TWD: Rewind! Brown Sugar-Pear Butter Miniature Cheesecakes

Can I tell you how much I love officially sanctioned Tuesdays with Dorie rewinds? I mean, I do my own rewinds here and there, but when it's approved by the powers that be (I mean Laurie), and we get to do it on a holiday week, I get excited. What shall I pick? If possible, can I do it with ingredients on hand? (Because it's the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, and I just don't want to go out there.)

What's a rewind, anyway? Well, even the most dedicated TWDer has to skip a week now and then (with the exception of Nancy, who has pretty much done them all). If you missed your chance to bake something from Baking: From My Home to Yours, you can rewind time, make it, and post about it.

Inspired by a P&Q posting from Mary Ann at Meet Me in the Kitchen, I decided to make the Brown Sugar-Apple Cheesecake, only miniaturized, and only 1/3 of the recipe. Now, if you click on over to Mary Ann's blog, you will see a gorgeous little cheesecake.

And now...you can see mine! My little cakes (I got six from one-third of the recipe) fall squarely into the "not pretty, but good" category. The center sunk, but the flavor blend is incredible - sweet, but not overly so; a touch of spice from cinnamon, and of course fall fruit at its best (meaning, cooked down until it's unrecognizable).

I opted for the "swirl in some apple pear butter" version in Playing Around, because I just so happened to have enough fresh pear butter on hand. In place of the apple cider in the filling, I also substituted Boiled Cider from King Arthur Flour, my new favorite product. I'm sneaking it into everything. Watch out, turkey!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Next week: Tania of Love Big, Bake Often chose the Devilish Shortcakes on page 425

Last week: Cranberry Lime Galette