Mini Cinnamon Cheesecakes with Gingersnap Crust and Pumpkin Pie Frosting

 

So, I have to warn you, this recipe takes a little extra time since you are making cheesecake AND a pumpkin pie, but these little guys turn out so cute, and they're perfect as an additional dessert for Thanksgiving. Also, this recipe has opened my eyes to the amazingly delicious gingersnap crust! It is SO. GOOD. For the pumpkin pie I made for Thanksgiving, I substituted the tradtional pie crust with a gingersnap-graham cracker crust. My family was a little disappointed to not have the original, buttery pie crust, but once they tasted the combination of ginger snap cookies, graham crackers and smooth pumpkin pie together, they changed their loyalties to my version of a pumpkin pie crust! (If you want to try that crust recipe out, just follow the directions on a graham cracker crumbs box and substitute half the graham cracker crumbs with ginger snap crumbs.) 

Anyway, on to the mini Thanksgiving cheesecakes! I recommend first baking the pumpkin pie, then the gingersnap crust, and then the cinammon cheesecake.  

Ingredients:  

Pumpkin Pie “Frosting”:

• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup evaporated milk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

Gingersnap Crust:

• 1 cup gingersnap cookie (or graham cracker) crumbs
• 1/4 cup (half stick) unsalted butter; melted
• pinch of salt

Cheesecake:

• 2 bars of cream cheese (8 oz each), room temperature
• 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 Tbsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon

Method:

To Make Pumpkin Pie Frosting:

        Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  In a mixing bowl, whisk together all ingredients until well blended.  Pour into a greased 9-inch pie pan and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the pie comes out clean.  Remove and let cool, then refrigerate.

When ready to “frost” the cheesecakes, remove the pumpkin pie and spoon the filling into a piping bag.  Use as you would regular frosting.

To Make Gingersnap Crust:

        Prepare 12 baking cups with paper liners, or grease with cooking spray.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the three crust ingredients until well blended.  Scoop 1 packed tablespoon of crust into each baking cup, and press down to pack firm.  Bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees, then remove and set aside.

To Make Cinnamon Cheesecakes:

        Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Begin to boil a large pot of water for the water bath. In a large bowl, combine the cream cheese and sugar, then mix on medium-speed until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add heavy cream, vanilla and cinnamon, and mix until smooth.  Do not overmix. Pour batter into each crust-prepared baking cup until 3/4 full.

        Once your pot of water is boiling, carefully place a large baking dish on the lower rack of your oven and pull the rack out a few inches towards you, and then pour the water into it.    This will create a water bath that will give off lots of steam while the cheesecake bakes.

Then place the cheesecake pan in the oven, and bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until the edges appear to be set and the center still has a slight jiggle to it (My oven almost took me 30 minutes).  Turn off the oven and open the oven door slightly for 5 minutes.  Then remove the pan and place on a cooling rack until completely cooled.  Top with piped pumpkin pie frosting.

Mallory's Vegan Pumpkin Pie

Something to be thankful for...

A Vegan Pumpkin Pie that Tastes Great! 

A Guest Post by Mallory Malaney 

Newly Vegan, I'm already sick of people asking me, "What do you eat?" "Don't you miss real food?" and my personal favorite, "When are you going to be done being Vegan?" It's a common misconception that as Vegans, all we eat is fruits, vegetables, nuts and beans. This lifestyle does limit our palates, but with today's growing soy industry, most dishes can be made "Vegan Friendly" without tasting like cardboard.

I whipped up this tasty treat last week as a trial run before my own family got together to celebrate Thanksgiving. This pie is not only simple to make but I bet even the snootiest of Vegan haters (Even Ms. Sweet Tooth Diaries herself) wouldn't be able to call you out on it.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups canned pumpkin puree
• 1 cup non-dairy milk (I used Silk soy milk)
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 Tbsp. blackstrap molasses
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. all spice
•  1 9" premade pie crust (I used Keebler Graham Cracker Crust - Suprisingly VEGAN!!)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine ingredients in a large mixing bowl and pour into pastry crust. Bake for 60 minutes, if edges begin to brown too quickly, cover them with foil. Cool on rack and refrigerate overnight before serving.  

Cranberry, Pineapple, Carrot and Walnut Bread

Can you believe it? A non-pumpkin post?! Don't worry, there's still one left to add to the four I already have for this fall season, and that will be when I make my Mini Cinnamon Cheesecakes with Gingersnap Crust and Pumpkin Pie Frosting for Thanksgiving tomorrow. It's been so hard waiting to make them, but only 24 more hours! Oh, and I almost forgot, there will be a celebrity post by none other than Ms. Vegan Mallory Malaney, who will be sharing her recipe for a vegan pumpkin pie! So that makes six recipes, but let's be honest, you can never get enough pumpkin!

