Pumpkin Cheesecake Truffles
Red, orange, and yellow leaves surround me... Sipping hot apple cider.... Pumpkin spice everything... Fall has finally arrived!
I can honestly say that Autumn is my favorite time of year. And with the new season comes fresh new ingredients! As the days of making desserts with berries, lemons, and peaches come to a halt, the pumpkins and apples start to take over my kitchen.
I’ve seen the growth of the pumpkin spice phenomena over the years. Starbucks first introduced the Pumpkin Spice Latte back in 2003, when pumpkin spiced foods and drinks were at a minimum. This past week, however, I walked into my local grocery store and got my hands on pumpkin spiced mini wheats AND pumpkin spiced peanut butter! Oh the wonders of food innovation...
By the way - fun Starbucks hack - if you don’t want to shell out 5 bucks for the signature pumpkin spice latte, you could get a regular coffee with a pump (or 2 or 3) of the pumpkin spice syrup and top it off with milk or cream, and you get a more budget friendly pumpkin spiced coffee!
I embrace the pumpkin spice! And pumpkin cheesecake truffles are the perfect way to indulge in a bite-sized mouthful of flavor. They’re the perfect size where you could eat just one and not feel like you’ve wasted your cheat day, but I guarantee it’ll be difficult to resist a handful of these in one go.
Now onto the baking...
I know that as parents we’re “supposed to” include our children in the whole cooking, baking, and cleaning up process. I usually kick them out because I’m a little bit of a clean freak and need everything to be neat and tidy in the kitchen. I’ve been learning to let go little by little as my daughter is getting older and is demanding to bake something with me almost daily. This pumpkin truffle recipe is something that she loves making with me!
Ingredients
Pumpkin Cheesecake Truffles
1⁄4 cup (55 grams) cream cheese - room temperature
2 tablespoons confectioners sugar (icing sugar)
1⁄3 cup pumpkin puree
1 3⁄4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1⁄4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (if you want the extra cinnamon flavor)
Toppings
8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate (or 4 ounces semi-sweet and 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate)
Graham cracker crumbs, sprinkles, chopped nuts or cinnamon
Kid friendly Instructions
1. Carefully measure out the cream cheese and confectioners sugar into a medium sized bowl. Let your little one use the hand mixer to whip the two ingredients together until it turns nice and creamy. (Take over if the mixture starts to make its way out of the bowl)
2. Add the pumpkin puree and continue to mix (hopefully your little one will get the hang of keeping the mixture in the bowl at this point) Add the graham cracker crumbs, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon to the bowl and continue mixing. At this point, the mixture will be getting thicker, and it may be a good idea to get your little one to switch over to mixing with a rubber spatula. Of course, there will be a lot of the goodness still on the whisks - try to get as much of it back into the bowl before your little one takes off with them!
3. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
4. Line a baking sheet with wax paper (or a silicone mat).
5. Take the dough out of the refrigerator and call your little one over. Help them scoop a heaping teaspoon of dough, roll them into smooth balls, and place them onto the baking sheet. You will be able to make around 25-30 balls. Place them back in the refrigerator for another 30 minutes or so.
6. About 5 minutes before taking the chilled balls out of the refrigerator, melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave. If you’re using the microwave, mix the chocolate every 30 seconds to ensure it doesn’t burn.
7. Using a spoon and a fork (or any combination of kitchen tools that you have accessible) dip each ball into the melted chocolate. Tap the excess chocolate off the side of the bowl and place them back onto the baking sheet. Your little one can sprinkle the tops with an assortment of toppings - from sprinkles to graham cracker crumbs, or even chopped nuts! Make sure they put it on the top before the chocolate hardens!
8. Put the completed pumpkin cheesecake truffles back in the refrigerator to completely set, and enjoy!
It is super easy to double, or even triple this recipe. (You will probably need to as these disappear very quickly).
I bring a whole bunch with me when I pick up my kids from school and share them with the other moms and kids. The container always comes home empty. I think that says it all!
Love this recipe? Let us know and share your own pictures! Tag us on Instagram or facebook @luvabubaby
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