Pumpkin Cheesecake Bites with Gingersnap Crust

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Lightly grease a 24-count mini muffin tin (or use mini muffin tin liners). Recipe makes roughly 20.

In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the gingersnap cookies, pecan halves, and butter until the mixture is very finely ground. Spoon a level tablespoon of the crust mixture into the bottom of 20 spaces in the mini muffin tin. Use the rounded back of the tablespoon to press the crust gently into the bottom of the space. Shake the crumbs out of the bowl of the food processor and return it to the base.

In the bowl of the food processor, combine all of the ingredients for the filling. Turn the processor on and blend until the filling is smooth and no lumps remain, scraping down the sides of the bowl to insure all of the filling is blended. Gently pour the filling over the prepared crusts to just slightly below the top of each space in the muffin tin (these will barely rise as they bake).

Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 20-22 minutes, or until the tops of the cheesecakes are golden brown (remove them from the oven immediately if a fine crack appears on the surface of any of the cheesecakes). Allow them to cool in the muffin tin for 10 minutes before removing.

Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to a day before serving.