mini pumpkin cheesecakes

How do you like your pumpkin? How about in individual pumpkin cheesecakes - some with chocolate chips and some with homemade salted caramel and chopped, toasted pecans? That's what we made recently and wanted to share our recipe.

We made mini and bite-size cheesecakes in muffin and mini-muffin pans with paper liners. We love the smaller size. No water baths, no worries about cracked tops. And everyone gets their own!

We thought we'd also raise the crust bar a little and used ground Biscoff Lotus cookies for the crust. But you can substitute graham crackers or something similar.

This delicious recipe is adapted from one from Sally's Baking Addiction, a source we love for reliable and well-tested recipes. 

These are perfect for Thanksgiving, a fall brunch, or an office party. They're so good, we recommend you make a double batch!

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ingredients

Cookie Crust

• 1 - 1/4 cups crumbs from Biscoff or gingersnap cookies 
• 2 Tablespoons (23g) granulated sugar (optional - we did not use with Biscoff)
• 1/4 cup (60g) unsalted butter, melted

Pumpkin Filling

• 12 ounces (336g) brick-style cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• 1/2 cup (114g) pumpkin puree
• 1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk
• 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips (if doing the chip version)

​Topping (if not doing the chip version)

• 1 cup (240ml) store-bought or homemade caramel sauce
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans (toast for 10 minutes at 300°F)

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instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a 12-count muffin pan with liners and a second 12-count muffin pan with only 4 (this recipe makes 16). For super-mini muffins, use two 24-muffin tins. Set aside.
2. Make the crust: Mix the cookie crumbs, butter and optional sugar (if using) together in a medium bowl until combined. The mixture will be thick, coarse, and sandy. Press a heaping Tablespoon of mixture down into each liner, making sure the crust is tight and compact. (Use a heaping teaspoon for the bite-size cheesecakes). You might have a little crust leftover. If so, press a little more into each liner—if desired! Pre-bake the crusts for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
3. Make the filling: In a stand mixer fitted with SideSwipe or a whisk beater, beat the cream cheese on high speed until completely smooth, about 1 minute. On medium-high speed, beat in sugar, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice until well combined. Add pumpkin, egg and egg yolk, and vanilla. Beat on medium-high speed until completely mixed. 
4. Pour or spoon the filling evenly into each crust. We used a large cookie scoop.
5. Bake until centers of pies only slightly jiggle, 18 to 20 minutes for standard size, about 12 minutes for super-mini size. Let cheesecakes cool at room temperature in the pan set on a wire rack.
   
6. Once completely cool, place cheesecakes in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight. The cheesecakes may slightly sink in the middle- that’s ok! It gives you room for the caramel.
7. Once chilled, drizzle each with salted caramel sauce and garnish with toasted pecans. Store leftovers covered tightly in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.