Mini Cheesecakes

Mini Cheesecakes, waiting for a topping. This was a long story, but I’m giving you the short version:

I’ve always followed the recipe for mini-cheesecakes using vanilla wafers as the base, but this year, I thought I’d make my own graham crackers to avoid the trans-fats from the storebought vanilla wafers (which are also on my list to try making from scratch). So I did, and they turned out well (will post about those soon)…. except that I remembered Rose Levy Beranbaum’s technique of making a mini crust WITH SIDES for her mini-cheesecakes. So I tried that with the graham cracker formula I already had. Except they puffed up too much in the oven and you’re left with room for about 1 teaspoon of filling by the time the cookie crust was baked, which obviously will not please any of the cheesecake-lovers on your guest list. So I ended up going back to the original plan of making graham cracker bottoms, very tedious and time-consuming, and used those in the mini-muffin tins (with liners) you see here. The mini-cheesecakes are in the freezer now, waiting for their topping — some will have Nutella on them, the others lemon curd, and the rest will be raspberry. I’ll top them the day of the party and leave them to thaw in the fridge as they wait to be served.

Oh and those graham crusts that didn’t turn out well? I still filled them with some cheesecake filling, mixed with the leftover pumpkin pie filling Aisa had made for Thanksgiving. They weren’t what I had in mind, but they’re still delicious enough for a party, just don’t tell people it’s cheesecake so you’re not building up expectation:).