• Preheat oven to 375 F. degrees.
• Prepare an 8 x 8 baking pan by greasing with Crisco and lining with parchment paper.

Crust

• Cream butter and sugar together.
• Add flour, pecan meal, and vanilla.
• Beat for two minutes, the batter will be thick.
• Spread crust batter into the bottom of the prepared 8 x 8 baking.
• Press to the edges of the pan with your finger tips.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes.
• Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
• Reduce oven heat to 350 F. degrees.

Filling

• Prepare the cheesecake layer by beating the softened cream cheese until creamy.
• Add the egg, vanilla extract, and pumpkin pie spice. Beat one minute.
• Add the powdered sugar and beat until creamy.
• Beat in the pumpkin puree being sure to scrape the bowl at least once.
• Set aside and prepare the top crust layer.

Top crust

• Cream the sugar and softened butter together.
• Add one egg and vanilla, beating until well combined, about 1 minute.
• Add remaining egg and beat for two minutes.
• Add flour, pecan meal and a pinch of salt.
• Beat 3 minutes.
• Spread the cheesecake filling over the top of the crust to the edges.
• Drop the batter for the top crust layer over the top of the pumpkin cheesecake filling with a tablespoon, covering the entire top of the cheesecake filling.
• Using the back of the spoon spread the crust batter to the edges of the pan.
• Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the crust is a golden brown and the cheesecake filling is cooked through.
• Insert a tooth pick into the center. Tooth pick should come out clean when the cheesecake filling is done.
• Remove from oven and cool on a baking rack before serving.