Pumpkin cheesecake

Beat butter, sugar and salt in bowl until smooth by hand or in food processor, about 3 minutes.

Add egg and yolk and mix until well-combined. Add flour and mix until evenly blended. Scrape down sides of mixing bowl several times.

Form dough into ball, flatten into disc and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight.

Spray 13-inch tart pan with removable bottom or 2 (8-inch) tart pans or pie tins with vegetable spray.

Roll out dough to at least 16 inches across for large tart. (For 2 standard pies or tarts, divide dough in half and roll dough 9 to 10 inches across and place in pan in same manner as for large tart.) Place dough in tart pan, and trim off excess, leaving 1/2 inch overhang. Fold overhang into side of tart pan so sides are double thick. Use scraps to make decorations for top. Bake decorations separately on baking sheet at 180 degrees 5 to 8 minutes.

Place lined tart pan in freezer while you make filling, or refrigerate at least 1 hour.

1 Cream pumpkin, condensed milk, cream cheese, eggs, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg by beating until mixture is smooth. Uncooked filling will have thick liquid texture.

2 Pour filling into chilled crust. Do not overfill.

3 Bake at 150 degrees until filling is puffed and firm to touch, 50 to 60 minutes. (If using 2 pie tins, cooking time will be about 10 minutes less.) Cool on rack.

4 When cool, remove cheesecake from pan and place on serving plate. (If using pie tins, do not remove.)

5 If desired, decorate with precooked crust cutouts and Caramelized Pecans. Decorate while still warm so decorations will adhere.

Melt butter in small skillet over medium-high heat and add sugar and nuts. Stir constantly until sugar loses grainy appearance, about 5 minutes.

Pour nuts onto sheet of aluminum foil and let cool about 15 minutes. Store up to 2 days in airtight container.