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This easy recipe for mini cheesecake bites is the perfect dessert to make for a crowd. By adding a graham cracker crust and simple cheesecake batter to a mini cupcake pan, you’ll bake up a bite sized treat that everyone will enjoy!
Homemade Cheesecake is such a great dessert to serve because it’s not overly sweet and it complements other desserts beautifully. But sometimes, serving a large cake to a crowd can get a bit messy.
Tada! These mini cheesecake bites to the rescue!
These bite sized treats can be set out on the table or passed around easily. You’ll get a perfect bite of silky smooth cheesecake and still have room for other desserts! As a professionally trained baker I LOVE desserts that are made into mini form like these mini vanilla cupcakes or these mini chocolate cupcakes.
This mini version of my perfect cheesecake recipe is great when you want that cheesecake bite but don’t want to commit to a whole cake.
Hot tip: You need to use room temperature cream cheese to make sure that the batter is smooth. If the cream cheese is too cold, you’ll have a lump batter. If you forgot to leave your cream cheese out you can learn how to soften cream cheese quickly!
Why You’ll Love these
Well for starters, who can resist the mini things?! I don’t know about you, but mini desserts are just SO cute!
I also love desserts that can be ahead of time. Plus these guys don’t need a water bath like traditional cheesecake does. Also it is totally acceptable to eat a whole bunch of these because they are just one biters!
Ingredients You’ll Need
For the Cheesecake Batter
- Cream Cheese – This thick creamy cheese makes up the base of the cheesecake batter which is the “cheese” in cheesecake!
- Sour Cream – Sour cream helps thin out the thick cream cheese and also adds a layer of tangy flavor.
- Heavy Cream – Adds a slightly sweet cream flavor.
- Sugar – Sugar is used to sweeten up this cheesecake to help balance the flavors of the cheese.
- Flour – Some flour is used in this recipe to help hold everything together while it bakes.
- Vanilla Extract – Vanilla extract compliments the flavors of both the cheesecake batter and the crust.
- Egg – Egg will help bind everything together and bake up nicely.
For the Graham Cracker Crust
- Graham Cracker Crumbs – You’ll need about 9 graham crackers crumbled up for this recipe. Feel free to use plain or cinnamon depending on what flavor you’re going for.
- Melted Butter – Melted butter is what binds the crumbs together and gives the crust a rich buttery flavor.
- Sugar – The crust layer is sweetened with white sugar that gets combined in with the crust.
Equipment
- 2 Inch Mini Cupcake Tray
- Mini Cupcake Liners – these come in fun colors too! They are great to add some personalization to a party!
How to make mini cheesecake bites
- Preheat the oven to 350 F and line a 48 mini cupcake pan with mini cupcake liners.
- To make the crust, melt the butter, and add the graham cracker crumbs and sugar. Mix until it resembles wet sand. Press about 2 tsp of the mixture into each liner. Bake for 5 minutes. Take the prepared crusts out of the oven to cool and lower the oven temp to 325.
- In a medium sized bowl combine the cream cheese and sugar and mix on low speed using a hand mixer until smooth, about 2 minutes. You can make this by hand or in a stand mixer too. Add in the sour cream, flour, and vanilla and mix again on low-medium speed until combined. Add in the egg and cream and mix again until all ingredients in the batter are fully combined.
- Using a tablespoon measure, pour the batter into each mold evenly. The batter should cover up all the graham cracker crust.
- Bake at 325 degrees for 12- 15 minutes.
- Chill in the refrigerator and serve with fresh berries or your favorite toppings!
Variations
There are so many ways to customize these mini cheesecakes, you can:
- Top them with fresh berries.
- Drizzle them with caramel
- Sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top.
- Add some fresh lemon juice and zest to the batter.
- Top with homemade whipped cream or mascarpone frosting.
- Use oreo cookies in place of the graham crackers.
- Add in 2-3 tbsp of cocoa powder for a mini chocolate cheesecake.
If you love mini desserts you can also try these mini lemon curd tarts!
Tips for recipe success
- You have to bake the crust before filling them with batter. This will prevent the crust from falling apart and from the batter getting under the crust.
- Make sure the crust is completely cooled before adding filling.
- Use room temperature cream cheese to make sure all ingredients are fully combined.
- Since the batter still remains soft even after baking, I definitely recommended that you use mini cupcake liners so everything stays together.
- If you’d like to make this recipe in regular cupcake size, divide crust and batter evenly in cupcake pan and bake for about 22-25 minutes.
Storing & Freezing
- Storing – These mini cheesecakes can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Freezing – Since the structure of these cheesecakes is soft in nature they will not hold up well with freezing so it is not recommended.
Other Cheesecake Recipes You’ll Enjoy
- Cherry Cheesecake With Chocolate
- Cheesecake Bars with Cranberry Swirl
- Red Velvet Cheesecake Cupcakes
- 5 Tips To Make The Perfect Cheesecake– This post has a water bath hack, that I highly suggest you check out if you want to make a whole cheesecake!
Easy Mini Cheesecake Bites Recipe
Equipment
- 2 inch Mini Cupcake Trays
- 2 inch Mini Cupcake Liners
Ingredients
Graham Cracker Crust
- 1 ½ cups Graham Cracker Crumbs about 9 crackers
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter melted
- 2 tbsp granulated Sugar
Cheesecake Batter
- 8 oz Cream Cheese
- ¼ cup Sugar
- 2.5 tbsp Sour Cream
- 1 ½ tbsp Flour
- ½ tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 Egg
- 2 tbsp Heavy Cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F and line a 48 mini cupcake pan with mini cupcake liners.
- To make the crust, melt the butter, and add the graham cracker crumbs and sugar. Mix until it resembles wet sand. Press about 2 tsp of the mixture into each liner. Bake for 5 minutes. Take the prepared crusts out of the oven to cool and lower the oven temp to 325.
- In a medium sized bowl combine the cream cheese and sugar and mix on low speed using a hand mixer until smooth, about 2 minutes. You can make this by hand or in a stand mixer too. Add in the sour cream, flour, and vanilla and mix again on low-medium speed until combined. Add in the egg and cream and mix again until all ingredients in the batter are fully combined.
- Using a tablespoon measure, pour the batter into each mold evenly. The batter should cover up all the graham cracker crust.
- Bake at 325 degrees for 12- 15 minutes.
- Chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours and serve with fresh berries or your favorite toppings!
I made these for x-mas and they turned out good. I did not have enough batter to fill each cup, only made about 36, but I filled mine to the top. I was also not sure on the graham crackers, as they can be broken down into 3 different sizes. I used 9 squares and it was not enough so it is 9 full size crackers, to be clear. The flavor and texture was really good overall.
Thanks Bridge! So glad you liked these!
Followed your recipe to the tee, measuring everything even the batter and there is not enough for all 48 .
Thanks,
Elizabeth
Hey Elizabeth! Thanks for making this recipe! When we tested it we had enough for 48- it could be dependent also on the amount of crumbs you are adding to the bottom of the pan.