1.

Take out the cream cheese, sour cream, and eggs from the refrigerator and let them sit out in a warm spot (window sill?) for at least 30 minutes, or until everything reaches room temperature. Starting with room temperature ingredients will ensure a smoother batter and final texture.

2.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. And read this how-to on water baths.

3.

Blitz the biscoff cookies, sugar, and salt in a food processor, if you have one. If you don’t, you can put the cookies in a gallon sized ziplock bag, seal the bag, and beat them with a rolling pin until it’s crumby. 

4.

Use a pat of butter to spread around the insides of your springform pan, ensuring a nonstick environment for your cheesecake. And melt 6 Tbsp of butter. I like to use a small pot on low heat to avoid microwave explosions. 

5.

Stir the melted butter into the biscoff crumb mixture and stir with a fork until it’s mostly combined. Press the crust into your buttered springform pan. 

6.

In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to whip the room temp cream cheese and sugar until the cream cheese is smooth and light (3-4 minutes). 

7.

Once the cream cheese is silky smooth, add the sour cream, vanilla, and one egg. Mix again until fully incorporated. Continue to add in the eggs one at a time, mixing until fully incorporated after each addition. If you mix the eggs in all at once, the batter could separate :0

8.

You just created the base of your two cheesecake flavors. Divide this batter in half by pouring half of it out into another medium-large bowl. Decide on which one will be pumpkin and which one will be cookie butter. In the pumpkin batter bowl, add the pumpkin puree, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice. Use a whisk to combine the pumpkin batter ingredients until smooth. In the other batter bowl, add the cookie butter and whisk until fully incorporated. 

9.

In your prepared crust, pour the entirety of the cookie butter batter and then the entirety of the pumpkin batter. There’s some pockets and bubbles of air in the batter after you’ve poured it. To get rid of the bubbles, lightly bang the pan on the counter.

10.

Prepare your water bath and place your cheesecake in the oven to bake for about 60 minutes. 

11.

Your cheesecake is done once you see that the center looks cooked but there is a slight jiggle when you move it. After I’ve turned the oven off, I like to keep my cheesecake in there with the door cracked open. This allows the cheesecake to slowly come down to temperature and residually finish baking. You can remove it from the oven after 20 minutes.

12.

Cool your cheesecake at room temperature for 30 minutes and then in the fridge until cool to the touch. If there are cracks, you can slather some cookie butter on top to create a smooth surface for the chocolate ganache. 

13.

While the cheesecake cools, prepare your pomegranate arils and make the ganache. For the ganache, rough chop your chocolate and place in a medium sized bowl. In a small pot on low heat, bring the heavy cream to a simmer, aka, let it barely start bubbling. Once it produces steam and small bubbles, remove it from the heat and pour of your chopped chocolate. Let the cream sit over the chocolate for 30 seconds, allowing the heat to slowly melt the chocolate down. Whisk the chocolate and cream into a smooth ganache.

14.

Remove your cooled cheesecake from the springform pan. Pour the ganache over your cooled cheesecake, letting some drip down the sides. Decorate the top with the pomegranate arils, letting them fall into place undisturbed. 

15.

Place the entire shenanigan into the fridge to cool completely (at least 4 hours) sry. The wait will be worth it!