Recipe: Salted Caramel Cheesecakes

December 15, 2015

Its that time of year, everyone is making delicious desserts, cocktails and toasting to the New Year. Did I mention the delicious desserts? While I try to stay away from desserts because they're my kryptonite, I couldn't resist these delicious little cheesecakes. My sister Natalia came up with this idea for a Thanksgiving treat and as soon as she read the recipe, I knew we had to make them.


The original recipe calls for making one big cheesecake, but we decided that little bite sized cheesecakes are cuter and so much easier to eat. 

The best part about this recipe? The homemade caramel. I've never made my own caramel before I found it surprisingly easy and so much better than the fake stuff. We made half caramel sauce cheesecakes and the other half with strawberry sauce.


Ingredients: 
Cheesecakes: 
2 cups finely crushed graham crackers
 3 Tbsp granulated sugar
7 Tbsp salted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
4 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup heavy cream

Caramel Sauce:
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons water
6 tablespoons salted butter
3/4 cup heavy cream
sea salt for sprinkling

Strawberry Sauce: 
1 pound fresh strawberries
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

How to Make:
Cheesecake: 
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
  2. In a mixing bowl, whisk together crushed graham crackers with 3 tablespoon granulated sugar. 
  3. Pour in melted butter and stir mixture until evenly coated. 
  4. Divide graham cracker mixture among 24 paper lined muffin cups. 
  5. Press mixture into an even layer. 
  6. Bake in preheated one for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool while you prepare filling. 
  7. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together 1 1/2 cups granulate sugar with 3 tablespoons flour until well blended. 
  8. Add softened cream cheese to a separate mixing bowl and pour sugar mixture over the top.
  9. Blend mixture on low speed until smooth. Mix in eggs one at a time and blend on low speed.
  10. Add vanilla, sour cream and heavy cream and mix until combined. Tap mixing bowl against the counter to release air bubbles. 
  11. Divide mixture among muffin cups filling each cup nearly full. 
  12. Bake in preheated oven 20-23 minutes until the centers are still jiggly. Don't overcook or they will crack. 
  13. Remove from oven and allow to cool 1 hour. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and trasmfer to refrigerator and chill two hours 
  14. Serve chilled with a spoonful of Salted Caramel Sauce or Strawberry Sauce. 
graham cracker crust, yep! 

Salted Caramel Sauce: 
  1. Pre-Gather all your ingredients. This moves fast! 
  2. In a heavy-bottomed 3-quart saucepan, heat sugar and water over moderately high heat, whisking constantly to dissolve sugar. Once mixture reaches a boil, stop whisking and allow mixture to boil until it reaches a dark amber color, carefully swirling pan. 
  3. Once mixture reaches a dark amber color, immediately add butter and whisk until butter has melted  - then immediately remove from heat. 
  4. Wait three seconds then carefully pour in cream and immediately whisk to combine. 
  5. Whisk until mixture is smooth. 
  6. Allow caramel to cool several minutes then pour into a glass jar to cool. 
  7. Spoon over cheesecakes and sprinkle lightly with sea salt. 
be patient with the caramel, it's worth it! 


Strawberry Sauce:
  1. Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until well chopped and mixture is beginning to break down and liquefy. 
  2. Transfer to an airtight container and chill for 30 minutes until ready to serve. 


Happy Holidays party people! I hope you love these little cheesecakes as much as I do!

What's your favorite holiday treat?

19 comments

  1. This looks amazing!! I love salted caramel anything!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Those look SO good and I LOVE your green top, gorgeous! Happy Holidays :)
    xo
    Lee Anne
    http://lifeinatx.com/

    ReplyDelete
  3. oh my gosh, these sound so yummy! thank you for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow those look incredible. We're hosting Christmas Eve this year and have been stuck on what to make for dessert; I think I just found it!

    ReplyDelete
  5. These sound fantastic!! Salted caramel is the best!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. These look amazing! I love that you went with mini-sized ones for an easier portion for everyone. So cute!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I am down for salted caramel anything!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I never did a homemade caramel before--this sounds simple --I must give it a try! I've never said NO to a Bite size cheese cake!!! =D

    ReplyDelete
  9. I can't wait to try this recipe. It looks totally doable (which is must for me, I'm not very good in the kitchen.)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh man, these look awesome! I'm such a sucker for cheesecake, and I could definitely go for one of these little ones right about now.

    ReplyDelete
  11. So cute! I love your idea of doing individual cheesecakes instead of one big one, makes for easier serving! Plus with them being in cupcake liners you don't even technically need a fork- just peel it back and enjoy! :D Thanks for sharing :)

    http://katelynmcphee.blogspot.ca

    ReplyDelete
  12. Oh yeah. This is going on my list of recipes to make for the holidays!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Yum. I love cheesecake and salted caramel. Sounds perfect! I love the size too.

    ReplyDelete
  14. This looks so good! Definitely gong on my to do list for this weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Such domestic bliss! Looks amazing!
    xx
    Krista

    ReplyDelete
  16. Wahooo! Those look delicious. I can't wait to try them.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I love making homemade caramel sauce. (You might want to review your recipe, you call for sugar twice in your caramel sauce recipe). Individual servings are the best way to go to a gathering. Yum!

    ReplyDelete

I love hearing from all of you and greatly appreciate all your feedback and comments! xx Kristen