Pumpkin Cheesecake Jack-O-Lanterns – A Perfect Halloween Dessert!

There are two things in life that I simply can't resist.

One of those things is Halloween and anything related to this awesomely spooky season. I just love it – everything including the dressing up, trick-or-treating, the chocolates and candies, the parties, decorating and… of course seeing how happy the festivities make my son. 🙂

The 2^nd thing in life that I just cannot resist is… cheesecake.

In today’s post I share with you a recipe that I’ve been teasing you with over the last few weeks on Instagram and I’m sorry about that folks! Lol ?

I just couldn’t resist giving you a sneak peak of these super cute pumpkin cheesecake jack-o’-lanterns that my son helped me create!

Cheesecake has always been one of my most favourite desserts hands-down! I just love how there seems to be endless ways to create delicious cheesecakes. You can practically use any ingredients to create some kind of tasty cheesecake heaven.

This recipe creates deliciously soft moist mini pumpkin cheesecakes with a decadently chocolate Oreo cookie crumb bottom. and cute little cocoa faces! These are perfect for serving at Halloween parties or even bringing to a potluck! I promise you – these will be a hit!

The real kicker for these cheesecakes is not just their awesome flavour but the cute little faces that are shaped on top using neat little jack-o’-lantern stencils that I found on Amazon.

To create the faces on top I simply placed the stencil on top of the baked and chilled cheesecakes, then lightly sprinkled over top some chocolate cocoa. Once I lift the stencil off these cute little jack-o’-lantern faces appear!

If you’re not able to get your hands on the jack-o’-lantern face stencils in time for Halloween, you can make your own stencil easily by cutting spooky faces into heavy card stock using an X-Acto knife. Also, I’ve actually seen similar stencils to the ones that I’ve used for this recipe at the dollar store – so if you see them, grab ‘em! ?

This recipe is a hit with kids and adults alike and I can’t wait for you to try them yourself at home!

Pumpkin Cheesecake Jack-O-Lanterns – A Perfect Halloween Dessert!

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• Author: Michelle Dunster – DishesAndDustBunnies.com
• Total Time: 30 minutes to bake + time to chill
• Yield: 12 – 16 mini cheesecakes 1x

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

Chocolate Crust:

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups chocolate cookie crumbs (I used Oreo crumbs)
• 1/4 cups sugar

Cheesecake:

• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp pumpkin spice
• 2 (8 oz.) packages of cream cheese, softened
• 1 1/2 cups pure pumpkin
• 2 1/2 tbsps all purpose flour
• 2 eggs, room temperature

You'll also need:

• Butter or cooking spray for greasing the muffin tin.
• About 1 tsbp of cocoa powder – for making the jack-o-lantern faces
• Standard 12 cup muffin tin
• Large cupcake/muffin liners
• Halloween Jack-O-Lantern Cookie/Baking Stencils – if you can't get your hands on some of these in time for Halloween, you can make your own stencils by cutting pumpkin faces into heavy card stock with an X-Acto knife. I've also seen similar stencils available at the dollar store.

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Instructions

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350°F.
2. Grease the muffin tin with butter or cooking spray and place muffin liners into the cups. Set aside.

To make chocolate crust:

1. In a mixing bowl, combine the butter, sugar and the chocolate cookie crumbs.
2. Press the mixture into the bottoms of the lined muffin tins. I like to use the bottom of a small shot glass to really pack the crust down. Set aside.

To Make the Cheesecake:

1. Using an electric mixer, combine the pumpkin spice with the brown sugar. Cream this together with the cream cheese.
2. Add the pumpkin and vanilla and mix until combined and creamy.
3. Next, beat in the eggs.
4. Add the all purpose flour and combine.
5. Using a spatula scrape the sides of the bowl and combine any bits that haven't been completely incorporated.
6. Using a ladle or scoop, fill each of the muffin cups with the cheesecake batter. Fill them to the brim – right to the top of the paper.
7. Place into the oven and back for 30 minutes.
8. You may notice that there is enough batter for more than 12 cheesecakes – this is fine! Just set the leftover batter aside and repeat the process to use up the remaining batter after the first 12 have finished baking. 🙂
9.  
10. Once you pull the cheesecakes out of the oven, you'll notice that cracks have formed on the tops. Don't worry! The tops will fall down and the cracks will disappear as the cheesecakes cool down.
11. Allow the cheesecakes to cool to room temperature and then chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours (or overnight).

To decorate:

• One by one, place the jack-o-lantern stencils over the tops of the cheesecakes. Using a small mesh strainer, sprinkle the powdered cocoa over top.
• Lift off the stencil and you should now have a cute little jack-o-lantern face on your mini pumpkin cheesecake! 🙂

• Category: Dessert
• Method: Baking