epicureantease

Merry Christmas Eve!!

When I was a little girl we had a neighbor that every year made the most delicious mini-cheesecakes. Most delicious!!  Every Christmas I looked forward to our family’s exchanging holiday goodies because it always meant we’d be receiving mini-cheesecakes. I looked forward to those lil’ cupcake tins of heaven all year! 🙂

When I was about 9 years old we moved a few miles up the road and our neighbor from the old neighborhood moved up to the mountains within a few years to follow. Our family’s no longer exchanged baked goods come the holiday season.   😦 I sure missed those mini-cheesecakes…

Mini-Cheesecake!

A few years ago, while browsing for a delicious yet simple dessert to serve for Bunco, I found a super simple recipe for cheesecake.  This cheesecake can be baked off in the 9×13 pan the recipe calls for, or can be scooped into cupcake tins containing one whole Oreo cookie serving as a crust.  Although this recipe is low maintenance and easy to prepare in comparison to other cheesecake recipes,  it certainly doesn’t lack in the rich and creamy department.

A few years ago my childhood neighbor moved back into town and is once again neighbors with my parents! I’m happy to say the mini-cheesecake deliveries have commenced once again. 🙂

Mini-Cheesecakes!

Cheesecake

2 1/4 cups Oreos (about 20), finely crushed
3 tablespoons butter, melted
5 8-ounce packages Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 cup sour cream
4 eggs
1 can Cherry Pie Filling

Heat oven to 325.

Line 9×13-inch pan with foil. Mix crumbs and butter, press into bottom of pan.

Beat cream cheese, sugar, flour and vanilla until blended. Add sour cream and mix well. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing on low after each addition until just blended. Pour over crush.

Bake 40 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool completely and then refrigerate for 4 hours. Top with pie filling.

Additional Note: for mini-cheescakes, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cupcake/muffin pan with liners. Using a whole package of Oreo cookies, put one cookie at the bottom of each liner.  Fill each tin with cheesecake batter as you would if you were making cupcakes. I used an ice-cream scoop. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or  until a fork comes out fairly clean. There may be a little cheesecake batter that sticks to the fork and that’s OK as they should be moist. Let cool and then top with your favorite topping. I used the Cherry Pie filling (I needed 2 cans!) that the full cake recipe calls for. Makes 3 dozen mini-cheesecakes! 🙂

Mini-Cheesecake sitting atop an Oreo cookie, topped with Cherries!

From my kitchen to yours, wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas! 🙂