Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes

'Tis the season for all things pumpkin. I've just bought my third can of delicious orange pumpkiny mush... I can't stop. It's the fall weather - it screams "Make orange-coloured, spiced things!". But I wanted to do something a little different, so I decided to try cheesecake. Also, it was my first time making cheesecake! I only got a springform pan last year, and making an entire cheesecake always seemed quite intimidating. I decided to go the easy route and make mini cheesecakes - super simple. After a dinner of Pumpkin-Peanut Curry Pasta, we needed more pumpkin! I followed this recipe from a lovely food blog called Pinch My Salt.

Luckily I had some graham cracker crumbs left over from another recipe for the crust. I mixed 1 cup crumbs, 2 Tbsp brown sugar, 2 Tbsp melted margarine, 1 Tbsp maple syrup, and 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice. I added extra oil to the bowl as it seemed a little dry. I also learned a neat trick after googling how to soften up brown sugar that had hardened - place the sugar in a bowl with a damp paper towel, and microwave, covered, for 20 seconds. It really worked - and saved my butt. Thank God for the internet sometimes. Once it's all mixed, push into the bottom of a 12-cup muffin tray and push down with the back of a spoon.

Thankfully cream cheese softens quite quickly so you don't have to remember to take it out of the fridge the night before. In a large bowl, beat 1 rectangular package of (light) cream cheese, 1/2 cup pumpkin, 1 egg, 1 egg white, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 2 Tbsp maple syrup and 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice with a wooden spoon, and then a whisk to break up the chunks of cheese. Pour batter into muffin cups, and bake @375 for about 20 minutes. The recipe originally said 14, but they seemed quite raw still by that point. Cool, then keep in fridge until ready to serve.

They became quite soft after being left out so make sure to keep them in the fridge. We originally ate them unadorned, but the next day I put some Greek yogurt on top in place of the recipe's whipped cream topping, which was a nice compromise. These were a great dessert for a weeknight. The cheese was rich and sweet with a hint of spice. My cat even licked most of the cheese off the top of one while they were cooling - so I can officially say everyone in the house liked them!