Ingredients
Scale
Cranberry Compote
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
- 12 oz (about 3 cups) cranberries
- 3 leaves fresh sage
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)
Cheesecakes
- 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar, gently packed
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 16 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar, gently packed
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp allspice
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 3 eggs, yolks and whites separated
- 3/4 cup white chocolate chips, or white almond bark
Instructions
Cranberry Compote
- Place the granulated sugar, water, orange juice and sage in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar.
- Add the cranberries and reduce heat to low, then remove the sage leaves.
- Cover the saucepan and simmer 10-15 minutes, until the cranberries have burst and the sauce thickens.
- Stir in the pecans.
- Remove from heat and let cool completely.
- Refrigerate until ready to use.
Cheesecakes
- Preheat the oven to 375°F and line a muffin tin with cupcake liners. This recipe makes about 16-18 regular mini cheesecakes.
- In a small bowl, mix the graham cracker crumbs, unsalted butter, brown sugar and salt. The texture should be like wet or kinetic sand.
- Place rounded tablespoons of the mixture into each cupcake liner and press down to make a crust.
- Bake for 8 minutes.
- Remove them from the oven and reduce the temperature to 350°F.
- In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the cream cheese, brown sugar and granulated sugar until smooth.
- Add in the pumpkin puree, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and ground cloves and beat until fully incorporated.
- Beat in the egg yolks one at a time.
- In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites until nice and frothy and almost doubled in size (pictured).
- Gently fold them into the cheesecake mixture and divide among the cupcake liners.
- Bake 18-20 minutes, until the tops are dry and slightly cracked (pictured).
- Remove and rest at room temperature for about 20 minutes.
- Transfer to the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours to chill.
- To serve, gently melt the white chocolate chips, either with a double boiler or in a microwave in 30 second increments.
- Remove the cheesecakes from the liners and top with rounded spoonfuls of cranberry compote.
- Open the disposable pastry bag (or sandwich bag) and secure over a glass and pour in the melted white chocolate.
- Cut off a very small tip to immediately drizzle over the finished cheesecakes.
Notes
tools
- cupcake liners
- disposable pastry bag or sandwich bag
- medium saucepan
- 2 12 cup muffin tins or 1 18+
- hand mixer or stand mixer with paddle and whisk attachment
- double boiler or small bowl for melting chocolate
The melted white chocolate will begin to flow from the pastry bag immediately. Cut off the tip only when you are ready to decorate, and decorate all at once. It will begin to harden over time.
Make the cranberry sauce the night before to save on time.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian