Oreo Pumpkin Cheesecake Minis, For Life

Last Friday I spent $25 on a pumpkin.

My children (and by children I mostly just mean Dude 3 as he’s the only one who even bothers to notice or pretends to care anymore) chastised my lack of Halloween décor so much that I decided to go all out by buying the biggest pumpkin my Dude 1’s arms could carry.

It sits uncarved and beautiful on my front porch where it will remain until the bushy tailed rodents in my hood have their way with it.

We plan to ignore the leaves and the cobwebs made entirely by the encroaching local spider community in order to create an authentic spooky landscape in celebration of the season.

The amount of awesome one can create by not even trying sometimes blows my mind (and causes the neighbors to think about calling the HOA on me).

What I lack in home décor and landscaping awesome I am committed to making up for in my fall baking and cooking game.

Up this week?

Oreo Pumpkin Cheesecake Minis!

I’ve determined that if you wrap pumpkin in chocolate I like it. If you wrap pumpkin in cheesecake I like it. But, if you wrap pumpkin in chocolate and then infuse it with cheesecake, I might just up and lose my mind.

I had to polish these off in a day so I could get back to sane living.

I suggest you make them on a bra-optional Sunday afternoon when you have nowhere to be and can languish in their goodness while catching up on whatever trashy type TV show you know you watch, but don’t care to admit. Me, I hit a Twilight marathon. Edward Cullen goes marvelously with cheesecake and chocolate.

Oreo Pumpkin Cheesecake Minis

Ingredients

At least 24 Oreo cookies (more on this later)

16oz cream cheese

1/2 cup brown sugar (use white if you want, I just like brown better)

2 eggs

2 tablespoons sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice*

whipped cream topping (the spray kind because it’s most fun)

chocolate syrup (optional, if you are the kind of person who thinks chocolate garnish is optional)

mini chocolate chips (optional, you can use these instead of syrup but probably not in addition to syrup)

Directions

1. Heat up the oven. 350 works.

2. Put the cupcake paper thingys in the cupcake pan. This is a recipe you can’t really make without them so if you don’t have any put everything back in your fridge and go get ‘em.

3. Separate your Oreo cookies. Let your kid lick the cream. Remove the cream with a knife.

4. Drop one cookie in each cupcake paper thingy.**

5. Get to work on the filling. Beat cream and sugar fluffy. Add the eggs. Beat more. Add sour cream, vanilla, pumpkin, & pumpkin pie spice. Beat.

6. Pour batter over each Oreo. Fill the cups about 3/4 full. For me, because I’m an inconsistent pourer, I wound up with enough batter for 18 mini cheesecakes. I considered this a win. Depending on how you pour, you may wind up with only 12.

7. Put another Oreo on top of each of the batter filled cups.

8. Pop in the oven and let them bake about 20 minutes. Center should be set (ie not all wiggly and eggy looking).

9. Cool. Cool more. In fact, probably put them in the fridge for a couple of hours so they get good and cold.

10. Before serving spray on some whipped cream and drizzle on some chocolate sauce. Or sprinkle on some mini chocolate chips. You can eat them without extra chocolate, but you really shouldn’t have to.

*Don’t have pumpkin pie spice? Probably because you’re a regular person. It’s cool use cinnamon. Don’t have that? You’re not a normal person, go now to the store and buy it, but buy pumpkin pie spice while you’re there just for the sake of authenticity.

**If you prefer a thicker cookie bottom, go ahead and toss the whole cookie in the bottom of your cupcake liner. That’s tasty too.