by Holly
Mini Cheesecakes are the perfect bite! Everyone loves a good dessert and these easy handheld bites feature an easy and rich cheesecake nestled on a cookie crumb base with your favorite fruit toppings.
This no-fail recipe is the perfect way to serve cheesecake to a crowd and a party favorite for any kind of celebration!
Individual Cheesecake Bites
I don’t eat a ton of desserts but I truly cannot resist a cheesecake! I’m not picky, it can be fruit-topped, fruit-flavored (like Lemon Cheesecake), served as Cheesecake Dessert Tacos, or have chocolate, strawberry, and caramel topping. All of them are a win in my books!
I do like no-bake cheesecakes but baked cheesecake is just SO much richer. They’re dense, rich and creamy and just so dang good (and even better when they’re bite-sized like these mini cheesecakes)!
The best thing about this these individual cheesecakes is that this recipe is easy to make (aka no-fail). Making a baked cheesecake can sometimes be challenging and while these do have an amazing baked cheesecake texture, they’re actually really easy!
No water-bath, hours of baking and cooling and oh yeah, no worries about cracks!
Perfect for a Celebration
These sweet bitty baby mini cheesecakes are perfect to celebrate and they’re bite-sized! I made these to celebrate my friend Jocelyn’s(who blogs at Grandbaby Cakes) sweet little baby-cake!
They’re great for parties and gatherings and of course baby showers! What could be more fitting for a baby shower than baby mini-sized desserts!
How To Make Mini Cheesecakes
While you can buy a mini cheesecake pan, I don’t bother and just use a mini muffin tin and this recipe makes 18 mini cheesecakes. Lining your muffin tins with foil liners makes these easy to get out of the pan and simple to serve. I’ve used Nilla Wafers for the base but if you prefer a graham crust you can substitute graham cookies (or any other hard cookie you have on hand).
These mini cheesecakes can be topped with everything from strawberries, blueberries, and cherries to chocolate sauce and caramel. You can use either fresh fruit or canned pie filling. My personal favorites are blueberry and strawberry. If I buy strawberry pie filling I’ll often add fresh chopped strawberries to it too! They’re easy and so delicious!!
Cheesecake is one of my all-time favorites and baby bite-sized cheesecakes are the perfect dessert to bring along to any party!
The Best Cheesecake Recipes:
- No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake: A dreamy dessert with layers of cheesecake, spiced pumpkin and whipped topping all nestled in a graham crust.
- No-Bake Lemon Cheesecake: A creamy, tart, no-bake lemon cheesecake that can be made in minutes.
- Pumpkin Amaretto Cheesecake Bars The rich fall flavors of pumpkin and almonds laced throughout a rich cheesecake over a sweet graham cracker crust.
- Raspberry Cheesecake Dessert Shooters A tart raspberry filling layered over a graham cracker crust, and then topped with a rich, creamy, no-bake cheesecake.
- Cherry Cheesecake Coffee Cake A delicious buttery coffee cake base under layers of cherry cheesecake and a little bit of streusel topping for a real taste of heaven!
- Oreo Chocolate Cheesecake Parfaits Layers of chocolate, a quick and easy no bake cheesecake and delicious Oreo cookie crumbs!
- Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries Fresh juicy berries are filled with an easy no bake cheesecake for the perfect 2-bite dessert!
- Upside Down Cheesecake Apple Pie A buttery crust filled with spiced apple pie filling and rich creamy cheesecake!
- Cheesecake Dessert Tacos Crisp sugar taco shells filled with an easy no bake cheesecake and topped with luscious fruit filling.
- Chocolate Cheesecake Cherries Chocolate dipped fresh ripe cherries filled with cheesecake.
Mini Cheesecake
Prep Time 10 minutes
Servings 18 mini cheesecakes
Ingredients
- 12 Vanilla Wafers or other hard cookies such as graham cookies
- 1 ½ tablespoons butter melted
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- ⅓ cup powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- 1 egg
- toppings as desired
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a mini muffin pan with 18 liners.
- Crush cookies until you have ⅓ cup crumbs. Add melted butter & mix well.
- Place 1 teaspoon in each cup and press down.
- In a medium bowl combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, lemon juice, almond extract and egg. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy.
- Place cream cheese mixture in a zippered bag and snip off the corner. Evenly fill each well.
