Two Bite Pecan Cheesecakes
I’ve lived in America for 21 years and in those 21 years we have had only one Thanksgiving dinner at our house. I think it’s safe to say my husband who has been in the states for 7 years, has attended more Thanksgiving dinners 😁. I think what stopped us from celebrating was the food. We aren’t fans of turkey and all the other Thanksgiving specialties. I will never understand the concept of Cranberry sauce. If it’s not going on a dessert, I don’t want it. Although the dinner portion has never interested me, the pecan pie is my favorite.
Although I will be making pecan pie, I also wanted to try something new and potentially less sweet. Is this dessert healthy? No. But I think it’s safe to say it’s potentially healthier than the pecan pie 😉. The thing that caught my interest with this recipe, is the fact that the crust is not made of graham crackers but of pecans themselves! My husband thinks if we had blitzed instead of chopped the pecans it would have been nicer. I have to disagree because I love the crunch of the pecan bits. In the end, it all depends on what you like and you should do what makes you happy 🙂.
For the topping I decided to deviate from the recipe and make my own concoction. I roasted a handful of pecans at 350F for 6-8 minutes. Once they were out of the oven, I heated 2 tbsp of butter and a drizzle of honey. Then threw the pecans in and made sure all of them were coated. If you plan on doing this, make sure to put them on a baking tray away from each other so they don’t stick to one another.
Ingredients for Pecan Crust:
1 cup pecans, finely chopped
3 tbsp maple syrup
2 tsp water
1 tsp butter
Ingredients for Cheesecake:
8 oz light cream cheese (or regular, if preferred)
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (I prefer Fage 2%)
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon (next time I plan to use less as it was very evident in the taste - not a bad thing but it takes away from the theme)
1 egg
Directions for the Pecan Crust:
To begin, preheat your oven to 325. Fill a muffin tin with 12 cupcake liners.
In a small bowl, add your pecans, maple syrup, water and butter and stir them together till well combined.
Spoon an overflowing teaspoon into each cupcake liner, evenly distributing the maple pecan mixture among the cupcake liners.
Using the back of your teaspoon, press the pecans down into the bottom of the cupcake liner till you have a flat, even layer along the bottom to create the crust.
Bake in the oven for 13-14 minutes, or till the crust feels a bit firm to touch, and the edges are gaining a little color. While your crust is in the oven, make your cheesecake filling. (I ended up baking it for about 16-18 minutes)
Directions for Cheesecake:
Preheat your oven to 350. In a large mixing bowl, using a hand mixer, beat your cream cheese for a minute or two till its creamy and smooth.
To the bowl, add your Greek yogurt, maple syrup, vanilla, and cinnamon and blend again till everything is well incorporated.
Lastly, add your egg to the bowl and blend briefly, only till the egg is mixed in. Do NOT over beat the mixture!
After your crusts have baked, fill each cupcake liner almost full to the top with the cheesecake filling.
Bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes, or till the cheesecakes are set (jiggle your pan and the center of the cheesecakes should have only a slight wiggle to them).
Let your cheesecakes cool for 30 minutes on the counter. Then, move them to an airtight container in your fridge.
