Pumpkin Oreo Cheesecake Bites

I’m stuffed – wanna know why?

I was stressed last night – what a nail biter the election was! And I don’t know about you guys, but  I am a stress eater.  Instead of knitting, chewing gum or taking a brisk walk when I’m feeling anxious about something, I stuff my face with whatever is in arm’s length of me and not nailed to the table.

So, all in all, not the best night to make these Pumpkin Oreo Cheesecake bites – we’ll leave it at that.

Lucky enough for you, I spared some to actually take pictures of so you could see:

1) how cute they are

2) how delicious they are

3) how ridiculously easy they are to make

A similar flavor to those Pumpkin Oreo Truffles from a couple months ago, but much more rich and dessert-like.  And the best part is there’s no fork needed – you can pick them up with your hands and in 2 (maybe 3 for most normal humans) bites, down the hatch they go!

Pumpkin Oreo Cheesecake Bites
*Adapted from Inside Bru Crew Life (clearly I tried to make them ‘healthier’ to justify eating a dozen of them)

INGREDIENTS
*yields 24 cheesecakes

    2-8 oz pkgs. reduced fat cream cheese, softened

    1/2 c. sugar

    2 eggs

    2 Tbsp. fat-free sour cream

    1 tsp. vanilla

    1/2 c. canned pumpkin

    1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

    48 Reduced-Fat Oreos

light whipped cream

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2) Spray a 12-muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray and line the bottoms with 1 Oreo cookie per slot.

3) Beat the cream cheese until creamy. Add the sugar and cream again. Add the eggs one at a time beating after each one. Add the rest of the ingredients and beat again.

4) Fill each muffin tin 3/4 full with the cheesecake batter (on top of the oreo at the bottom), then push another whole Oreo into the top of the batter.

5) Bake for 20-22 minutes. Cool in pan for 15-20 minutes and then take a knife around the edge of each cheesecake to loosen them from the pan.  At this point, they should pop out easily.  You can then place them on a wire rack to finish cooling.

6) Keep refrigerated. Top with whipped cream and crushed oreos before serving.

oh and, they were breakfast too…

These would be a great addition to any Thanksgiving dessert table! Easy to make and to eat 🙂

In the mean time, I’ll be doing 2 hours of cardio tonight to work off last night’s (and um, this mornings?) Pumpkin Oreo binge – in the middle of the nor’ easter we’re getting – DOH.