Vegan chocolate dipped pumpkin butterscotch cheesecake bites

Wow. This is one of my favorite desserts ever. I had a batch of cashew ricotta in my fridge and thought to myself, "this sure looks like it would make a good cheesecake..." That is how this recipe was born.

These cheesecake bites are not low fat or low calorie, but they are vegan and a truly a decadent treat! There are quite a few steps here, but each of these layers comes together pretty quickly.

Vegan Chocolate Dipped Pumpkin Butterscotch Cheesecake Bites

Crust
1 cup pecans
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 tablespoon coconut (or brown) sugar

1. Line a bread pan (or other small pan) with plastic wrap, letting it drape over the side (you will use the plastic to lift the cheesecake out of the pan later).
2. Process all ingredients in a food processor until they start to stick together and form clumps. Press the crust into the bottom of the prepared pan.

Butterscotch
2 tablespoons Earth Balance margarine, melted
3 tablespoons brown rice syrup
3 tablespoons real maple syrup
1 teaspoon rum or butterscotch extract

1. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl, mixing well.
2. Pour into a skillet over medium heat and cook, stirring continuously, until it starts to thicken.
3. Pour butterscotch over prepared crust.

Pumpkin cheesecake
1 1/2 cups cashew ricotta
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
3 tablespoons coconut oil or coconut butter
3 tablespoons real maple syrup
1/2 cup pumpkin puree (canned is fine)

1. Process all ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Pour over the butterscotch layer in the prepared pan. Place in freezer for several hours or overnight.
2. Remove frozen cheesecake from the freezer and lift it out of the pan using the plastic wrap. Cut the cake into ~1 inch squares and return from the freezer until the chocolate coating is ready. You may want to leave the squares in the freezer and take out only a few at a time as you're dipping them.

Chocolate coating
12 ounces of vegan chocolate, chopped (chips work too)
1 tablespoon non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening

1. Place chocolate and shortening in a glass bowl. Melt on a low power setting in the microwave (stirring every 15 seconds) or in a double boiler.
2. Dip each cheesecake square in the chocolate using a toothpick or tongs. Place the dipped squares on a wax or parchment lined baking sheet and use a spoon to pour a little more chocolate over the top.

Store the finished cheesecake bites in the fridge. These have a little condensation on them because they are still cold. They taste good at any temp!









Happy (early) weekend! I'm off to Lake Tahoe for a training weekend with Mama Bootcamp. Think warm thoughts for me, it is supposed to be COOOOLD!