Anyway, last night I made this bread and was a little skeptical of how it would turn out since it was deemed a "healthy, less sweet" bread in the review. I was originally really attracted to this recipe because I loooove carrot cake, and cranberries and walnuts just seemed so seasonal! (If you haven't noticed, I'm kind of a seasonal type of gal...) This bread soared high above my expectations and is so moist and sweet! The pineapples and Craisins really add a lot of natural sweetening, and with only a half cup of splenda-sugar blend per loaf, you don't have to feel bad about chowing down! At least that's what I tell myself, and hey, it's the holidays! These are the times meant for indulging in fabulous, yummy food! :) This time around I had to leave out the walnuts since my sister, who will be coming home for this Thanksgiving, is allergic. It's still so good though! The walnuts would add some nice texture and since this recipe makes two loaves, you can always make one with, and one without!

As soon as I made this and tried it, I immediately thought of how great this would be for a homemade gift. It's a unique bread that turns out beautifully with lots of color from the carrots and dried cranberries, and it's also sturdy enough to transport. It's funny, I've been thinking about taking on the challenge of creating a Christmas fruitcake that's actually good, since they are the butt of so many Christmas jokes as the not-so-yummy holiday tradition of the generations before mine. Once the loaf cooked and I first cut into it, it kind of looked like pictures of fruitcake! (I say pictures because I actually have never seen a fruitcake in real life... haha) 

So I thought maybe this might just be the new substitution for fruitcake and a new Christmas tradition; cranberries and walnuts can be for Christmas as well as Thanksgiving! Please try this recipe, it's so good and healthy for you with all the carrots and fruit!! (About 200 calories per 1/8 loaf.)

Ingredients 

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup granulated sugar or 1/2 cup sugar-splenda blend
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup vegetable shortening
• 2 cups grated carrots
• 1 (8-oz) can crushed pinapple, undrained (I only had pineapple "tidbits" which work as well)
• 3 cups flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 cup dried cranberries + extra for the top
• 3/4 cup walnuts (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°   
2. Lightly grease two 8x4" loaf pans and set aside.
3. In a mixing bowl, stir together the dry ingredients (except for sugar).
4. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, shortening and oil until combined.
5. Add the carrots and pineapple to the wet mixture.
6. Add dry ingredients and stir until just thoroughly mixed.
7. Stir in dried cranberries and (optional) walnuts.
8. Pour equally into loaf pans and top with with a few dried cranberries.
9. Bake for 45-50 minutes (mine was perfect at 45) or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
10. Let cool for 20 minutes and remove from loaf pans and complete cooling on a wire rack. 
11. It's better the next day, so as hard as it is, just let it be! (Ok, ok I'll admit I cut into it within a half hour. But trust me, the next day it's much more moist and holds together much better!)

Enjoy, and Happy Thanksgiving!! 

Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Cookies and Iced Pumpkin Spice Cookies

Surprise, surprise... more pumpkin recipes! Sorry, but I just can't get enough! These were inspired by a special request from my friend Jeff who asked for some baked goodies for his house. His one request was that they HAD to include pumpkin. That was no problem, considering my endless obsession with Foodgawker has led me to multiple yummy pumpkin recipes. I had seen a lot of recipes for homemade pumpkin cinnamon rolls, but I didn't have enough time for the dough to rise again, so I found the next best thing: Pumpking Cinnamon Roll COOKIES! Not only are they filled with lots of cinnamon-sugar filling (which I wish I added more of!) but they're topped with a maple syrup cream cheese frosting! :)

Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Cookies with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Yield: 3 dozen

Ingredients:

Dough:

• 1/2 cup butter, softened (1 stick)
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup pumpkin
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 Tbsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• dash of cloves

Filling:
4 Tbsp. granulated sugar or brown sugar (I used 1/2 of each)
1 Tbsp. cinnamon

For the frosting drizzle:
1 Tbsp. melted butter

1 Tbsp. cream cheese
1/8 tsp. maple extract (optional - I didn't have any, so I just threw in about a tsp. of regular maple syrup, and you could definitely still taste it!)

1 cup powdered sugar (adjust amount to until desired consistency is reached)

Directions:

1. Cream together butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until light and fluffy.  
2. Add pumpkin and vanilla and beat until well incorporated.  
3. Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk together.  
4. Add dry ingredients to the butter mixture in several additions and mix until everything is combined. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and put in the freezer for 20 minutes - it will be easier to roll out if it's chilled.
5. While dough is chilling, stir together the filling (sugar and cinnamon) until well mixed.
6. Turn out chilled dough onto a floured or parchment paper covered flat surface and roll out into a large rectangle until it's about 1/4" thick.   
7. Sprinkle filling all over mixture and pat it in. It might not all stick to the dough at first but that's okay! 
8. Roll up the dough jelly-roll style, using the parchment paper to help if you have it. Try to roll it tightly so it sticks together, but if the dough starts to break as you're rolling, don't worry, just pinch it back together :)
9. Refrigerate dough for a few hours (I was impatient and just let it sit in the freezer for about a half hour - why not speed up the process if you can?)
10. Preheat oven to 350° and remove plastic wrap and cut into slices between 1/4"-1/2" thick - when you're cutting, use a back and forth motion instead of just cutting down, you'll squish the dough and ruin the cute cinnamon spiral that they make!
11. Place cookies on a parchment lined cookie sheet 1-2" apart and bake for 8-10 minutes (I was around 10 minutes, thicker cut cookies might take a little longer) until the center of the cookie doesn't look too soft anymore or the edges start to brown.
12. While cooling, prepare the glaze. Melt the butter, add the cream cheese and maple syrup and whisk until smooth. Add the powdered sugar and add more if needed until desired consistency is reached.
13.  Transfer glaze to a plastic bag, and cut a small hole at the corner. Drizzle glaze all over the cookies and enjoy

