Mini Bourbon Pumpkin Mascarpone Cheesecakes with Biscoff Crust and Maple Whipped Cream

For the crust:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 24-count mini muffin pan with cupcake liners.

Pulse Biscoff cookies in a food processor until finely ground. Add sugar and melted butter, and pulse until the mixture begins to cling together.

Add 1 teaspoon of crust mixture into each cupcake liner and press it down so it forms an even layer. Bake crusts 5-7 minutes, just until they are set. Remove from the oven and cool completely on a wire rack.

Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees F.

For the filling:
Let cream cheese sit at room temperature to soften before making filling.

Whisk together the pecan pumpkin butter, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg in a small bowl until blended.

With the paddle attachment on your stand mixer, beat cream cheese, Mascarpone cheese, and sugar until smooth, about 3 minutes. Be sure to stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl often. Add the egg, then beat well. Beat in the vanilla extract, and bourbon if using.

Add pumpkin spice mixture to the mixing bowl, and beat until completely blended. Spoon the mixture over the prepared crusts, and bake until the filling is puffed and set but not cracked, about 10 minutes.

Remove cheesecakes from the oven and let them cool to room temperature on a wire baking rack. When cooled, cover with plastic wrap and chill them in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours. If desired, remove mini muffin papers from cheesecakes. Serve with Maple Whipped Cream Topping.

For the whipped cream topping:
In a food processor, process heavy cream until slightly thickened. Add vanilla bean powder and maple syrup, and process until thick and firm enough for piping. Making the whipped cream in the food processor results in a much firmer topping that is perfect for piping decoratively, but if you are going to serve the cheesecake right away, you can certainly make the whipped cream in your stand mixer.

Pipe whipped cream on top of cheesecakes, and sprinkle with a dash of cinnamon, colorful sprinkles, Biscoff cookie crumbs or pecans. The cheesecakes keep for 3 days covered in the fridge.

If you aren’t using all of the cheesecakes right away, place them (without whipped cream) in single layers separated by parchment paper, in an airtight container, and freeze for up to one month. Thaw in the refrigerator before topping and serving.

Crust recipe adapted from Biscoff; filling recipe adapted from muirheadfoods.com.