Pumpkin Ginger Mini Cheesecakes with Dark Chocolate
After just a few short weeks of doing this blog thing, I’m realizing how common, natural, and cliche it is to start a story with “I love…” It’s just that, this is what it’s about! Stuff I love!
But I think I need to mix it up a bit, come in at things at new angles, or at the very least get my thesaurus out. That said…
I adore cheesecake. I crush on, cherish, am captivated by, and think the world of it. I know, I know, it’s a little unhealthy to be so wild for a dessert. Lest I go overboard, I do make it rarely… and sometimes, I like to make it mini.
Just a few little bites of bliss.
I came up with this version after I picked up a few boxes of Anna’s Ginger Thins – have you ever had these? If not, get thee to a cookie aisle stat! They’re yummy crisp gingery thins in cute little flower shapes – low calorie, no trans fats, gotta love them. Er, admire them.
Anyway, I thought they’d make an excellent crumb-based cheesecake crust… and with pumpkin cheesecake (adapted from Paula Deen’s pumpkin cheesecake recipe), all the better for this time of year. Topped with a little dark chocolate, they were perfect for our little Halloween shindig. Or anytime.
Pumpkin Ginger Mini Cheesecakes with Dark Chocolate
Ginger cookie crumbs form a beautiful mini crust that's filled with creamy pumpkin cheesecake. Top them off with delicious dark chocolate and you've got pumpkin ginger mini cheesecakes with dark chocolate!
Ingredients:
Crust:
- One box Anna's Ginger Thins (5.25 ounces)
- 4 tablespoons butter, melted
Filling:
- 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese at room temperature
- 1 cup pureed or canned pure pumpkin
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Topping:
- 4 ounces of your favorite dark chocolate (I used 70% dark chocolate bites from Trader Joe's)
Directions:
Crust
- Turn the oven to 350. Place cupcake liners into 18 (regular sized) muffin cups, and lightly spray with Pam.
- Place the ginger thins into a Ziploc bag, and crush with a glass or rolling pin.
- In a bowl, mix the ginger thin crumbs with the melted butter.
- Place a heaping tablespoon full of the crumb mixture into each muffin cup.
- Press the crumbs firmly into the lined muffin cups. A small juice glass or shot glass might work, or you can just press with your fingers.
- Bake for 6 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.
Filling
- Use a hand or stand mixer to beat cream cheese until it's smooth and starts to get a little fluffier. Add eggs, sugar, pumpkin, sour cream, and spices. Then add the flour and vanilla. Mix until well combined.
- Pour about 1/3 cup batter into each muffin cup.
- Bake for 25 minutes, until cheesecakes are JUST past the point of being loose/jiggly in the center. Remove from oven and let cool for 15-20 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and transfer to refrigerator to chill for at least 2 hours.
Topping
- Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Chop up the chocolate, and place in a microwave-safe bowl with 1/2 teaspoon vegetable shortening.
- Microwave on high for 30 seconds, remove, and stir. Continue to microwave in 15 second intervals, removing and stirring, until the chocolate is just melted.
- Spoon the chocolate into a Ziploc bag (or pastry bag). Snip the end of the Ziploc bag JUST BARELY. You just want a tiny hole.
Now draw with chocolate! Squirt the chocolate onto the parchment-paper-lined cookie sheet. Make any little shape you want to top your cheesecakes with. I was making these for our Halloween party, so I opted for spider webs and spiders. - Set your chocolate art aside to harden. If you do this at room temperature, it may take an hour or more. Or you can refrigerate to accelerate the process.
Assembly
- Remove the cheesecakes from the muffin tin. It may help to use a butter knife on the outside of the cupcake liner to gently pry it out.
- Carefully remove the chocolate shapes from the parchment paper, and arrange on top of the cheesecakes.