- Bake 15 minutes or until set. Remove from oven, cool completely and top with desired toppings.
Nutrition Information
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.)
More Baby Shower Love
- Show Me the Yummy: Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes
- Crazy for Crust: Twix Cupcakes
- Averie Cooks: Chocolate Hot Fudge Mini Layer Cake
- Especially Southern Dishes: Mini Pink Velvet Cheesecake with Raspberry Cream Cheese
- Taste of Yummy: Butternut Squash Cake with Coconut Frosting
- Beyond Frosting: Toffee Caramel Cupcakes with Bourbon Caramel Buttercream
- Life Love and Sugar: Chocolate Mousse Cake
- Brown Sugar Mama: Candied Pecan & Caramel Mini-Cakes
- Confections of a Confectionista: Mini Lemon Bundt Cakes with Blueberry Glaze
I made these today for a special treat for my coworkers. I didn’t have foil liners so I went paper plus more eco friendly and I also didn’t have a mini cupcake pan. I lowered the cook temp to 325 and cooked them for about 20-25 min. They came out perfect. The paper sticks a bit more but I am overall pleased with the results. Thank you for sharing such an easy and delicious recipe. It is gonna be my new go to for work treats.
to maintain their freshness, how far in advance can i make these mini cheesecakes?
I would say about 2 days should be just fine! Ensure they’re sealed in the fridge.
I want to use this recipe but want to make it pumpkin cheesecake. Any tips for doing that??
Hi Megan, you can follow this pumpkin cheesecake recipe or try a no-bake version with this pumpkin cheesecake recipe.
Hi! Can we freeze the cheesecakes beforehand before serving? Perhaps like 3 to 4 days in advance?
Hi Fiza, these cheesecakes should last in the freezer for up to 2-3 months in an airtight container or freezer bag! Just defrost in the refrigerator overnight.
Do these cookies need to be refrigerated? How long can you keep them? I need them for a wedding and was going to bake them 7 days ahead or maybe 3 days if they keep.
Thank you
Hi Rickie, they should hold up fine in the refrigerator for a few days. I would recommend adding the topping the day of though. I would maybe try a small trial batch just to make sure there aren’t any hiccups with storage on the wedding day!
Is it ok to use vanilla extra instead?
It will change the flavor, but I am sure it will still be delicious Anna!
OR – you can use the two spoons method to fill and cut down on plastic. Maybe add some earth friendly and less waste tips going forward? Recipe looks delicious though, can’t wait to try it!
Are you using salted or unsalted butter in this recipe. It doesn’t state.
I use unsalted butter however it’s a small amount so either would work.
Those are adorable and just so perfect for a baby shower!
Thank you Nicoletta!
Hi, will these be good for outdoor parties? These would be left out for about 5 hours so im wondering if they will turn soft outdoors.
I don’t think they would do well for 5 hours to just sit. But, maybe you could sit them on a bed of ice to keep them cool and accessible?
What would be the cooking time if I used a regular sized muffin tin?
I can’t say for sure because I haven’t tried it Stephanie. Let us know if you do try the regular size muffin tin!
How long should I bake if I use regular cupcake size?
Hello! If I make these on a Friday for a Sunday baby shower will they hold? If so, should they be refrigerated or can they be kept in a dish with Saran Wrap? Thanks!
Yes, they will hold up fine in the refrigerator. I would suggest adding the topping just before serving.
How did you make the strawberry glaze on top?
I used strawberry pie filling with chopped up strawberries in it. Enjoy!
These are awesome!
Thanks beautiful!
I would make these with my mom when I was a kid. We would just put the vanilla wafer on the bottom of the cupcake liner. So good.
These are absolutely perfect! I can’t thank you enough. I am so grateful for this shower!
You’re so welcome Jocelyn! Congratulations on your sweet new baby, I can’t wait to ‘meet’ her!
These are perfect! And I still cannot believe that your kids are already grown up other than K. Time flies!
Thank you Averie! I know, time goes SO fast!
I love this post and I have pinned it because I am definitely going to make these! Let me also say…YOU LOOK AMAZING!!! I wouldn’t think you have four GROWN children! I want to be like you when I grow up. Loved working with you on this project!
Ahh you’re so sweet Nicole! Thank you for putting together such an amazing baby shower for Jocelyn!!