Is there any better, heart in the right place, holiday than Thanksgiving? In no way have I always felt this way. As a kid, it seemed like the holiday that came after Halloween that you had to slog through before starting to beg relentlessly for what you wanted at Christmas. It was something to get through, not something to be excited about. It didn’t help that I’m an only child in a really small family, so my Thanksgivings never felt like the bustling, raucous affairs I imagined everyone else had growing up. The food was great, but the mood was calm and no one even watched football, so usually the most exciting part of the day was watching the Macy’s Parade on TV and eating way too much stuffing.
Then we moved to NYC and my mom started hosting Thanksgiving for all the ex-pats in her neighborhood in Riverdale. And anyone that wasn’t about to fly around the country and leave NYC for Thanksgiving. And friends who came after having dinner with their local families. Everyone brought amazing food to share, and even to this day I miss the hodge-podge of treats on the table, I always especially loved the fancy chocolate turkeys wrapped in beautiful feathery foils that an especially thoughtful guest always brought, which ended up guarding all the other desserts that just screamed the start of the season of indulgence while we all ate. We had legendary balderdash battles and everyone drank more than enough. Even after I had to move to Arizona, I took my 3 month old baby and flew back to NY for what had become become one of my favorite holidays of the year. The NYC school I had to leave after 8 years when we moved always held a Unity Day lunch the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, coming back for that party felt like the ultimate homecoming, I got to show off my baby to my “first” babies, my old students. It was such an awesome feeling to be surrounded by people I loved, in the city I love after being pretty isolated in the desert for a few months. I was so thankful that New York had been part of my life and for all the special people I met there and fun times I had. And if there is one thing I’ve learned from this year, it is to not take any event, any chance to see the people you love for granted. And, next year, let’s all commit to having a Thanksgiving that is the biggest, happiest party ever, together!
Until those big, happy gatherings are safe for everyone again, these mini- pumpkin cheesecakes definitely hit the button without leaving way too many leftovers (if any, they are so good!). They are inspired by my mom’s friend John Gibbons, who always brought a massive , delicious cheesecake from S & S bakery (sorry Junior’s, team S & S here!) to Thanksgiving. He has since passed away, but his company and the cheesecake always made our New York Thanksgivings really extra special.
pumpkin pie filling minis
Ingredients
for the pumpkin pie cheesecake
- 1/2 c cream cheese room temp
- 1/2 can libby's canned pumpkin
- 2/3 c evaporated milk
- 1/2 c sugar
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 2 eggs
for the crumble cookie crust
- 1-2 c crushed left over cookies, graham crackers, left over cooked pie crust, ginger snaps, shortbread cookies
- 6 tbs melted butter
- 1/4 c sugar
Instructions
- heat oven to 350
- line a cupcake tin with 12 liners
- beat cream cheese with stand mixer paddle attachment until smooth
- beat in all the other pumpkin pie filling ingredients until smooth (for extra silky texture, strain through a mesh strainer)
- in a medium bowl combine crust ingredients with a spoon
- spoon a few spoonfuls into bottom of cupcake liner (about 1/4-1/2'' thick
- pour in pumpkin pie filling until liners are 3/4 full
- bake for 25-30 minutes, until filling has puffed up and is not jiggly
- let cool in fridge or on counter for at least c couple hours
- top with whipped cream and garnishes o your choice