As
promised, here is my Thanksgiving-dessert post. Here are some of the things I
am thankful for this year, other than the “family, friends, a roof over my
head, good food” spiel—not to disparage those things, but I am thankful for
them everyday and I’d like to get a little creative.
- The fact that this was my first Thanksgiving where I wasn’t planning and cooking around a school break;
- My bachelor’s degree;
- All the sweet comments left for me on my Mad Tea Party post—I reread them when I need a pick me up, and they never fail to warm my heart;
- This year’s religious education class of fourth graders—their spontaneous hugs and their excitement to be in my class every week also never fails to warm my heart;
- Today’s rainy day, which is perfect for movie watching, baking, Christmas decorating, and blog posting (it also happens to be my dad’s birthday);
- Gran Hotel on Netflix, which is like Downton Abbey on steroids in Spanish; and lastly,
- Irish cream whipped cream, which leads me to…
My mini pumpkin
cheesecakes with Irish cream whipped cream. A Bailey’s Pumpkin Cheesecake my
mom used to make every Thanksgiving when I was little inspired this dessert. It
was amazingly delicious, but it was one of those really dense, heavy
cheesecakes that you could only have a few bites of before you were put into a
food coma. I remember the batter was so thick that it used to slow down the
beaters of our old hand mixer to a disturbingly sluggish chugging. That being
said, I’m able to make these mini cheesecakes by hand.
My absolutely
favorite part, though, is the Irish cream whipped cream. I could eat it
straight from the bowl with a spoon. I also love that since these cheesecakes
are small, you can eat two…if you want.
I hope everyone
had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes with Irish Cream Whipped Cream
(Yield: 14)
Crust:
2/3 c. graham cracker crumbs
2 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tbsp. melted butter
- Line 14 wells of a muffin tin with foil liners and preheat the oven to 325º F.
- Mix the ingredients together in a bowl until thoroughly combined.
- Press 1 tbsp. of the mixture into each well, lightly pressing it with the back of a spoon to make it flat.
- Bake the crust for 5 minutes and then take the pan out to cool while you make the crust.
Filling:
8 oz. package of cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. pumpkin puree
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. cloves
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
- Raise the temperature of the oven to 350º F.
- Cream together the sugar and cream cheese in a large bowl until thoroughly combined, then add the eggs, mixing after each addition. Stir in the vanilla.
- Fold in the pumpkin puree until there are no longer streaks of orange and the batter is homogenous. Stir in the spices.
- Fill the crusts about three fourths of the way to the top and bake the cheesecakes for 25 to 30 minutes.
- Let the cheesecakes cool to room temperature and then refrigerate them until chilled.
Irish Cream Whipped Cream:
1 c. heavy whipping cream
1/3 c. sugar
2 tbsp. Irish cream
- Place the heavy whipping cream and the sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Mix on low speed until the sugar and cream are combined and then raise the speed slightly and allow the cream to thicken slightly.
- Raise the speed to high. When the cream holds a soft peak, pour in the Irish cream and continue beating the whipped cream until it holds a firm peak.
- Spoon the whipped cream onto the tops of the chilled cheesecakes before serving.