It's entirely too few days until Christmas, which means it's that time of year when it's not entirely uncommon to have to whip up some sort of magical food in an instant. Between office parties and neighbors inviting you over for dinner and kids needing treats at school, you could spend all day in the kitchen and still not have enough yummy stuff to go around.
Magic time, people.
Mini Cheesecakes.
Here's the thing--people assume that cheesecake is a pain in the ass to make. They think it's crazy time consuming, which, technically, it usually is. But there are ways to make cheesecake quickly and still have it taste AMAZING. Part of the trick is to stick to mini-sized cheesecake.
You start by whipping out a mini muffin pan, a bunch of mini cupcake liners, and some Mini Nilla Wafers.
Yes, Mini Nilla Wafers.
Why waste time making a crust when these work just fine?
Just place a Mini Nilla Wafer flat-side down at the bottom of your cupcake liners.
Crust. Done.
Next, mix some cream cheese, vanilla extract, eggs, and sugar. And that's it. Four ingredients. You can handle that, right?
Place a teaspoon full of the cream cheese yummy stuff in each cupcake liner.
And bake the Mini Cheesecakes for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Let them cool and then top them with whatever you like. I like Cherry Pie Filling myself.
Yum.
Seriously.
These are unbelievably good.
For best results, let them set overnight in the fridge. That'll help keep the cheesecake from sticking to the cupcake liner. Not that a little sticking will stop anyone from eating them, of course. Trust me. People pop these things like pills. (And by "people," it's possible I mean me.)
Mini Cheesecakes
(Makes approximately 48 bite-sized cheesecakes)
48 Mini Nilla Wafers (about 1/2 box)
2-8 oz packages cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar
1 can cherry pie filling
1. Line mini muffin tin with mini cupcake liners (foil ones work best).
2. Place a Mini Nilla Wafer in each cupcake liner, flat side down.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, eggs, vanilla extract, and sugar. Mix at medium speed until creamy.
4. Drop the cheesecake mix by teaspoon into the cupcake liners.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
6. Allow to cool for at least ten minutes. The middles will sink a bit. Don't sweat it. That's just your filling holder spot-a-majig.
7. Place a spoonful of cherry pie filling on top.
8. Allow to cool overnight in the fridge. Or not. Whatever. If you happen to accidentally eat one or ten right away, I promise I won't tell anyone.