Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes

I was cleaning out my kitchen cabinet the other day and realized that I have an absurd amount of canned pumpkin from the past holidays. Of course, I could have definitely saved them for this upcoming November but I am a millennial, and I have been diagnosed with the severe need of instant gratification. My friend Jennifer likes to bring random snacks when we drink at my place. She brings anything from gummy bears, cookies, and arbitrary num nums that we devour before we drink. The other Tuesday she brought these store cookies that we both weren’t very fond of and it has been sitting in my pantry for a week now. I guess my rambling is meant to lead to you can use any type of cookies you’d like for this cheesecake crust and how recycling food makes the world go round, but it sure does make me feel like a contestant on Chopped. Mid blog writing I am inspired to make an entire page dedicated to the use of reusing food for other recipes, but alas, let’s not waste anymore time and just start making some frickin’ Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes.

---

Ingredients

Crust:
15 graham crackers
½ cup of macadamia nuts
8 tablespoons of unsalted butter - melted
¼ cup of brown or white sugar
1 tablespoon of cinnamon

Cheesecaking filling:
16 oz of cream cheese, room temperature (2 8 oz blocks)
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon of salt
1 cup of white sugar
⅓ cup of sour cream
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Pumpkin part:
½ can of pure pumpkin
½ teaspoon of nutmeg
½ teaspoon of ground ginger
½ teaspoon of cinnamon

Equipment needed:
An electric stand mixer *or a hand mixer with a very large bowl
A food processor
A mini cheesecake tray or a silicone cupcake tray with a metal tray underneath for stability If using a metal cupcake tray, purchase cupcake liners for easier lift

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees

2. Ready your food processor

3. Crush 15 graham crackers and add to your food processor

4. Add in ½ cup of macadamia nuts then blend until broken into small pieces. 

5. Add in ¼ cup of brown or white sugar with 1 tablespoon of cinnamon and pulse until fully incorporated

6. When fully incorporated, leave your food processor on low and slowly add your 8 tablespoons of melted unsalted butter

7. Take your cupcake mold and use a spoon to add your crust 

8. Take a shot glass and squish it down to your desired thickness

9. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes

Take out at let cool while you make your filling:

1. Add two blocks of room temperature cream cheese to your stand in mixer

2. Turn your whisk onto medium 

3. While it is whisking add in 1 teaspoon of salt

4. Slowly add 1 cup of white sugar to your bowl while it is still whisking

5. Add in 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

6. Add in your 2 whole eggs and 2 egg yolks

7. Add in your ⅓ cup of sour cream 

8. Turn off your stand in mixer, then scrape the sides and bottom of your bowl and let it mix on medium for 1 minute

9. Afterward, use a spoon or a cookie scooper to add one scoop each onto your pre baked crusts

10. When you are done, add ½ can of pureed pumpkin, ½ teaspoon of nutmeg, ½ teaspoon of cinnamon, ½ teaspoon of ground ginger to the remaining cheesecake filling and mix

11. When it is fully incorporated into a homogenous mixture, use a spoon or a cookie scooper and add an additional scoop to each cup again.

12. Bake for 18 minutes at 350 degrees and take it out to let cool before adding to your fridge to set for at least 3-4 hours or overnight

Tips:

If you are using a silicone cupcake liner make sure to have a baking tray underneath for stability

If you are using a metal cupcake liner and not a mini cheesecake baking tray, make sure to use cupcake liners for an easier lift

Do not overfill your cupcake baking tray as these cheesecakes rise when cooked, then deflate while cooling

You can use any type of crackers for crust that you’d like or any fun cookies you wanted to try.

This recipe makes about 24 mini cheesecakes, so it is great for potlucks!