Cheesecake Bites

We love cheesecake.  Why not take this delicious dessert and make it bite-size?  Very easy to make.  Be sure to give yourself some time to bake and then let sit in the fridge.  We sort of modified our other recipe to make these.  You’ll need a mini muffin tin if you want to make these itty bitty…

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Cheesecake Bites

Cheesecake:

• Two 8oz packages of cream cheese (not fat free or reduced fat – too watery!)
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla

Crust:

• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease your mini muffin tin.
2. Mix the melted butter and graham cracker crumbs until thoroughly combined. Press the mixture into the bottom of the mini muffins, about a 1/4 of the height. Bake in preheated oven for 6 minutes – We did this two ways.  I hated baking them at first I thought I burned them.  The second time I did not bake the crust beforehand.  HOWEVER, in the end I liked the baked – kind of burned – crust better.  If you’re going to bake, do it for only 2-3 minutes as these are mini crusts and not one giant cheesecake crust.
3. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, eggs and vanilla until light and fluffy. Fill each miniature to the top of the muffin tin.
4. Bake for 15 minutes (OR LESS). Cool.
5. If you like toppings (I DON’T), feel free to drizzle strawberry filling over the bite sized cheesecake.

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BTW – this recipe is great for a normal sized cheesecake, too!  Just use one large pan for everything.