I love the holidays because I get to bake like crazy. I have another yummy recipe to share with you this week. This is a personal favorite, Christmas time wouldn’t feel complete for me without enjoying a handful of these.
This recipe makes about 2.5 dozen mini-cheesecakes. There are a few things to know, beside the recipe. I use regular cream cheese, not the reduced fat kind — in my experience, they don’t come out the same. Also, softening the cream cheese is an important step, don’t use it straight out of the refrigerator. My preferred method for softening cream cheese is leaving it out to reach room temperature. Freshly squeezed lemon juice is preferred, but if you don’t have a lemon handy, lemon juice at most markets will do fine. Let your cheesecakes cool on a cooling rack for about 1-2 hours before adding the cherries. To help with this process, I pour my cherries from the can into a small bowl and use a small spoon to gently place them on my cheesecakes. Once you’re cheesecakes are done, keep them refrigerated until you plan to serve them; they taste best cold. I let mine set in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Enjoy amigos!
Mini
- 2 - 8 oz cream cheese (softened)
- 2 eggs
- ¾ c. baking sugar
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 can cherry pie filling
- vanilla wafers
- cupcake holders
- Mix cream cheese, sugar, eggs, lemon juice and vanilla. Place vanilla wafer flat side down in cupcake holder and fill ¾ full.
- Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes or until lightly brown. They will crack a little on the top.
- Cool and top each with cherries.
- Refrigerate.
