Chocolate Cheesecake Cupcakes

Amanda requested chocolate cheesecake and I'm glad she did! I have to say these were outrageous! I enjoyed them so I was happy to share at dinner out with the girls to welcome Amanda's visit from Berkeley. One day we will have to visit!

I made half of them with foil liners and and the other half with paper liners just to compare. They both came out great. They both tasted the same and there was only one visual difference. All of these pictures are cupcakes made with foil liners because they are a bit more pretty around the edges. The foil creates deeper, defined edges to give that Reese's peanut butter cup look. But if you only have paper liners, they still look very appetizing.

I used my usual chocolate ganache recipe and just whipped it to add volume and piped it on top for the completed look. I used dark bittersweet chocolate (60%) for the ganache just so these aren't overly sweet.

I'm happy this recipe makes quite a few cupcakes, 26 to be exact. I had enough to share on Thanksgiving with my family, brother, and sister-in-law. And now allow me to post way too many pictures just because I couldn't choose which to edit out. Make these, and enjoy!

Chocolate Cheesecake Cupcakes

Yield: 26 cupcakes

Crust

1 cup crushed graham crackers (about 9 graham crackers)

1/2 cup confectioner's sugar

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

6 tablespoons butter, melted

24 foil or paper cupcake liners

Filling

2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips, melted and cooled

3 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened

4 eggs

1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk

1 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

Melt the 2 cups (12 ounces) of semisweet chocolate chips in a glass bowl or glass measuring cup in the microwave on high for 1 1/2 minutes. Stir. Set aside to cool.

Use a food processor or blender to crush graham crackers. In a small bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and cocoa; stir in butter. Line a cupcake/muffin tin with 24 cupcake liners. Press 1 tablespoon of crust mixture onto the bottom of each liner. Remember that you will have 2 tablespoons of mixture left for two extra cupcakes. Set aside.

Heat oven to 300° F

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Gradually beat in melted chocolate. Add eggs one at a time; beat on low speed just until combined.Gradually stir in milk and vanilla. Pour 1/4 cup of filling into each cupcake liner.

Bake for 18-20 minutes or until the center does not look wet. Turn off oven and open oven door to slowly cool cheesecake for 20-30 minutes, which will prevent cracks. Remove from oven and allow to cool to room temperature.  Once cool, place in the refrigerator to chill. Remove cupcake liners after chilled.

Whipped Chocolate Ganache

8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

1 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature

Directions

To make the ganache, place the chopped chocolate in a medium bowl.  In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a simmer over medium heat.  Once simmering, remove from the heat and immediately pour over the chocolate.  Let stand 1-2 minutes.  Whisk in small circular motions until a smooth ganache has formed.  Whisk in the butter until completely incorporated.  Let the mixture stand at room temperature until slightly thickened for piping onto the cheesecakes.  (Speed this process in the refrigerator or freezer until chilled)  Once the ganache has thickened and completely cooled, beat with an electric mixer fitted with the whisk head attachment. Whisk until the chocolate is whipped. Transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a decorative tip and pipe onto the cheesecakes.

Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin Pie. Nostalgia. I like how I only bake this once a year. I also like how as soon as I flip my  calendar to October that all my favorite blogs already have pumpkin this and pumpkin that. I wish every month had it's own unique ingredient. 

Let me just say that I was fasting when I baked these pies. I'm going to say that is why I misread the directions. And burnt the first pie. Yes, it's true, I burnt a pie. Look at that. Go ahead, point and laugh.

Apparently I overlooked the part where you need to reduce the oven temperature. I'm just so glad I had an extra crust and can of pumpkin to make another pie for Nadijah.

We still ate the burnt pie. It wasn't that bad actually. It just wasn't as creamy and soft. I was so glad when both these pies were finally gone. All I wanted to do everyday was eat pie. And I did. 

Pumpkin Pie

1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin (about 2 cups)
1 (14 oz.) can Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice*
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (9-inch) unbaked pie crust

Heat oven to 425°F.

Whisk pumpkin, sweetened condensed milk, eggs, spices and salt in medium bowl until smooth. Pour into crust.

Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F; bake an additional 35 to 40 minutes or until knife inserted 1-inch from crust comes out clean. Cool.

*If you don't have pumpkin pie spice, you can substitute with:
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Pumpkin Gingersnap Truffles

I made these for a bittersweet goodbye to our friend, Mona. Maybe one day I'll follow her to San Diego! But for now, we are all going to miss her so much! I've known her for many years and I just want to thank her for being my friend and for being who she is. Even the little things she would say would leave a lasting impression on me. Mona, you help shape me to to be the person I want to be. You uplift, support, and encourage me and those around you. Your happiness brings out mine and we wish you all the love and joy you deserve!

I loved to see that the girls enjoyed these, but I actually liked the previous pumpkin truffles better! These had a very strong ginger flavor from the cookies, but if you adore ginger, then go ahead and use the gingersnap cookies. Otherwise, I would stick to the golden oreos! I did like the dark chocolate coating on these though!

Pumpkin Gingersnap Truffles

Adapted from Simply Designing with Ashley
Yield: 25 truffles

Ingredients

10 oz package of gingersnap cookies
3/4 cup canned pumpkin puree
2 oz cream cheese, softened
4 tbsp powdered sugar
1 tsp orange zest
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
Pinch of salt
12 oz chocolate candy coating or almond bark
mini cupcake liners

Directions

Place the cookies in the food processor or blender and pulse into fine crumbs. Add next 7 ingredients and pulse to combine. Transfer to a bowl and place in freezer for about 30-45 minutes until firm enough to roll into balls. Or place in refrigerator if you not making them right away.

Roll mixture into balls and place on a plate. Return to freezer for at least 20 minutes or more.

Melt chocolate candy coating and place in a small mug or teacup. Dip truffles into chocolate and place inside mini cupcake liners. They should harden within a few minutes. Eat right away or within a few hours. Otherwise, store in fridge.

Peanut Butter Cheesecake

Nadijah needed cheesecake. 

And even though she requested other flavors, I made her eat peanut butter cheesecake. Haha, because I think it's been over two and a half years since I made peanut butter cheesecake. And as you can tell from this blog, I love peanut butter. Previously, I made these into mini bite size cupcakes.

Cheesecake is my favorite food and if it had zero calories and fat I would eat it every single day. So to me, this is like one of the best desserts you could ever make. Try it!

Peanut Butter Cheesecake
Adapted from Annie's Eats

Ingredients

1 cup Peanut Butter Oreo cookie crumbs
2 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
24 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup peanut butter
1 1/3 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

Directions

To make the crust, blend about 10 whole cookies in a blender or food processor to make one cup of crumbs. Combine the cookie crumbs and melted butter and mix with a fork until evenly blended. Press the crumb mixture into a flat layer on the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan. Set aside or inside refrigerator until ready to use.

Set oven temperature to 325˚ F.  To prepare the filling, combine the cream cheese, sour cream and peanut butter in the bowl of an electric mixer.  Beat on medium-high speed until smooth and well blended.  Add in the sugar and mix until incorporated, about 1 minute more, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.  Blend in the eggs, vanilla and salt.  Continue to beat until the mixture is completely smooth.  Pour into prepared crust.

Bake until center of cheesecake is set, about 45-50 minutes. Turn off oven and open oven door to slowly cool cheesecake for 20-30 minutes, which will prevent cracks. Remove from oven and allow to cool to room temperature.  Once cool, place in the refrigerator and chill thoroughly, at least 4 hours or overnight.

Chocolate Ganache Drizzle

4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
½ cup heavy cream
1 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature

Directions

To make the ganache, place the chopped chocolate in a medium bowl.  In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a simmer over medium heat.  Once simmering, remove from the heat and immediately pour over the chocolate.  Let stand 1-2 minutes.  Whisk in small circular motions until a smooth ganache has formed.  Whisk in the butter until completely incorporated.  Let the mixture stand at room temperature until slightly thickened for piping onto the cheesecakes.  (Speed this process in the refrigerator or freezer, but be sure to whisk every 10 minutes or so.)  Once the ganache has thickened, transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a decorative tip and pipe onto the cheesecakes.