One of our favorite Halloween traditions is of course, making Jack O’ Lanterns! Admittedly, we do ours a little differently than most people- we don’t carve ours!
Every year, we pick pumpkins and paint them- sometimes some of us paint Jack O’Lanterns, and sometimes we paint other things like movie characters, Pokeballs, or just abstract paint designs. In addition to painting pumpkins, we use other no-carve techniques– like adding stickers, masks, and even temporary tattoos! {You can find even more no-carve pumpkin decorating ideas here.}
But nothing says fall and Halloween quite like an actual Jack O’Lantern Pumpkin face, so we turn other things into Jack O’Lanterns- like these little cheesecakes!
These little cheesecakes are so much fun to make, decorate, and of course- eat! You can decorate them all ahead of time for a fun party snack, OR you can do what I love doing and make decorating them into an activity! Whether you’re making them just for a special family dessert or as part of a get-together, if you have kids celebrating with you they will LOVE decorating these and getting creative- and then eating their delicious creations!
How to Easily Decorate Jack O’Lantern Cheesecakes
While this recipe includes a homemade ganache that you can easily pipe onto the cheesecakes using a piping bag, you might want to rethink that plan if making these with either a large group of kids or kids that are quite young. In those instances, I recommend using store-bought decorating icing with a fine tip, like these ones.
You CAN buy them online but if you can find them in your local grocery store {in the cake baking section} then they’ll be way cheaper there. Be sure to buy a few as each tube doesn’t contain very much product.
Is this a good Halloween recipe for kids to make?
Kids can ALWAYS help in the kitchen! For this recipe, I’d suggest letting them help with:
- Line muffin pan with paper liners
- Stir dry ingredients together and make crusts
- Add in wet ingredients and stir to combine with assistance
- Make Jack O’Lantern faces either with homemade ganache in piping bag or store-bought decorating icing {recommended for younger kids, piping bags can be hard}
I’d also suggest that you help a little extra with the electric mixer, the oven, and the decorating if using piping bags as those can be tricky for little kids.
What Supplies Do You Need to Make Jack O’Lantern Cheesecakes?
To make these Halloween cheesecakes, you’ll need:
{These links are affiliate links, which means I may make a small commission on your purchase at no extra cost to you. Thanks for your support!}
- Muffin pan
- Paper liners
- Medium bowl
- Electric mixer- stand mixer or hand mixer
- Microwave safe bowl
- Piping bags {unless using store-made decorating icing instead of ganache}
Step by Step Photos
Ready to make these delicious cheesecakes? Follow this photo guide along with the {printable} directions below to bake along!
Hungry for More?
Want more delicious Halloween recipes? Try these:
- Candy Corn Yogurt Pops
- White Chocolate Candy Corn Fudge
- 13 Haunted Halloween Treats
- No Bake Peanut Butter Pumpkins
- Mummy Cupcakes
- Mummy Cookies
Jack O'Lantern Cheesecakes
These mini cheesecakes are an adorable Halloween dessert that also double as a fun party activity! These are simple to make and easy to decorate!
Ingredients
- Crust:
- 2 Cups Chocolate Graham Cracker Crumbs ( about 15 graham crackers)
- 8 Tbsp Butter – melted
- 1/3 Cup Sugar
- Filling:
- 2 Blocks Cream Cheese (softened)
- 2/3 Cup Sugar
- 2 Eggs
- 2/3 Cup Sour Cream
- 1 tsp. Vanilla
- Orange Food Coloring Gel
- Chocolate Ganache
- ½ Cup Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
- 3 Tbsp Heavy Cream.
- OR Store-Bought Decorating Icing
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350. Line a muffin pan with paper liners.
- In a medium size bowl stir together graham cracker crumbs, butter, and 1/3 cup sugar. Spoon about 2 tbsp of crust mixture into each muffin pan and firmly press to create the crust.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer beat cream cheese until light and fluffy, add in sugar and continue to stir until well mixed.
- Add in vanilla and eggs one at a time mixing after each addition. Add in sour cream and mix until well incorporated. Add in a few drops of food coloring and mix. Add more and mix until desired color is achieved.
- Spoon the cream cheese mixture over the crusts filling each muffin wrapper about ¾ of the way full.
- Gently tap the muffin pan on the table or counter several times to help any bubbles come to the surface. Jiggle the pan to help the top of the filling settle and smooth out. If necessary you can use a toothpick or point of a bamboo skewer to gently smooth the surface and pop any bubbles. The flatter the surface of these cheesecakes the easier they are to decorate.
- Place pan in the preheated oven and bake for 15-18 minutes until they no longer look wet and the centers still jiggle.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.
- To make the ganache combine the chocolate chips and heavy cream in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 45 seconds and allow to sit for 3 minutes.
- Stir until smooth. If necessary heat in 10 second increments stirring between each until smooth.
- Place the chocolate mixture in a piping bag and decorate cheesecakes with Jack O'Lantern faces.
- Refrigerate until ready to serve. Enjoy!
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