Just a bite!
I try to be all healthy with my vegetarianism, and eating the right kind of fats, and checking out the latest health trends, and so on and so on. Then I get to dessert and fall off the beam hard. Yes, it’s true…I have a raging sweet tooth. My solution to this is to eat tiny desserts. I cut desserts in half, share desserts, or have “just a bite”. My husband and son hate this because they think I make a mess. Well, I do, but so be it. That’s the way I eat dessert and I’m sticking to it. They can either share with me or let me make a mess all on my own.
With that preface, I bring to you one of my favorite desserts – cheesecake. I made cheesecakes for my mom’s dinner parties as a kid. I tried to have the tops of the cheesecakes not crack, but they always cracked and they still tasted unbelievably good. I generally topped them with a can of bright red cherries packed in that thick gooey syrup so it didn’t really matter that the top cracked anyway. Now as an adult, with my fondness for small portion desserts, I use the mini cupcake pan to make bite sized cheesecakes. Once done, the whole eating experience becomes very low commitment. I don’t have to cut the mini cheesecake in half. I don’t have to make a mess. I just pop the whole thing in my mouth and see what other desserts are available!
Make these cheesecakes – big or small and top with whatever makes you happy that day!
Ingredients
1 ½ cups finely ground graham cracker crumbs (about 12 sheets)
3 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1 ½ cups plus 3 Tbsp sugar
2 pounds cream cheese, room temperature
Pinch of salt
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs, room temperature
TAKE THE CREAM CHEESE AND EGGS OUT OF THE REFRIGERATOR NOW!
(Just a subtle reminder for people like me who never remember to do this…)
Method
1) Preheat the oven to 325. Line muffin tins with paper liners. This recipe will make 48 mini cheesecakes so divide the recipe in half if you want less. Stir together graham cracker crumbs, butter, and 3 Tbsp of sugar. Press a small amount of the mixture into bottom of the muffin liners. What is a small amount you ask? Well enough to fill the bottom of the liner and make a little base for your cheesecakes. Bake until set and beginning to color at the edges, which is about 10 minutes. Transfer tins to wire rack and cool.
2) With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Reduce speed to low; add remaining 1 ½ cups sugar in a slow stream. Mix in salt and vanilla until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until just combined after each (do not overmix). Scrape down sides of bowl as needed.
3) Spoon cream cheese filling over cooled crust in each muffin cup. It is somewhat tricky to get the cream cheese filling into mini muffin liners. Do your best and don’t stress over it. Fill them until they are almost full and then tap down on counter to set.
4) Bake 30-35 minutes rotating half way through. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Refrigerate cheesecakes in tins (uncovered) at least 4 hours. Remove cheesecakes from muffin pan using a butter knife to lift them out.
I topped my mini cheesecakes in this post with a thick mocha spread but you could top with a raspberry or blueberry or drizzle a little syrup over them too. Look for something in your fridge or cabinet as an add on – that’s part of the fun. Once topped, pop one or two or a few in your mouth!
