Muffin Tin Sweet Potato Cheesecakes

Well…after having 3 days of summer-like weather dangled in front of us here in Washington State the previous week, it then proceeded to dump for 4+ days and then on and on after that. Not the usual PNW rain, but a deluge. Oh well. My fault for having fantasies of perfect gardening weather that would last. I at least got most of new plants in the ground. We have been really busy the past 2 weeks ripping up our backyard of grass and putting in a playground for the boys – and nearly tripling my gardening space! Did I mention this is all being done by hand? Good thing I work out at the gym regularly 😉 That shovel and I are BFF’s these days…ouch.

Having to sit through all this umm…fall-like weather had me thinking about non-spring treats. These treats came out of my having a number of cans of Farmer’s Market Organic Sweet Potato Puree in my pantry. At the end of winter, our local natural food store slashed the prices on them. The purée is great in baked goods, it isn’t thick like a baked sweet potato is, more like a pumpkin purée. If you cannot find it, use pumpkin – it’ll be great as well.

The treats are somewhere between a pie and a cheesecake like treat. Perfect for breakfast too I might add…..and perfect for sour moods when your now bare backyard is a small lake o’ mud 😛

Muffin Tin Sweet Potato Cheesecakes

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces cream cheese, low-fat or regular
• ½ cup brown sugar, packed
• 2 whole eggs
• 1 cup sweet potato purée (Organic Sweet Potato Puree)
• 1 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup pecans, finely chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300°, line a 12 count muffin tin with premium liners (such as Wilton ColorCups or Reynolds StayBrite).

Beat the cream cheese and sugar together until smooth with a hand mixer. Add in eggs, one at a time, until smooth. Beat in sweet potato, pie spice and vanilla. Stir in ¾ of the pecans by hand.

Divide batter between tins, it will fill them mostly up. Sprinkle remaining pecans on top, and if desired, a pinch of brown sugar on top as well.

Bake for 30 minutes, remove and let cool.. The tops will deflate, this is normal.

Refrigerate before serving for a cool cheesecake treat or serve warm for a pie experience.

Makes 12.

~Sarah