A mini, personal cheesecake is always going to be cuter than a slice of cheesecake. And all you have to do to create these mini cheesecakes is divide the batter between baking cups instead of spreading it into one large pan. I prefer using stiff baking cups without ridges to regular cupcake liners for these cheesecakes, because then I can peel the paper off of each cheesecake and reveal a perfectly smooth, elegant, mini cheesecake. Don’t forget the generous drizzle of milk chocolate!

Crust:
1 cup ground cookies of choice
1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar
½ stick (2 ounces) butter, meltedCheesecake:
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
½ cup granulated sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon salt

Topping:
½ cup sour cream, room temperature
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
About 3 ounces milk chocolate, melted

  1. Preheat oven to 350⁰F.  Line a 12-cup muffin tin with baking cups or cupcake liners.
  2. Prepare the crust: In a food processor, grind the cookies and measure out one cup. Blend ground cookies with the confectioners’ sugar and butter until a mixture resembling wet sand forms. Press a heaping tablespoon of mixture into the bottoms of the baking cups. Bake for 5 minutes and then set aside to cool slightly.
  3. Prepare the cheesecake batter: In a food processor or electric stand mixer, cream together cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs, vanilla extract, and salt and blend until smooth.
  4. Use an ice cream scoop to divide batter evenly over the pre-baked crusts. Bake cheesecakes for about 16 minutes, or until just set.
  5. Increase oven temperature to 400⁰F. Stir together sour cream, sugar, and vanilla extract in a small bowl. Spoon mixture over each cheesecake cup and spread evenly. Place cheesecakes back into oven and bake for an additional 5-8 minutes.
  6. Let cheesecakes cool at room temperature. Then, place into the fridge for several hours before drizzling with milk chocolate.

 

Yield: 12 mini cheesecakes

For more great recipes, check out this weeks issue of Whisk by Ami
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