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! 🙂