Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes for a Crowd

Finally, I get to share some wedding recipes with you!

I made a lot of these. 200 pumpkin cheesecakes...I was swimming in cheesecakes! lol

This was what we put on our cupcake tower for the wedding. They really were not terribly hard to make, and once you get the process going, it goes quickly. These would be great for Thanksgiving or Christmas, also. They freeze wonderfully, and my older kids have discovered they like them straight out of the freezer like a pudding pop. (Remember those?)

Because I was making so many of them, I bought 3 oz paper cups to bake them in. These are the type that stand straight up, and don't spread out when you fill them. I had to order online to find them, but they were worth it.

I played with this recipe for a while before I found just the right dimensions. I hope you enjoy!

Fresh out of the oven.

On the cupcake tower at the wedding.

Leni's Notes:
~Baking times will vary, but lean toward undercooked rather than over cooked. If they over cook, they get really dried out.
~Remember that when it comes to cheesecake, less is more with the mixing. You want to just combine your ingredients, without incorporating a bunch of air into it. Over beating will also give you a tough texture.
~These can be dressed up with whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon or a drizzle of caramel sauce.
~They freeze well, but if they get thawed and refrozen, the cookies will go to mush.
~You can make these gluten free by leaving out the gingersnap, however without it, you will not get a nice level surface. Without the cookie, they tend to sink in a bit.

Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes for a Crowd
This recipe makes 3 dozen servings.

4 (8 oz.) packages of cream cheese, softened (Full or low fat, don NOT use fat free)
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
32 Gingersnap cookies (one box is usually enough)
32 paper baking cups
1 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg

Beat cream cheese and sugar together.
Add eggs one at a time, beat just until smooth.
Add pumpkin and spices, beat just until combined.
Line cupcake pan with liners. Place a gingersnap flat side down in each liner.
Fill with cream cheese mixture, leaving about a centimeter clearance at the top.
Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes.
Allow cheesecakes to cool and store in the fridge or freezer.
To serve: Remove from freezer, but keep chilled until ready to serve.

More Small Wedding Details

For the wedding junkies (like me) out there, here are some more pics that I thought you might like.

The Bride with her Maid of Honor. My girlies.

Favors were Cocoa Cones with favorite quotes from movies, books and real-life friends. 

The groom and one of his sisters, also a bridesmaid. ;o)

Small details. The wedding program, head table, rings, flowers, cakes...

More small details. The bride's dress, the guest book, bridesmaid's lockets, bridal shoes.

The beautiful rings on one of the flowers the bride carried.

Fun item. The girls all waited in the museum next to the park. This used to be an amusement park before it burned to the ground. My hubby and I both spent much of our childhood time there. The bridal party all signed the guest book at the museum. Now they are part of the history too. ;o)

Wedding Update

Well, we survived! The wedding was amazing. The weather was not. Damaging winds. Tornadoes (thankfully in Buffalo, but enough to panic everyone who was watching the weather.) We were not watching the weather, we were too busy transforming our venue.

It started as this.

After many hours, and a lot of hard work from some of the best friends in the whole world, we morphed it into my daughter's dream wedding location. They were supposed to get married outside at this spot.

It had rained ALL day. Pouring, blowing winds, cold, nasty...but the weatherman assured us it would all be over at 2pm, 4 at the latest. The clouds cleared, the sun came out, and the guys set up the above location. At about 5:40 pm, this beautiful shot was taken. At 5:45 pm, it started pouring again! We gave up all hope and moved to plan C.

We had our guests sit down at their spots for the reception and had the wedding there. Daddy walked her down the isle (he's kind of blocked by the bride here.) Pastor Dave Akers was the officiating pastor.

Pastor Zatkiewicz gave a wonderful message.

They did manage to get outside for some pics after the wedding. They all had a great time.

You'd be amazed how hard it was to get the six of us together for ONE shot! My happy family.

 The deliriously happy couple in front of the cake table. We had individual pumpkin cheesecakes and an apple strudel cheesecake on top for them to cut and feed each other.

It was a gorgeous day that wore me out more than I could have imagined. I'd do it all over again though, it was all worth it!

By the way, don't look for a recipe from me on Monday. I still have a house full of wedding stuff to sort!!

Greetings From Wedding Central!

Still here, still not cooking!

Actually, lots of cooking, just none of it for daily consumption. Our fridge is full of wedding food, as is our freezer, the church's freezer, future son-in-law's freezer, friend's freezers...you get the idea.

I'll have lots of 'Cooking for a Crowd' recipes for you when I return! I promise to have a proper recipe post for you on the 17th. God willing and the creek don't rise...

Blessings to all!