Day Two Hundred Twelve

Don't mind me, I'm just bumping a recipe from 8 years ago up to the top of the ol' blog so that Alexis will see it and make it.

:-)

Having a freshman in the house isn't ALL bad.

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I don't know what it is about miniature things, but I like them. I especially like miniature foods. If I can shove all of a food in my mouth at once, I am a happy camper.

Because then I can eat two or three more of them. Ahem.

That goes for these Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes. Each one is only the size of an average cupcake, so it's not really a big deal when I eat five of them. Right? Right.

These Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes are heavy on the pumpkin, as well they should be. I say that because the very first time I made them, I used half as much pumpkin. That was a mistake for two reasons. For one, if it's going to be pumpkin-flavored, I better be able to taste the pumpkin. For another reason, I was left with half a can of pumpkin puree. What exactly does a person do with half a can of pumpkin puree? Make more cheesecakes?

I guess that's not a half-bad idea.

But I would still prefer to just make some extra-pumpkiny cheesecakes the first time around.

Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes

(Makes approximately 24 cupcake-sized cheesecakes)

2 cups crushed gingersnaps
6 tablespoons butter
2 - 8 oz packages of cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
3 large eggs
1 - 15 oz can pumpkin puree
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon all spice
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Melt the butter in the microwave in a small bowl.

3. Pour the crushed gingersnaps into the bowl with the melted butter. Stir it all up.

4. Place cupcake liners in cupcake pans.

5. Add one heaping teaspoon of gingersnaps and butter to the bottom of each cupcake liner. Press with your fingers to condense the crust.

6. Back the crusts for 3-5 minutes at 350 degrees.

7. Put the crusts in the freezer while you make the cheesecake filling.

8. To make the cheesecake filling, start by creaming together the cream cheese and sugar with a mixer in a large bowl.

9. Add the flour and mix some more.

10. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well all along the way.

11. Add the pumpkin and mix some more. Be sure to scrape the sides of the bowl to make sure the pumpkin is evenly distributed.

12. Add the spices and mix some more.

13. Take the crusts out of the freezer and fill each cup 2/3 full with cheesecake batter.

14. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. You know the cheesecakes are done when they are lightly browned and not jiggly when you shake the pan.

15. All the cheesecakes to cool on a baking rake. They may settle, but don't sweat it. It's them, not you.

16. Cool in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before serving.

17. Top with whipped cream, if you know what's good for you.