Mini Autumn Cheesecakes

Pumpkin. Apple. Cinnamon. These are the flavors of fall. Flavors for fuzzy socks and warm blankets. Flavors that sound like the crackling of a wood fire or the rustling of leaves. Flavors meant for coffee and conversations. 

These iconic  flavors incorporated into my Mini Autumn Cheesecakes. They are perfect for a snacking or a light after dinner desert. Of course, if you asked me, Id say they were perfect any time. Midnight snack, anyone? 

These bars were inspired by a recipe on one of my favorite dessert blogs: Sally’s Baking Addiction. Sally does a fantastic version of these in bar form featuring raspberry jam. Any boy, are they good. Being mildly obsessed with fall flavors, I decided to make a version of her delicious treat that spoke of the season. I replaced some of the gram crackers in the crust with ginger snaps, folded in some freshly made cinnamon apple compote, and swirled each cheesecake with a dollop of silky smooth Pumpkin Butter. The result? A delicious dessert that satisfied my cravings for the season flavors. 

 Though you’d never guess, these delicious mini cheesecakes are actually light. They Greek yogurt, Neufchatel cheese, and egg whites cut the fat, and all nine cheesecakes are only sweetened with only ¼ cup sugar. Neufchatel cheese is a French version of cream cheese. It is every bit as delicious, its French after all, and has 1/3 of the fat of regular cream cheese. It can be found in many grocery stores in the cream cheese section. If you can’t find it, feel free to use reduced-fat cream cheese instead. These mini cheesecakes have only 130 calories and are full of protein, making them breakfast, or midnight snack, worthy.

Mini Autumn Cheesecakes

Ingredients:

For the Crust:

1/2 cup crushed graham crackers

1/4 cup crushed gingersnap cookies

2 tablespoons butter, melted

For the Filling:

8 oz. Neufchatel cheese, softened

1/2 cup fat free Greek yogurt, at room temperature

1/2 cup pumpkin butter, divided

2 egg whites

1/4 cup sugar2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon all spice

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 cup Pumpkin Butter (Recipe follows)

For the apple compote:

1/2 apple, diced

1 tablespoon butter

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon brown sugar

Directions:

Make the crust:

Combine the graham crackers crumbs, gingersnap crumbs, and melted butter in a small bowl. Stir until the butter has been evenly distributed amongst the crumbs.  Press the crumbs 9 muffin tin cups lined with muffin tin liners. Bake for 8 minutes at 350 degrees.

Next, prepare the filling and apple compote while the crusts cool.

For the apple compote:

Melt the butter in a small skillet. Add in the diced apple, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Cook for a few minutes until apple has softened. Set aside and allow to cool.

For the filling:

In a medium bowl whip the Neufchatel cheese until creamy. Add in the Greek yogurt, 1/4 cup of the pumpkin butter, egg whites, sugar ,flour, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg  and beat until well combined and creamy. Fold in the room temperature apple compote.   Spoon the filling into the muffin tins atop the cooled crust. Top each muffin with a heaping teaspoon of pumpkin butter and swirl. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Shut off the oven and leave the cheesecakes in the oven for 10 more minutes. Remove and let completely cool before serving.

Pumpkin Butter

Ingredients:

1 medium pie pumpkin, peeled and cubed

1 cup sugar

4 tablespoons butter

1 cinnamon stick

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a crock pot and cook for 12 hours on high, and an additional 4 hours on low. Remove the cinnamon stick and puree until smooth like butter. Serve on pancakes, waffles, ice cream,  or swirl into my recipe for Mini Autumn Cheesecakes.

Categories: Laurel, Recipe