Mini Cheesecake Bites

In this blog, I'm sharing my favorite mini cheesecake bites recipe with you all. This easy cheesecake is perfect for a quick snack or dessert, and it's perfect for anyone who loves cheesecake!

This mini cheesecake is a fantastic way to enjoy your cheese desserts, and it's easy enough for even beginners to make. Plus, it's irresistible enough that you'll never be able to resist eating it!

So don't wait any longer and make these no-fail mini cheesecakes.

Reasons you will love my mini cheesecake bites

1. Bite sized dessert (great alternative if you craving for something sweet and don't want to eat big cheesecake slice).
2. You can use different topping and make endless variations.
3. Doesn't require special pan ( I have used regular muffin pan).
4. Super easy, rich and creamy, just melts in mouth.
5. Great for small party (makes just 9 cheesecakes)

Do I need to say anything more? :)

How to make mini cheesecakes - overview?

Cheesecakes are my favorite, but sometimes I feel I do not want to make big round cheesecake which serves a lot of people, and make something smaller and in reduced quantity.

If you also feel the same then this recipe is for you :). I have mentioned step-by-step instructions below but let's quickly understand how do we make it?

Sr. No.	Steps
1	Prepare the base
2	Make cheesecake filling
3	Assemble and bake at 350F.
4	Chill, decorate, serve and enjoy!

Mini cheesecake ingredients

Ingredients for crust:

Digestive Biscuits - I have always made cheesecake with graham crackers but I wanted to try with digestive biscuits as an alternative.

To be very frank with you, I liked digestive biscuits more than graham crackers. You can use either of them based on your choice.

I have not tried using Oreo cookies in this recipe but if you try, please let me know in the comments how it turned out for you.

Unsalted butter (melted) - I have used great value's unsalted butter. You can use any brand which you like. No specific preference here.

Usually I use unsalted because I fell it is good if you can control the amount of salt you add to the recipe and then I skip out the additional salt.

But guess what, you can replace it with regular salted butter without skipping any ingredient. It is completely ok. And as I always say, salt enhances the flavor :).

Sugar - Digestive biscuits have little less sugar compare to any other biscuit.

So, I have used little more sugar in the crust. It is completely optional though. Please feel free to skip.

Ingredients for cheesecake filling:

Cream cheese - I have used regular full fat Philadelphia's cream cheese. Make sure you are not taking cream cheese from tub which comes in spreadable form. Use the one which comes in block form. You can replace it with low fat but it won't be that rich and creamy.

Sour Cream - Please use full fat sour cream. This gives tangy flavor, adds richness, improves texture. Because it gives subtle tangy flavor, our cheesecake bites will not be overly sweet.

Granulated sugar - Use regular granulated sugar which is also called as caster sugar. Obviously it adds sweetness but not only that. It also helps with texture and stability.

Egg/egg yolk - I have used large eggs here. To increase the richness, I have taken an additional egg yolk.

Make sure it is at room temperature so that it easily gets mixed up with rest of the ingredients. If you forgot to take it out then just keep them under tapped hot water for 3 to 4 minutes are you are good to go.

Note - It is easy to separate egg yolk from white when they are cold. Do you know any better way? Please let me know in the comments below.

Pure vanilla extract - Use any brand vanilla extract, no specific mention here :). You must have noticed I use vanilla extract in almost all of my desserts. It adds flavor and take it to another level altogether :)

Salt - Do not skip it. You know the reason, It always enhances the flavor.

Ingredients for topping:

I have used icing sugar and fresh raspberries as a topping here.

Any substitution?

Digestive biscuits - You can replace them with graham crackers (1:1).

Cream cheese - You can replace it with low-fat cream cheese but please note that the cheesecakes will not be as creamy as they would be with full-fat cream cheese.

Sour cream - You can replace with Greek yogurt.

Toppings - These cheesecake bites are customizable. You can use your favorite topping instead of just icing sugar. I have given some topping suggestions. Please let me know in the comments below if you try anything else.

Tools you will need

1. Muffin Pan
2. Cupcake liners
3. Measuring cups / spoons
4. Weighing scale
5. Hand beater
6. Mixing bowls
7. Rolling pin or Food Processor

Mini Cheesecake (step-by-step recipe)

Make crust

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F(180 C). Grab regular cupcake or muffin tin. Line the tin of with paper liners (just 9) and set aside.

You can also use baking spray instead of cupcake liners but I recommend to use liners to avoid sticking and for easy release from pan.
Note - You can fill the empty spaces with a splash of water. This ensures even baking.

2. Crush the digestive cookies either in food processor or in a ziploc bag using rolling pin.

3. In a mixing bowl, add crushed digestive cookies, melted unsalted butter and sugar. Mix it using spatula. It will look like a sand but don't worry. It will become firm after baking.

4. Press approximately 1 to 1.5 tablespoon of mixture into the each cupcake liner.

5. Bake for 5 minutes in preheated oven and keep it aside.

Make filling

6. In a separate mixing bowl, add softened cream cheese and granulated sugar. Beat them together using hand mixer until well combined, light and fluffy.

You can also do in stand mixer but can be doable with hand mixer as quantity is less. Scrape the bowl from sides and bottom in between if required.

