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 crackers3 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:
Strawberry Sauce:
Happy Holidays party people! I hope you love these little cheesecakes as much as I do!
What's your favorite holiday treat?
Cheesecake:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together crushed graham crackers with 3 tablespoon granulated sugar.
- Pour in melted butter and stir mixture until evenly coated.
- Divide graham cracker mixture among 24 paper lined muffin cups.
- Press mixture into an even layer.
- Bake in preheated one for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool while you prepare filling.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together 1 1/2 cups granulate sugar with 3 tablespoons flour until well blended.
- Add softened cream cheese to a separate mixing bowl and pour sugar mixture over the top.
- Blend mixture on low speed until smooth. Mix in eggs one at a time and blend on low speed.
- Add vanilla, sour cream and heavy cream and mix until combined. Tap mixing bowl against the counter to release air bubbles.
- Divide mixture among muffin cups filling each cup nearly full.
- Bake in preheated oven 20-23 minutes until the centers are still jiggly. Don't overcook or they will crack.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool 1 hour. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and trasmfer to refrigerator and chill two hours
- Serve chilled with a spoonful of Salted Caramel Sauce or Strawberry Sauce.
graham cracker crust, yep!
Salted Caramel Sauce:
- Pre-Gather all your ingredients. This moves fast!
- 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.
- Once mixture reaches a dark amber color, immediately add butter and whisk until butter has melted - then immediately remove from heat.
- Wait three seconds then carefully pour in cream and immediately whisk to combine.
- Whisk until mixture is smooth.
- Allow caramel to cool several minutes then pour into a glass jar to cool.
- Spoon over cheesecakes and sprinkle lightly with sea salt.
be patient with the caramel, it's worth it!
Strawberry Sauce:
- Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until well chopped and mixture is beginning to break down and liquefy.
- 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?
This looks amazing!! I love salted caramel anything!
ReplyDeleteThose look SO good and I LOVE your green top, gorgeous! Happy Holidays :)
ReplyDeletexo
Lee Anne
http://lifeinatx.com/
oh my gosh, these sound so yummy! thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteWow 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!
ReplyDeleteThese sound fantastic!! Salted caramel is the best!!
ReplyDeleteThese look amazing! I love that you went with mini-sized ones for an easier portion for everyone. So cute!
ReplyDeleteI am down for salted caramel anything!
ReplyDeleteI 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
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to try this recipe. It looks totally doable (which is must for me, I'm not very good in the kitchen.)
ReplyDeleteOh 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.
ReplyDeleteSo 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 :)
ReplyDeletehttp://katelynmcphee.blogspot.ca
Oh yeah. This is going on my list of recipes to make for the holidays!
ReplyDeleteYum. I love cheesecake and salted caramel. Sounds perfect! I love the size too.
ReplyDeleteThis looks so good! Definitely gong on my to do list for this weekend!
ReplyDeleteDelicious!
ReplyDeleteSuch domestic bliss! Looks amazing!
ReplyDeletexx
Krista
Wahooo! Those look delicious. I can't wait to try them.
ReplyDeleteLooks so yummy!
ReplyDeleteI 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