Iced Pumpkin Spice Cookies

 Yield: 3 Cookies

Ingredients:

Dough

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. cloves
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 butter, softened (1 stick)
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Glaze:

• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 tablespoon melted butter
• 1 tablespoon cream cheese
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. 
2. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and salt; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, cream together the 1/2 cup of butter and white and brown sugar. Add pumpkin, egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla to butter mixture, and beat until creamy. Mix in dry ingredients. Drop on cookie sheet by tablespoonfuls; flatten slightly.
4. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven (Mine were done right at 15 minutes). Cool cookies.
5. Prepare the glaze: combine milk, 1 tablespoon melted butter, 1 tablespoon cream cheese and 1 teaspoon vanilla and whisk until smooth. Add confectioner's sugar and add milk as needed, to achieve drizzling consistency. 
6. Drizzle over cookies and let dry.

Pumpkin-Banana Bread Muffins

At the end of four, miserable days with a broken oven/stove, (college housing...) I came home last night to see it was finally fixed! I was so happy because all day I had been dreaming about making my favorite banana bread recipe with some bananas I had that were getting a little too ripe. Banana bread was made in my house constantly when I was growing up, and was one of the first things I learned to make from scratch. Since then, I've branched out from our traditional recipe to find the PERFECT banana bread, and let me tell you, this is the only recipe you will ever use again! It is the most moist and flavorful banana bread I've ever had. Continuing with my all-things-pumpkin obsession, I decided to switch things up a little bit (in addition to my current lack of a loaf pan) and turn my banana bread into pumpkin-banana bread muffins! Yummmyyyyy. 

All I did was substitute the 1 cup mashed banana with 1/2 cup mashed banana and 1/2 cup pumpkin puree, as well as add some traditional spices that tend to go with pumpkin recipes. I'm assuming you could probably get creative and use this basic bread recipe and substitute a lot of different things for the banana like zucchini or maybe even cinnamon applesauce! I love taking recipes and trying to make something new out of them. And who cares if it doesn't turn out perfectly, it's always fun to experiment and discover something new and amazing like I did last night! :)

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup mashed bananas (about 1 medium sized, ripe banana)
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. cloves
• Cinnamon-sugar mix to sprinkle on top
• Optional: 1/2 cup chopped pecans or chocolate chips, etc.

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325° and line two regular size muffin pans with 16-18 cupcake liners, or grease one 5 x 9" or two mini loaf pans. 
2. Mix together vegetable oil, eggs, buttermilk*, pumpkin puree and mashed banana. I actually didn't have buttermilk on hand, so I let 1 cup milk + 1 Tbsp. lemon juice sit for 10 minutes, and took the 1/3 cup amount from that. You can also use plain yogurt in equivalent amounts.
3. In a separate bowl, stir together dry ingredients (granulated sugar, brown sugar, flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg). Add to pumpkin and banana mixture.
4. Stir in chocolate chips, pecans or other additional items if desired!
5. Pour into loaf pan or muffin liners about 3/4 full. I was excited to be able to use up my Halloween cupcake liners and some fun fall sprinkles! But my best idea was to top these muffins with a cinnamon-sugar topping. It really makes a huge difference and they come out of the oven smelling like cinnamon donuts from the cider mill! Mmmmm... I love fall.
6. For muffin size, bake for 25-30 minutes (I baked mine for 28 exactly but they could have stayed in another couple of minutes). For mini loaf pans, bake for about 30 minutes. For a regular loaf pan, back for at least 1 hour.**I haven't actually baked this banana bread recipe in a regular sized loaf pan yet, and the baking times from the original recipe have been far too short. The original recipe says 1 hour for a 5 x 9" loaf pan, but it might take longer! So check at an hour but don't be afraid to keep on baking it!

I also like to let my banana bread sit overnight before digging in. I'm not sure the reason for this, perhaps to keep it as moist as possible (although that's not too difficult with this recipe), but it's something my mom always told me to do, so I still do it! It's not as important for the muffins though, I couldn't help but eat one right after they came out of the oven!

 I found these cute Dean Jacob's Autumn Accents sprinkles in the little Halloween display at HomeGoods - same place I found the mix for the chocolate Jack-O-Lantern sandwich cookies! I swear HomeGoods has the cutest things sometimes, and everything's always discounted!