Good Eats - Pumpkin Mini Cheesecakes

Pumpkin Pumpkin Pumpkin - For October!

Say Yest To - Pumpkin Mini Cheesecakes

Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes

Ingredients:

Crust:

1 1/2 cup (100 grams) Ginger Snaps cookie crumbs

1 tablespoon (15 grams)  granulated white sugar

4 tablespoons (55 grams) unsalted butter, melted

Filling:

2 - 8 ounce (454 grams) packages of cream cheese, room temperature (use regular, not reduced or fat free cream cheese)

2/3  cup (130 grams) granulated white sugar + 2 tablespoons (reserved)

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon cinnamon

¼  cup sour cream

¾ cup pumpkin puree

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

¼ teaspoon grounded ginger

Directions:

- Line 12  muffin tins with cupcake liners

- Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven.

- For Crust:

1. In a small bowl combine the cookie crumbs, sugar, and melted butter.

2. Press about a tablespoon of crumbs on the bottoms of the 12 muffin cups lined with parchment paper. You will have left over crumb mixture.

Cover and refrigerate while you make the filling.

- For Filling:

1.Beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer, on low speed until smooth. 

2.Add the sugar and beat until combined.

3.Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating about 30 seconds.

4.Add the vanilla extract, cinnamon and sour cream and beat until incorporated. 

5.Divide the filling into half.

- Remove the crusts from the refrigerator and use half of the filling to fill the 12 muffin cups.  Put back into refrigerate.

          6. Add Pumpkin puree, the reserved 2 tbsp of sugar, pumpkin pie spice and ginger to the other half of the filling. Mix just until incorporated.

          7. Fill the muffin cups evenly with the pumpkin filling.

          8. Sprinkle the top with the left over crumb mixture.

- Bake for about 20 minutes or until firm but the centers of the cheesecakes still wobble a little.

- Remove from oven and place on a wire rack. Let cool and then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate (a few hours or overnight).

- Serve with a dollop of whipped cream

Makes 12  - 1/2 cup cheesecakes.