Things are starting to look very Halloween-y. Our costumes are all picked out: the girls are going to be Tinkerbell and a Bumble Bee. Last year they were the cutest little leopards ever.
I had half a can of pumpkin in the fridge just begging me to make a pumpkin cheesecake. But a whole cheesecake for our small family is just too much. So we made mini versions with an "Oreo" crust. I kept 4 out for dessert, and froze the rest for later. They were easy to make (no crust to make!) and got us into the Halloween spirit.
Oreo Pumpkin Cheesecakesmakes 12-15
1 box chocolate sandwich cookies
2 eggs
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
8 oz low-fat cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup pumpkin
1 T pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar
8 oz chocolate chips
1/4 cup heavy cream, room temperature
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners.
Place one cookie at the bottom of each cup.
Beat eggs, cream cheese, pumpkin, spices, and sugar together. Fill cups with cheesecake mixture. Bake about 20 minutes or until centers just jiggle a little. Cool completely. You can remove from wrappers at this point if you would like, or leave them in.
To make chocolate spiderweb, place chocolate and cream in a bowl set over simmering water (double boiler). Stir until melted together. Cool. Pour chocolate into a pastry bag or sandwich bag. Snip a tiny hole in the corner. Pipe chocolate in a spiral over each cheesecake. Using a toothpick or sharp knife, start at the center and draw lines out to the edge, creating a spiderweb design. This may take a little practice. If the cheesecakes are too cold the chocolate will harden before you can draw your lines, so just have them room temp. If the chocolate is too thick, try heating a little or adding a little more cream.
Chill cheesecakes overnight.
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