1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease a springform pan.
2. In a small mixing bowl, combine the melted butter, sugar, and graham cracker crumbs. Wet all the crumbs with the melted butter. Pack into the bottom of pan. Try to make the crust an even thickness.
3. In another small mixing bowl, mix flour, pumpkin pie spice, pumpkin, and brandy if you have chosen to include it. Make sure your flour has no lumps. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese with a mixer until smooth and creamy. Slowly beat in brown sugar, then the sugar until smooth and creamy. Your mixture should not look grainy.
4. On slow, beat in one egg at a time until creamy and thoroughly combined. Gradually add the pumpkin mixture until all is combined and the whole batter is a creamy texture.
5. Pour batter into springform pan and bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes or until the center of the cheesecake is slightly wiggly. Turn off the oven and crack the door, allow the cheesecake to sit in the oven and cool for at least 30 minutes before removing it completely. The pumpkin takes a little longer to set.
6. Take a knife and run around the edge of the pan before releasing the latch. Remove the pan and allow cooling on a wire rack for another 30 minutes before placing in the fridge to set overnight.
7. Before ready to serve, remove the pumpkin cheesecake from the fridge and spread a thin layer of buttercream frosting around the edge.
8. Press the chopped walnuts into the buttercream to create a decorative and tasty edging.

Finally, you can roll the rest of your crushed nuts in melted chocolate to create clusters if you like and top with whatever other goodies you want. Enjoy!