No-Bake Vegan and Raw Pumpkin Cheesecake Bites

The following post was originally featured on The Wheatless Kitchen and written by Candace Bell, who is part of POPSUGAR Select Fitness.

These cute little pumpkin cheesecake bites are completely vegan and made of only whole food ingredients. I actually got the idea for this recipe from Dana over at Minimalist Baker. Isn't she awesome?! If you haven't seen her blog (which I'm sure everyone has), you have got to check it out. She is a genius, and when she made these ah-mazing-looking peanut butter cup cheesecakes, I couldn't stop drooling, so I knew that I had to re-create them in some way. And what better way than with pumpkin?! 'Tis the season . . .

These seriously taste like little pumpkin pies. They are cold, creamy, sweet, pumpkin-y, and so simple to make. Heaven in your mouth, for realz.

The ingredients list for these little guys is not too long, and with only two layers, they are quick to put together. Just pulse the crust ingredients, form in the muffin tin, blend the filling ingredients, pour, swirl some pumpkin, and freeze. Voila! You have yourself some cheesecake. I even took Dana's advice and used the little parchment strips, and it worked like a charm.

You are really going to impress your friends with this one. I would take one of these over regular pumpkin pie any day. Hurry, go buy all the pumpkin so you can make these.

To learn more about this recipe, check out The Wheatless Kitchen.

From The Wheatless Kitchen

Vegan Pumpkin Cheesecake Bites

Ingredients

Crust
1 cup medjool dates
1 cup raw almonds

Cheesecake Layer
1 1/2 cups cashews (soaked for 4 to 6 hours)
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup full-fat coconut milk
1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
1/2 cup real maple syrup

Pumpkin Swirl
1/2 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 to 2 teaspoons real maple syrup

Directions

If your dates are not soft and sticky, then soak them in hot water for about 15 minutes. Once softened, combine the dates and almonds in a food processor, and pulse until the mixture starts to come together and look a little bit like a dough. It should stick together when you press it with your fingers.
Before you form the crusts, cut out little strips of parchment paper and place them in the bottom of the tins. This is optional, but it will make it easier to pop them out at the end.
Form the crust by taking a heaping tablespoon of the mixture and pressing it into the bottom of a muffin tin with your fingers.
Next, make the cheesecake layer by adding the soaked cashews, lemon juice, coconut milk, oil, and syrup into a blender and blend until smooth. You may have to scrape the sides a bit, but just keep blending until creamy.
Carefully pour the cashew mixture into the muffing tins until they are almost to the top.
In a small bowl, mix together the pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, and maple syrup, then take about 1 teaspoon worth of the pumpkin and gently dollop it on top of the cheesecakes. Swirl with a knife or toothpick.
Place them in the freezer for a couple of hours so they can harden. When you want to take them out of the muffin tins, just run a butter knife along the outside and then gently pull up on the parchment strips. You can eat them right out of the freezer, or keep them in the fridge for a softer consistency.