Kobocha Squash Cheesecake

You all may remember Crystal who worked with us last year.  She sent me this recipe which uses the squash in our share.  She says:  "This Kobocha Cheesecake is better than pumpkin pie.  I just used a pre-made graham cracker pie crust.  The second batch I make I used more cream cheese (about 1/2 block more) to make it more like cheesecake.  Still delicious!"

Kabocha Squash Pie – Gluten­Free

Ingredients:
Crust:
2 cups pecans
2 tbsp coconut sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
4 tbsp coconut oil

Filling:
2.5 cups of cooked kabocha squash*
1 brick cream cheese (room temperature)
1 cup coconut sugar or granular sweetener of choice
1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
¾ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs (room temperature)

Instructions:
1. For the Crust:
2. Grind pecans in a blender or food processor until coarsely chopped.
3. Add sugar, cinnamon and coconut oil.
4. Process until mixture is sandy and comes together when pressed.
5. Press mixture in to a 9" springform pan or pie plate.
6. Bake for 10 minutes at 325F
7. Allow crust to cool completely
8. For Filling:
9. Mix cream cheese and coconut sugar in blender until smooth
10. Add the spices, salt, vanilla and cooked squash
11. Process until smooth
12. Add the eggs and mix on a low speed until evenly blended.
13. Pour filling in to cooled crust
14. Bake for 1 hour at 300 degrees
15. Let cool before serving

Notes:
*steam or bake, let it cool completely before using.

Recipe by Blending Food and Design in Vancouver. at http://theblenderist.com/kabocha­squash