Substitute hazelnuts, walnuts, or almonds for the pecans.Miniature cheesecake bites are a great addition to any dessert buffet. These moist and rich treats are flavored like a traditional pumpkin pie, with a crust made from crunchy pecans.
Yield: Makes 2 dozen
Active time: 20 minutes
Start to finish: 6 hours, including time to chill
11/2 cups toasted pecans
3 tablespoons firmly packed light brown sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
11/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon, divided
3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
11/4 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin
1/2 cup half-and-half
2 tablespoons brown rice flour
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
Sweetened whipped cream
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9 x 13-inch pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil, with the foil extending up 3 inches on the short sides of the pan. Grease the foil heavily.
2. Combine pecans, light brown sugar, melted butter, and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Process until mixture forms a ball. Press mixture into the bottom of the pan, and bake for 15 minutes, or until golden. Cool crust completely.
3. Combine cream cheese and sugar in a mixing bowl, and beat until smooth. Add eggs 1 at a time, and then add pumpkin, half-and-half, rice flour, vanilla, ginger, salt, and remaining cinnamon. Pour batter over the baked crust.
4. Place the pan inside a larger roasting pan in the oven. Pour enough boiling water into the roasting pan to come halfway up sides of cheesecake. Bake for 1 hour. Turn off the oven and allow cake to sit in the water bath for 1 hour more. Cool cake to room temperature on a wire rack, and then refrigerate until well chilled.
5. Remove cake from the pan by pulling up on the sides of the foil. Cut out circles using a 2-inch round biscuit cutter. Top each circle with a swirl of sweetened whipped cream.
Note: The cheesecake can be made up to 2 days in advance and refrigerated. Do not add the whipped cream until just prior to serving.
Variation
Substitute hazelnuts, walnuts, or almonds for the pecans.
Be careful when shopping for pumpkin. Right next to the cans of solid-pack pumpkin, which is a great convenience because it’s pure pumpkin that is cooked and pureed, are cans of pumpkin pie filling. This has sugar, spices, evaporated milk, and usually gluten-containing wheat flour added.