spices into the remaining batter.

Spoon half of the pumpkin batter over the crust. Top with spoonfuls of
half of the reserved plain batter. Repeat layers. Cut through batters
with a knife several times to marble the cake.

Bake for 55 minutes or until the center is almost set. Remove from the
oven. Run a knife along the edges of the pan to loosen the cake; this
will help prevent the cheesecake from cracking. Cool before removing
the sides of pan. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.