pumpkin cheesecake à la mélimélo

Come Thanksgiving I always have a hard time deciding which dessert to make, so I've actually resorted to making all 3 of my choices, but in miniature size so you can have a bit (or a bite) of each...

{2010}

I always get a special request for Pecan Pie and I like making Carrot Cake or Spice Cake, but my favorite is Pumpkin Cheesecake! I made this the first time when I was studying in Hartford, CT and we did a trip to a pumpkin patch to pick pumpkins with my roommate.

In France it's not easy to get canned pumpkin (unless you're willing to pay tons at specialty stores), but I also think it's more fun to use fresh pumpkin. What I do is at Halloween, when we carve out all of the pumpkins to make Jack'O'Lanterns, I puree the pumpkin and then freeze it until Thanksgiving - no waste of good pumpkin!!

I couldn't find the recipe I used back then, so a quick online search lead me to The Joy of Baking where I found a perfect recipe.

Now I was thinking about the crust....

In London there's a chain of restaurants that I love called Wagamama's and they have a White Chocolate Ginger Cheesecake on the menu that I always have to save room for. I love the kick that the ginger spice gives to the cheesecake. So, thinking about what I could use to get something similar I had the idea of making and using Gingersnaps for the crust of my Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes.

I used the following recipe in my Betty Crocker cookbook:

1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup shortening
1/4 cup molasses (I used honey as molasses are hard to find here...)
1 egg
2 1/4 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinammon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
Granulated sugar

Mix brown sugar, shortening, molasses and egg. Stir in flour, baking soda and spices.
Cover & refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Heat oven to 375°F/190°C. Shape rounded teaspoonfuls into balls. Dip tops in granulated sugar.
Place balls sugared sides up, about 3 inches apart & bake until set about 10-12 minutes.
Immediately remove from cookie sheet and let cool.

Now, the dishes I use for my mini Cheesecakes are actually IKEA candle holders, but they were the exact size I was looking for to make my dessert - I made my gingersnaps just the right size so they would fit into them perfectly.

The result was pretty perfect!
The gingersnaps could have had a tad more ginger in them, but the texture was just right for the crust and one cookie was great for the thickness of the crust.

{2011}

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving too...

What's your favorite Thanksgiving dessert?