I’ve talked before about how I don’t really love pumpkin spice, that I’m much more of an apple girl myself when it comes to fall flavors. I guess it’s not entirely true–there are pumpkin-y things that I like (or even love). But I’m not Sara. I remember a time when there were pumpkin rolls and pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and pumpkin cheesecake and then we were done with the pumpkin and had moved onto peppermint. But now we have memes like this…
and this…
and this.
I have a few explanations for my pumpkin feelings. 1) I like the spices, I’m iffy-to-not-okay with the pumpkin itself; 2) I had morning sickness TWICE through pumpkin spice season and I have never been the same; and 3) As soon as people started pumpkin spicing all the things, that part of my brain that seems to resist wildly popular things like Snapchatting on a regular basis, Grey’s Anatomy, and chocolate on bacon switched on and I became like that brooding teenager in the corner. Or April Ludgate.
I guess this is my long-winded way of saying that once upon a time, long before there were Pumpkin Spice Cheerios (which, let’s be honest, are pretty ridiculously delicious), I loved pumpkin cheesecake. Ever since I discovered pumpkin cheesecake, I’ve never had another piece of pumpkin pie. And I love mini cheesecakes because a) they’re harder to mess up, b) they’re super quick and easy, and c) portion control and portability, so perfect for all sorts of parties between now and Peppermint Season. Mini Pumpkin Cheesecake Tarts? Fresh whipped cream with vanilla and spices? Happy Monday to us all.
You’ll need some pumpkin, cream cheese, eggs, pumpkin pie spice, gingersnaps, butter, vanilla, and sugar.
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a muffin tin with 12 liners or spray well with cooking spray.
Place the cookies in a blender and pulse until you have about 2/3 cup of crumbs.
In a small bowl, combine the cookie crumbs and melted butter and toss until evenly combined. Gently press about 1 scant tablespoon of the cookie crumb mixture into each prepared cup
and set aside.
In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the cream cheese, pumpkin, sugar,
pumpkin pie spice,
and vanilla
and mix with an electric mixer until completely smooth. Add eggs one at a time, mixing completely after each addition.
Pour the mixture evenly into each muffin tin
and bake 20-30 minutes or until they appear just barely golden and set on top. Remove from oven and cool completely, then refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.
Before serving, combine heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla and beat with an electric mixer on high speed until soft peaks form. Lightly dollop over each cheesecake, then sprinkle with a light sprinkling of pumpkin pie seasoning
and top with a pecan half (if desired).
Mini Pumpkin Cheesecake Tarts
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 12
Ingredients
- About 15 gingersnaps, blended or processed into crumbs (about 2/3 cup)
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup canned pumpkin
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Additional pumpkin pie spice (optional)
- Whole pecan halves (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a muffin tin with 12 liners or spray well with cooking spray.
- Combine cookie crumbs and melted butter and toss until evenly combined. Gently press about 1 scant tablespoon of the cookie crumb mixture into each prepared cup and set aside.
- In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the cream cheese, pumpkin, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla and mix with an electric mixer until completely smooth. Add eggs one at a time, mixing completely after each addition.
- Pour the mixture evenly into each muffin tin and bake 20-30 minutes or until they appear just barely golden and set on top. Remove from oven and cool completely, then refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.
- Before serving, combine heavy cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla and beat with an electric mixer on high speed until soft peaks form. Lightly dollop over each cheesecake, then sprinkle with additional pumpkin pie seasoning and top with a pecan half.
- Prep Time: 25
- Cook Time: 25
Questions & Reviews
Made as mini cakes. Was able to get 3 dozen in mini tart pans baked for 20 min. Freeze very well. Just added canned whipped cream before serving. These are a hit.
Made these in a “mini” size for a party, they were a huge hit!!
I always use a whip cream dispenser for desserts and they were perfect!!
I ended up doubling the recipe, and have filling left over I’m wondering if anyone knows if I could freeze this?
Or how long it would last in fridge to make more…
cheesecake freezes beautifully!
These were amazing. Had to sub the ginger snaps for graham crumbs. Not too cheesy or pumpkiny even pumpkin pie haters will love!
P.s. I plan to top them with a pecan praline and caramel sauce.
Yum
I think you might be my new best friend. Looks delicious.
Made these and they are delicious!
Yay!!! I’m so glad !
I love some pumpkin-spiced items, but I am not crazy about it like some people. Cheesecake is on my good list. I think I might leave the gingersnaps whole, though, and use one per mini-cheesecake as a crust. I’m all for taking the easy route!
Thank you for not making the crust out of Nilla wafers! And also I love gingersnaps. These are so so cute!
Ditto with the pumpkin. And the spice. took me years to be able to eat pumpkin pie without gagging, I still don’t really love it. But, I do enjoy pumpkin bread, and these little tarts look really yummy, so, going to try it 🙂 my family will think I am the best ever, haha
I’m with you on the pumpkin spice thing! Such a relief to know that I’m not the only one in the world. These adorable little cheesecakes look amazing though.
So basically this is pretty similar to one of my favorite recipes of yours that I make every year on thanksgiving, (because pumpkin pie is gross) but minus the white chocolate and in mini form? I am on board. Portion control though? See. They are so tiny I will pop them in my mouth like tiny little cheesecake vitamins.
“Cheesecake vitamins”! Ha ha! My thought exactly. In my world, mini does not = portion control. These look great though! 🙂
These look like a Thanksgiving miracle.
Ooooh, yummy. I have everything at home except the gingersnaps, but I do have oreos I could use for the crust – opinion??
Absolutely!! If you like the chocolate/pumpkin combo, go for it!
I’ll take apples and cinnamon any day over pumpkin.
This looks great. Also, your story/article was super fun! Thanks for all.
These mini pumpkin cheesecake tarts look incredible! I need them in my life!
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.com
I am guessing that you removed these from the muffin tin after the last refrigeration period. After spraying with cooking spray, were they easy to remove? I mean I guess the crumb bottom stayed together and that you ran a knife around each cup first? My muffin tin is pretty notorious for sticking, and I know I can use cupcake cups to prevent this, but then each one would have to be peeled off before serving and I am not sure how that would go either. Thanks for the yummy looking recipe!
I used a silicone pan and with the cooking spray, they came right out (after I ran a knife around the edges.) If you want to use liners, I really recommend the foil liners for things like this. Hope that helps!
Any particular silicone pan you recommend? They are on my Christmas list, but I want to get good ones. And I’m TOTALLY with you on the pumpkin spice thing. If it was eggnog, however, I would be on it like a wild beast. These look delicious though!