I’ve made plenty of cupcakes over the years, as well as my share of sheet cakes and cookie cakes. But mini cheesecakes just might take the cake as my favorite celebratory sweet. As Valentine’s Day and my birthday are just around the corner, seems like just the right moment to stir up a batch. My photo shows teeny-tiny cheesecakes, which are great if you’re making them for a large party. But I think the best way to eat these is standard cupcake size. The graham cracker crust can be hard to get just right in anything smaller.
Makes 16 standard cupcake-sized cheesecakes
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
- 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
- 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
- 4 Tbsp. butter, melted
Cheesecake
- 16 ounces (2 blocks) cream cheese, softened
- 4 Tbsp. sour cream
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 16 cups of a muffin pan with paper liners.
- Grind graham crackers in a food processor until they are fine crumbs. Then mix in the brown sugar and salt and process to combine. Remove mixture to a medium bowl. Pour over melted butter and stir with a fork to moisten the crumbs.
- Place about a tablespoon of crumb mixture in each of the prepared muffin cups and pack down into an even layer.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together cream cheese, sour cream and sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla extract. Mix in chocolate chips.
- Evenly divide cheesecake batter between the muffin cups.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until cheesecakes are set.
- Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the muffin pan, then carefully transfer cheesecakes to a cooling rack to cool completely before refrigerating.