Thanksgiving Dessert

            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

1. Line 14 wells of a muffin tin with foil liners and preheat the oven to 325º F.
2. Mix the ingredients together in a bowl until thoroughly combined.
3. Press 1 tbsp. of the mixture into each well, lightly pressing it with the back of a spoon to make it flat.
4. 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

1. Raise the temperature of the oven to 350º F.
2. 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.
3. Fold in the pumpkin puree until there are no longer streaks of orange and the batter is homogenous. Stir in the spices.
4. Fill the crusts about three fourths of the way to the top and bake the cheesecakes for 25 to 30 minutes. 
5. 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

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Spoon the whipped cream onto the tops of the chilled cheesecakes before serving.