Mini Pumpkin Cheesecake

It's November which means Thanksgiving which means Pumpkin Pie.. right? Right! But, I'm not really fond of Pumpkin Pie. Cheesecake tho, I love cheesecake! So I thought, hmm why not pumpkin cheesecake?! And do here it is...

First, behead and de-bottom your pumpkins.

Next, cut them in half and remove the seeds. Cut them in half a couple more times and then place them either skin up or down a cookie sheet. (It was late at night and I forgot pictures, I'm not sure why, but forgive me!) Cook them for about an hour, until they're light brown and soft.

Next, use a fork to skin the pumpkins. If they have been cooked long enough it should come off very easy.

Put the pumpkin pieces in a large mixing bowl.

Use an immersion blender to puree the pumpkin.

For the crust you'll need butter, sugar, and graham crackers.

Next, take your graham crackers and your roller and break them into crumbs.

Next, add sugar and stir.

Then add the melted butter and stir until well mixed.

It should look somewhat like this. 

Press the crust into the cupcake pan.

Bake the crust for about 7-8 minutes. 

Start the filling by whipping the cream cheese until fluffy. Add the sugar and mix.

Then add cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and ground ginger. 

Add fresh pumpkin puree. 

Mix until well incorporated. 

Add the heavy cream and eggs, mix well.

Fill the crusts with the filling.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until cheesecake no longer looks soupy.

Chill for 3-4 hours before eating.

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Pumpkin Cheesecake

Ingredients

Filling:

32 oz. cream cheese

1 ½ cup sugar

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground ginger

1/8 tsp. ground cloves

1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg

1 cup pumpkin puree

4 eggs

2 tbsp. heavy cream

Crust:

12 full graham crackers

1/3 cup sugar

6 tbsp. melted butter

Directions

Filling:

1.     Add cream cheese to mixing bowl and beat until fluffy, add sugar and beat until light and fluffy.

2.     Add cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and pumpkin puree and beat until well mixed.

3.     Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well between each egg.

4.     Add heavy cream and mix until combined.

Crust:

1.     Heat oven to 350º

2.     Crush graham crackers into crumbs

3.     Add sugar and stir

4.     Add melted butter and mix well

5.     Press into cupcake pan and bake for 8-9 minutes.