These sweet little keto pumpkin cheesecake bites are a fun fall dessert idea. No bake pumpkin cheesecake mousse nestled into sugar-free keto spice cookies. What more could you ask for?
Pumpkin, pumpkin, pumpkin. Give me all the keto pumpkin recipes because I can’t seem to get enough right now!
It’s a collective obsession that hits the majority of us the minute the calendar turns to September. We’re simply conditioned to go pumpkin crazy in the fall. I blame Starbucks.
And if you happen to combine pumpkin and cream cheese, people start swooning. I mean, falling down in the streets in a dead faint. Take my Keto Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins, for example.
Now we’ve got these adorable Keto Pumpkin Cheesecake Bites. So cute, and so tasty, they might really make you swoon. A perfect addition to any keto Thanksgiving menu.
Pumpkin Spice Cookie Cups
Naming a recipe isn’t always easy, my friends.
You want a name to be descriptive and convey the deliciousness at hand, but you also want it to be succinct. No one wants to read a recipe that has 20 words in the title alone!
Then there is the Google problem. We bloggers want our recipes to show up highly ranked in search engines and that means identifying appropriate keywords.
This recipe had many possible titles. It’s modelled after my Keto Boston Cream Pie Cookie Cups but it also features pumpkin cheesecake mousse. And the crusts are really keto gingerbread cookies.
Keto Pumpkin Cheesecake Mousse in Gingerbread Cookie Cups? Far too wordy, so pumpkin cheesecake bites it is!
How to make Keto Pumpkin Cheesecake Bites
Despite the difficulty in picking a name, these sweet little keto treats are fun and easy to make. Here are my best tips for getting it right:
Cookie cups
- Use silicone liners. Crusts like these tend to stick to the metal pan so I recommend silicone mini muffin liners. Parchment liners may work as well.
- Whisk the dry ingredients. Make sure to break up any clumps in both the flour and the sweetener. I like to crumble the Swerve Brown with my fingers as I add it in, because it tends to stick together.
- Stir in the wet ingredients. A whole egg is too much and makes the cookie cups too soft so 1 egg white is just about perfect.
- Roll into balls. The balls should each only be about ¾ of an inch in diameter, to make 24 little cookie cups.
- Press into the pan. Use your hands to press the dough evenly into the bottom and up the sides of the muffin cups. It’s okay if the dough is a little thin, as these puff up a bit during baking. And thin crusts mean you can fill them with more pumpkin cheesecake!
- Bake until golden. They will still be quite soft to the touch.
- Re-shape the cups. The center of the cookies puff up during baking so let them cool for 10 minutes or so and then use your hands to re-form the center wells.
Pumpkin Cheesecake Mousse
- Use well softened cream cheese. Room temperature is not sufficient, especially if you live in cooler climes. I find that I have to zap my cream cheese for about 10 to 15 seconds in the microwave, so that it beats more smoothly.
- Use thick pumpkin puree. Canned pumpkin is usually quite thick as it is but some purees are watery and can thin out your filling too much.
- Powdered sweetener is a must. Anything else will make the filling too gritty!
- Beat the cream to stiff peaks. Whipped cream makes the pumpkin cheesecake filling lighter and also helps it holds its shape, so don’t skip this step.
- Fold in the whipped cream. Folding is the process of gently stirring one mixture into another. I use a flexible silicone spatula and scoop from the outside of the bowl toward the middle until no streaks remain.
- Fill the cookie cups. I used a star tip on my piping bag to pipe it in decoratively but you can also simply spoon the filling into the cups.
- Garnish as desired. Try sprinkling a little cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice over the cups. Or you can use some orange and yellow sugar free sprinkles from The Sprinkle Company!
Frequently Asked Questions
No, coconut flour won’t work in these keto pumpkin cheesecake bites. However, you can use sunflower seed flour as a 1:1 replacement for almond flour. Be sure to add a touch of acid (lemon juice or vinegar) to offset the green reaction.
I do recommend a good brown sugar replacement for the cookie cups, to give it more of a gingerbread spice flavor. Also, if you use BochaSweet or allulose in the cookies, they may be overly soft and cake-y. Please read my guide to keto sweeteners to understand why.
The filling should be fine with any powdered sweetener, and some liquid sweeteners like stevia or monkfruit extract may work as well.
Absolutely! I originally made a little too much filling for the cookie cups and I ate the rest simply as a mousse-style dessert. So feel free to just make the pumpkin mousse and eat it as is. It makes about 4 servings.
You can make this recipe a day before you plan to serve it. Keep the bites in a covered container in the fridge, but let them sit out for 15 minutes before serving, so the filling is softer and creamier.
You can also make the cookie cups themselves well in advance and refrigerate for up to a week or freeze for up to 2 months. Then you can make the pumpkin mousse fresh and pipe it in before serving.
Carolyn recommends
- Mini Muffin Pan – nothing beats USA pans for durability!
- Pumpkin Pie Spice – Primal Palate is a great brand for clean ingredients.
- Organic Pumpkin Puree – this brand is one of my favorites. It’s the perfect consistency right out of the can.
Keto Pumpkin Cheesecake Bites
Ingredients
Cookie Cups
- 1 ¾ cup almond flour
- ½ cup Swerve Brown
- ¾ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon cloves
- ¼ cup butter melted
- 1 large egg white
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Pumpkin Cheesecake Filling
- 6 ounces cream cheese softened
- ⅔ cup Swerve Confectioners
- ⅓ cup pumpkin puree
- 1 ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup heavy whipping cream
Instructions
Cookie Cups
- Preheat the oven to 325F and line a mini muffin pan with 24 silicone liners (or use a silicone mini muffin pan).
- In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, sweetener, ginger, cinnamon baking powder, salt, and cloves. Stir in the melted butter, egg white, and vanilla extract until the dough comes together.
- Roll the dough into ¾ inch balls and press into the bottom and up the sides of the prepared mini muffin cups.
- Bake 15 to 20 minutes, until puffed and the edges are just golden brown. Remove and let cool 10 minutes, then gently press into the centers to reform the wells. Let cool completely.
Pumpkin Cheesecake Filling
- In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and powdered sweetener together until well combined and smooth. Beat in the pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla until well combined.
- In a separate bowl, beat the heavy cream until it holds stiff peaks. Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture until no streaks remain.
- Place the filling in a piping bag and pipe decoratively into the cookie cups. Alternatively you can spoon it in, mounding slightly on top.
- Sprinkle with additional pumpkin pie spice or add some sugar-free holiday sprinkles.
Laura says
I would add more pumpkin spice flavoring next time. Not quite pumpkin’y enough for me. or maybe more pureed pumpkin. Overall good. I used paper cups and they did kind of stick to the end result. so, silicone is probably better.
I would make them again
Michele says
Is this recipe the same as the Keto Pumpkin Cookie Cups? I’m unsure they’re the same as I’m unable to bring up the Cookie Cups I originally saw on your website. Thank you for your time.
Carolyn says
Same recipe!
Melissa Hoffman says
The recipe is awesome. I made the mistake of trusting a Silpat cupcake pan, and they stuck! I have beautiful pumpkin moon pies now, that I created out of the muffin tops. These won’t go to waste.
Debra says
Ingredients call for baking SODA. Instructions say “add baking POWDER”. Which is correct??!!
Carolyn says
Soda
Laura says
oops I used powder thinking that that seemed more likely. (what would have made a difference?)
Janice Ortiz says
These little punkins are delicious! They were enjoyed by keto and non-keto guests. I don’t have a pastry bag, so snipped the tip of a ziplock, and voilà! Delicious and beautiful!