Easy Mini Cheesecake
Do you ever just have a hankering for something sweet, but you really don’t want to go through the fuss of making a big cake or a huge batch of cookies that will last for weeks? I love baking, but sometimes I don’t want the week’s worth of temptation staring at me every time I walk through our kitchen. If it is there, I will eat it. I lack all of the willpower when it comes to sweet confections. These easy mini cheesecake bites are an answer to all of those problems.
These cheesecake bites are so simple and beautiful that it will be hard to believe that they come together so quickly and taste so great. This recipe, while intended to make a small batch can be increased to make a larger party size dessert. Cheesecakes are such a showstopper that regardless of if it is a party for two or a party of twenty, you are sure to make your guests feel special.
Toppings
This week, the grocery store was running a special on strawberries. The kids love them, and tomorrow is Valentine’s Day, so I grabbed three cartons and headed my way home with a haul of berries. Tonight after dinner, I got that familiar pull for something sweet after a steak and tater dinner and remembered those yummy berries sitting pretty in my fridge.
I love berries and cheesecake, but I knew that tomorrow I would be more in the mood to bake and didn’t want to have a whole cheesecake taking up my fridge space. That is where these cheesecake bites come into play. Not only does it keep me from making an entire cheesecake, but this recipe makes only six perfectly portioned bites for a sweet treat.
The cakes also come together really quickly and easily so my kids are able to help out with making them. You can use any kind of topping from jam to fresh fruit to plain ol’ nothing and it will be delicious.
Tonight I happened to have chocolate graham crackers in the pantry, and I thought the combination of chocolate and strawberries would go nicely together for the Valentine’s holiday. Kind of a play off of chocolate covered strawberries.
Yummmm chocolate covered strawberries!! Side note…. I need to make some chocolate covered strawberries tomorrow as a Valentine’s gift to myself.
Prepping the Berries
To start out I began by cutting my strawberries into slices and placing them in a bowl with a little bit of sugar. This is called macerating. This process will give off a sweetened strawberry flavored liquid that is so yummy over these cheesecake bites. While these berries hang out and get saucy I start making the cheesecakes.
The Crust
Now to start on these pretty little cakes. Since I am making only a small batch of six muffin tin sized bites, I use only about six graham crackers. I process those in my mini food processor until they are fine. Since I am using the chocolate graham crackers I do not add any additional sugar because they are already super sweet. Then I pulse in the melted butter until it call comes together.
You can use any favorite cookie or sweet cracker for your crust that you have on hand. Oreos are delicious or pecan shortbread cookies. Yum!
I line a muffin tin with six muffin liners to make it easier to remove later on after baking. I then evenly distribute the graham cracker mixture into the six waiting liners and press down until firm. Throw them into the oven at 350 for about 5 minutes while you make the cheesecake mixture.
The Cheesecake
In a medium bowl, combined softened cream cheese, egg, vanilla, sugar, and sour cream until smooth. Pour this delicious goodness into the waiting cookie crust muffins and bake at 350 for 20 minutes.
Remove from the pan immediately and place on a metal rack to cool completely before digging in. If you are like me and you want to rush the cool down process, you can move them to the fridge, but know they may crack a bit. For me that doesn’t really matter when I am in the mood to snack on a sweet treat right then.
Once cooled top your cake with your topping of choice and enjoy!
Simplicity for me is the key to this dessert. It is so quick, easy, and delicious that it is a go to for a quick dessert option. I hope that you try it out and love it as much as the kids and I do. Leave us a comment to let us know what you think! Check us out on Pinterest for more easy desserts! If you love small desserts like these, you can also check out our recipe for Blueberry Muffins that is a mix between breakfast and dessert. You will love them!
Easy Mini Cheesecake
Equipment
- Muffin Tin
Ingredients
- 6 Graham Crackers
- 3 Tbsp melted butter
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 egg
- 3 Tbsp sugar
- ¼ cup sour cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 and line 6 muffin cups with muffin liner
- Place crackers in food processor and pulse until fine, add in melted butter and pulse until well mixed
- Divide cracker mixture evenly between the 6 cups and press down firmly to create a crust. Bake for 5 minutes while you make the filling
- In a small bowl combine remaining ingredients with an electric mixer until smooth.
- Divide filling evening between the 6 prepared muffin cups
- Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, remove from oven and allow to cool completely on a wire rack. Serve with berries or favorite topping.
