Gluten Free Betty: December 2009

The December 2009 Daring Bakers’ challenge was brought to you by Anna of Very Small Anna and Y of Lemonpi. They chose to challenge Daring Bakers’ everywhere to bake and assemble a gingerbread house from scratch. They chose recipes from Good Housekeeping and from The Great Scandinavian Baking Book as the challenge recipes.

This month has been crazy busy and I wasn't sure if I would get to do this challenge (even though I've been wanting to make a gingerbread house for years!) Luckily it turned out, albeit a bit sloppy as I had some humidity trouble with the icing. Everything was gluten free and I will post my recipes soon...

We had a great time decorating our house!

My husband's a pro...his family has been building and
decorating graham cracker house for years!

My husband's not a big fan of pumpkin so when I was asked to bring a gluten free dessert to a woman's activity at church I knew exactly what I wanted...pumpkin cheesecake. I adapted this recipe to not only be gluten free and cupcake size, but also to be lower in fat than regular cheesecake. They turned out so creamy and delicious that my cheesecake loving husband was able to overlook the pumpkin and enjoy one for himself!

Mini Gluten Free Pumpkin Toffee Cheesecakes

3 8 oz pkgs. reduced fat cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
1 15 ounce can pure pumpkin
2/3 cup nonfat evaporated milk
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup Heath toffee baking chips
30 - 36 gluten free gingersnaps (I used Trader Joe's)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put cupcake papers in muffin tin and 1 gluten free ginger snap, face up, in each paper.

Beat cream cheese and brown sugar in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add pumpkin, evaporated milk, eggs, cornstarch and cinnamon; beat well. Spoon into muffin tins filling each a little more than half full. Gently shake pan to distribute batter evenly.

Bake for 18-20 minutes at 350 degrees or until edges are set but center seems soft. Remove from oven; top with toffee candy pieces. Let cheesecakes cool completely at room temperature and then place them in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours or overnight before serving.