7. Now add sour cream and pure vanilla extract. Beat again for couple of minutes.

8. Add in room temperature eggs and egg yolk and beat until combined (scrape the bowl as required). Do not overmix.

Assemble & make mini cheesecake bites

9. Divide the filling equally between 9 cupcake liners. It is approximately 3 teaspoon or 1 tablespoon per cheesecake.

10. Bake the cheesecakes in preheated oven at 350F (180 C) till edges are set. It takes approximately 18 to 20 minutes.

11. Remove from the oven and keep the pan on cooling rack for around 30 minutes.

12. Once it is cooled down keep in refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Now remove from pan.

13. Decorate with icing sugar and fresh raspberries.

14. Serve chilled and Enjoy!

Mini cheesecake bites - video tutorial

https://youtu.be/9a9RWt_0kvQ?si=ycus-DW_NlTRJnCl

Are my cheesecake bites done?

There are couple of tests from which you decide if cheesecakes are done nor needs some more time to bake.

1. Toothpick test - Insert a toothpick in center of the cheesecake. If it comes out clean with few moist crumbs to it, they are done.

2. Center and sides - Cheesecakes should be loosen up from sides and center should be little jiggly. If you touch the center slightly it should feel firm and not soft.

Toppings for bite-sized cheesecakes

I have paired these cheesecake bites with icing sugar and raspberries. You can pair it with below options.

1. Chocolate ganache
2. Homemade salted caramel and a pecan ( you can skip pecan if you would like to make it nut free)
3. Whipped cream
4. Lemon curd
5. Blueberry or Strawberry or Raspberry sauce

Mini muffin tin vs. regular muffin tin

You can bake these mini cheesecakes in a mini muffin pan. The only difference between these two is, it will make more cheesecakes and require less time to bake.

In my opinion, cheesecakes baked in mini muffin pan are perfect bite sized dessert for kids and those baked in regular muffin pan are perfect for adults.

How to serve mini cheesecakes?

It is very important to chill the cheesecakes before serving. So, plan ahead of time and keep them ready in refrigerator.

Take them out from refrigerator and decorate just before serving. Feel free to server with your favorite topping and place them on nice stand or on decorative plate. You can also serve them individually in small plate.

You can keep the cupcake liners on but make sure to remove it before consuming :).

Mini cheesecake (bite-sized) storage and freezing instructions

You can make any cheesecake ahead of time and store in refrigerator or freezer. This is no exception :). As cream cheese is highly perishable, I would highly recommend to store it in refrigerator or freezer.

Mini cheesecake bites -storing instructions

Make sure cheesecakes are completely cooled down before storing them in refrigerator. You can keep them in an air tight container or in muffin tray or wrap them individually.

You can either wrap either muffin tray with plastic wrap or cover individual mini cheesecakes with plastic wrap.

It is safe to keep in refrigerator for 5 to 7 days.

Mini cheesecake bites - freezing instructions

Freezing the cheesecakes is same as keeping them in refrigerator with just one difference. To precent them from drying, cover the cheesecakes with plastic wrap and then in aluminum foil. Alternatively, you can also keep them in freezer-safe bag.

Cheesecakes can be kept in freezer up to 3 months.

Mini cheesecake bites - thawing instructions

To thaw, keep them in refrigerator overnight and you are all set to go.

I would recommend to individually wrap the cheesecakes and store in freezer so that you can just remove the number of cheesecakes you want to eat rather than taking the whole batch out.

In short,

Sr. No.	Storage type	Required time
1	Refrigerator	up to 5 to 7 days
2	Freezer	up to 3 months

Mini cheesecake bites - FAQ's

How long to bake mini cheesecakes? These mini cheesecakes can be made pretty fast. These require just 18 to 20 minutes to bake. Each oven is different so is the time required to bake.

How to store mini cheesecakes? You can store them in the refrigerator for 5 to 7 days and in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Can you freeze mini cheesecakes? Yes. You can easily freeze these mini cheesecake bites. Please follow my freezing instructions for more details.

What makes the cheesecake sink? These cheesecake bites will little bit sink in middle. But if you feel it is lot then it may cause that because of overmixing or incorrect oven temperature. Follow my tips so that you will make no fail, best mini cheesecake bites every single time.

Expert tips to make bite-sized cheesecakes

Oven Temperature - Make sure your oven is at the right temperature. To check this you can get the oven thermometer and check the temperature. Incorrect temperature will cause dent in middle.

Do not overmix - Overmixing will change the texture of cheesecakes. It may also create dent. I would suggest to follow my step-by-step instructions carefully.

Room temperature ingredients - Use room temperature ingredients (especially cream cheese, eggs and sour cream). If you use cold ingredients then it will take more time to mix which results in overmixing.

Cool cheesecakes - Cool the cheesecakes completely to room temperature before keeping them in refrigerator otherwise it may form condensation. This will make the cheesecake top very moist and I am sure you will not enjoy that :)

Serve chilled - Cheesecakes tests best when served chilled. Please plan ahead of time and refrigerate the mini cheesecakes for at least 2 hours.

Use Liners - To prevent the cheesecake from sticking to the pan and for easy removal please use cupcake liners. I have tried using the baking spray and it does come out but sometimes it gives lot of problem.

Add topping- These mini cheesecake bites testes good on their own but I would suggest to decorate them with your favorite topping to impress your guests.

Divide the filling equally - For consistent baking, please divide your cheesecake filling in 9 cupcake liners equally.

Do not open oven - Uneven temperature will ruin the cupcake shape so please do not open the oven door in between. Although, I recommend to keep a watch toward the end as baking time may vary by a minute or two as each oven is different.

Request

Did you make the cheesecake bites yet? If not, please make them right away and let me know how this recipe turns out for you in the comments! I really love hearing from you, and your feedback is very much important to me.

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