Gluten-Free Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes

Some sentiments about fall and some thoughts about pumpkin. Definitely some views railing for or against pumpkin spice lattes.

;)

Here’s a recipe for mini pumpkin cheesecakes.

Shortbread Crust

• ¼ cup gluten-free shortbread crumbs
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• pinch salt
• ½ tablespoon butter, melted

Cheesecake Filling

• ½ cup cream cheese
• ¼ cup ricotta cheese
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons pumpkin puree, divided
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Set two small ramekins in a loaf pan. Fill the loaf pan with water until they start to lift off of the bottom of the pan. Remove the ramekins. Place the loaf pan in the oven. Preheat the oven to 300°F.
2. In a small bowl, stir together the shortbread crumbs, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in the butter until thoroughly combined. Divide mixture evenly between the two ramekins. Use your fingers to evenly pat the mixture into the bottom of the ramekins.
3. In a medium bowl, stir together all of the filling ingredients, except the 2 teaspoons of pumpkin puree, until well combined. Evenly spoon the filling between the ramekins. Dot 1 teaspoon of pumpkin puree on top of each cheesecake and swirl with a toothpick.
4. Gently lower the ramekins into the loaf pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes. Let cool to room temperature in the loaf pan, then transfer to the refrigerator to fully chill.

Serves 2

I’m not sure how many ounces my ramekins hold but they measure 3¼” diameter (from inside-edge to inside-edge), and just under 2″ tall.

I mix all the dry crust ingredients, then add the butter and microwave for 20-30 seconds until melted. Seems silly to get a bowl dirty melting ½ tablespoon butter on it’s own.

I was originally intending the crust to be graham crackers, but I couldn’t find any of the gluten-free variety. I used Pamela’s Pecan Shortbread Cookies. This ended up working to my advantage. Since shortbread is so crumbly, it was easy to chop it into small crumbs.