The perfect sized dessert to satisfy any cheesecake craving!
I had been meaning to make mini cheesecakes for quite some time now. However, I haven't really had a purpose. Since Rich and I were invited out to celebrate our friends Clare and Mark's birthday over the weekend, and I had also invited some friends over for brunch the next day, this ended up being the perfect opportunity. Such a simple recipe, and so delicious!
Initially, I was looking through my Meal Leani Yumm! cookbook and wanted to make low fat mini cheesecakes, but I realized that I did not have cottage cheese at home. :( So of course, I did what any Bakerella follower would do, and searched for cheesecake recipes on her blog. BINGO! Here you have it...a modified version of her Super Easy Mini Cherry Cheesecakes!
Here are the ingredients you will need. The baking cups aren't part of the ingredients, of course, but they are such a key item that I included them in the shot! The only missing item is the cherry pie filling.
I bought these 2-inch mini baking cups at Wegmans in the United States. The great thing about them is that they stand alone on a cookie sheet. No need for muffin tins!
I filled each tin with 1/2 tablespoon of graham cookie crumbs and used the flat side of a rolling pin to flatten the crumbs to form the crust of the mini cheesecakes. Bake for 5 minutes at 350 degrees. See below for the complete recipe.
After the crust has cooled to room temperature and the batter is ready, spoon about 3 tablespoons of batter into each tin. Bake and let cool completely before garnishing.
Garnish with cherries from canned cherry pie filling.
Remove wrapper carefully to view the layers of goodness...
Take a bite!
Bet you can't each just one!
Wrap and refrigerate remaining mini cheesecakes until ready to serve!
ENJOY!
Mini Cherry Cheesecakes
For the crust:
1 1/4 graham cookie crumbs
1/4 cup of margarine
3 tsp. sugar
In a small pot, melt margarine at medium-low heat. Remove pot from burner and add graham cookie crumbs and sugar. Mix together until combined. Spoon 1/2 tablespoon of crumbs into 2″ aluminum mini baking cups. Flatten crumbs to form crust of mini cheesecake. Bake at 350 degrees for five minutes and let cool.
For the filling:
2 pkg. (8oz.) cream cheese, softened to room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla
1 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
Cherry pie filling
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the cream cheese and sugar until smooth, scraping down the sides frequently. Add eggs one at a time and mix. Finally, add vanilla and lemon juice, and mix until just blended. Spoon 3 tablespoons of batter into each tin. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes. Once cheesecakes have cooled completely, garnish with cherries from canned cherry pie filling. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Yield: About 30 mini cheesecakes.
I make something similar to these all the time but I use a 'Nilla Wafer for the crust... saves a lot of time and steps! It fits perfectly inside the foil wrapper, and I let them refrigerate overnight so it softens up. Delish! Only problem is you can't stop at just one... :)
ReplyDeleteYummy! I LOVE mini cheesecakes. I do the same as the comment from "Karalyn". Plus I'm not a lover of graham cracker crust. I LOVE me some Nilla Wafers! No need to crush them or mix anything, just put it stick it on the very bottom of the cupcake wrapper.
ReplyDeleteyum! i made these awhile back but with oreos at the bottom instead of graham cracker or nilla wafer.
ReplyDeleteHi! I'm from Singapore and I love reading your blog! =) I tried baking the mini cherry cheesecakes today. But sadly, it didn't turn out very well. The top of the cheesecake was slightly burnt and didn't really look like a cheesecake at all. I wonder what I did wrongly. Could you please enlighten me? Thanks! =)
ReplyDeleteHi Jojo,
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry to hear that the cheesecakes did not turn out. Since I overbaked a cake a few years ago I bought an oven thermometer only to learn that my oven was 50 degrees warmer than it said it was! This ensures that my oven temperature is accurate. Also, it is important to keep an eye out when making minis. If you filled yours a little less full than mine, they might have required less baking time. I hope this helps. Any other questions, feel free to ask any time.
Melissa ;)