The Belle of the Butterball

Day 4 of the Thanksgiving holiday: the sight of turkey on my plate for the 65th time, the stretchiest of pants don my waistline, and I'm simply proud of myself for showering today. I gotta say, I probably wouldn't need to take Zzz-quil every night if I ate a turkey leg an hour before bedtime. But post-fried-turkey coma, the thing I absolutely enjoy the most about Thanksgiving is the dessert spread. Like oh, you just ate your body weight in stuffing and mashed potatoes? Here's a platter of five different kinds of pies. We threw in some cobbler, too, just because we've officially lost our mind. It's absolute madness, and I cannot stress enough how much I love it. Dessert with a side of more dessert? This is my Shangri-La. If you've ever wondered whether a petite woman can eat an entire pie in less than a day, let me assure you, the answer is yes, and don't forget the Cool Whip. Considering my propensity to eat everything in sight during Thanksgiving, I decided to go small for the dessert table this year...in my defense, my husband was frying a turkey, and this is literally the only time I put the main course before dessert. Enter mini pumpkin cheesecakes with gluten free Oreo crusts!

I mean, I can't quit dessert cold turkey...

GUYS...I know I say this literally every single time I make a cheesecake, but this is the BEST RECIPE EVER. Unless you hate pumpkin, then I am sorry for you and your empty soul. But if you love it, this is the creamiest cheesecake with the right amount of pumpkin flavor, an extra little boost of sweetness and pumpkin spice in the whipped topping, and those buttery Oreo crusts are drool-worthy. Since I knew I'd be eating about 6,500 calories in main and sides on Thanksgiving, I made sure these were ultra low cal. This recipe makes 14 cheesecakes at 173 calories a piece (yes, less than a single dinner roll). Definitely keep this recipe in your back pocket for next year, or later this week because it is still November, and pumpkin is still a seasonally-appropriate flavor. Peppermint and gingerbread can stand in line and wait a few more days.

I refuse to Christmas bake before December 1.

There are actually 2 ways to go about the crust. I figured my cheesecake filling would make 12 total cheesecakes, but I had leftovers, so two of my cheesecakes simply had a single Oreo on the bottom as a crust, and honestly, I liked these better because they were easier to handle and retained a good bit of crunch after baking. But if you like a buttery crust, you need to crush 14 Oreos in a blender or food processor until a fine crumb, then pour in 3 TBS of melted light butter, and pulse until everything is wet. Line 2 muffin tins with 14 cupcake liners.

Like a bottomless pit of flavor.

Place one tablespoon of the crust into 14 cupcake liners, using a shot glass or the bottom of the tablespoon to smooth the bottoms out and slightly up the sides of the liners. Bake at 325 degrees for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven and place in the fridge to chill while you make your filling.

There's a little bit of a hustle and work here since these are cheesecakes, but baking is my cardio, so all good.

The actual cheesecake filling is made of:

• 16 ounces of 1/3 the fat cream cheese, softened at room temp
  
• 1/2 cup of Lakanto monkfruit sweetener (classic)
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla
• 1 teaspoon of pumpkin spice
• 1/2 cup of pure pumpkin
• 2 eggs at room temp

Once your crusts are done baking, lower the oven temp to 300. Start by whipping the cream cheese and sugar together until light, fluffy, and smooth, about 3 minutes. Then add the vanilla, pumpkin spice, and pumpkin, mixing well on medium. Switch the mixer speed to low, and add the eggs, one at a time, until fully blended.

I just want to bake the world a better place. One cheesecake at a time.

Grab the cooled crusts from the fridge, and fill each liner almost all the way to the top with batter. Gently tap on the counter to release any bubbles, then bake for 15 minutes at 300 degrees. Once those 15 minutes are up, turn off the oven, but leave the cheesecakes inside with the oven door shut for 30 minutes. Then crack the door for 1 hour to finish cooling...cheesecakes are fickle divas, but since they are so good, we let them pretend they're Mariah Carey.

I pecan't even...they are just so delicious.

Once cooled to room temp, you can remove them from the muffin tin and place in the fridge before topping with even more pumpkin spice.

Consider the whipped topping the sprinkle version of cheesecakes...it isn't done until it's got sprinkles.

Hi, sprinkles.

I took 124 grams of Cool Whip free (less than half the container) and mixed it with 1/2 a teaspoon of pumpkin spice. Truly, you don't need much here. A little pumpkin spice goes a long way...it isn't like garlic, where you can dump 10 cloves into a recipe and everything's fine. Ingestion of too much pumpkin spice puts you at risk of turning into a basic white girl.

I was going for pumpkins on top of pumpkins, but this is fine because I am wholly aware that I am a basic white girl.

I used a piping bag fitted with a 2D tip to place little pumpkin-y dollops of whipped topping onto each cooled cheesecake. I had a little topping leftover, so to prepare for Thanksgiving, I just piped the leftovers straight into my mouth. Shame? What is that?

There's no time for shame when cheesecake is involved.

Keep your mini cheesecakes in the fridge until ready to serve and devour by multiple handfuls. My in-laws were with us on Thanksgiving, and these were a big hit. My husband isn't huge into pumpkin (because there's a 2-month window where I put it in EVERYTHING), but he even liked these, so it strikes a good balance with pumpkin lovers and people who are indifferent to pumpkin flavor. I mean, it's a cheesecake, so it's absolutely decadent, sweet, and heavenly. It also certainly does not hurt that there's a chocolate Oreo crust...don't sleep on this flavor combo. Pumpkin and chocolate are meant to be together...like most other things and chocolate. Because if there's one thing in this world I am always thankful for, it's reliable, old chocolate. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday celebrating with family, friends, and loved ones. I know we did, and we are so grateful for the time we got to spend with our family (and not just because of the smorgasbord of fried turkey and these cluckin' awesome cheesecakes). Never take those moments (or desserts) for granted. 'Til next time, my fellow eaters!

Until next fall, pumpkin, my love...