TWICE-BAKED JUMBO MINI CHEESECAKES

TWICE-BAKED JUMBO MINI CHEESECAKES image

Yield 24 cheesecakes

Number Of Ingredients 13

5 ounces vanilla wafers
5 ounces graham crackers
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup white sugar
2 eggs
16 ounces cream cheese
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons lemon or lime juice (Key lime juice preferred, if available)
4 strawberries (optional)
4 slices bacon (optional)
1.5 tablespoon maple syrup (optional)
3.5 ounces dark chocolate (optional)
2 tablespoons butter (optional)

Steps:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line muffin tins (tassie pans) with paper liners (2 inches in diameter). Finely crush the vanilla wafers and graham crackers, preferably in a blender or a household mixer. Brown the butter on low heat. Mix the wafers, crackers and the butter in a bowl with a spoon until the crumbs begin to stick together. Place the crumbs into the paper liners and use a spoon to flatten them to make the crust even. Bake the crusts for 5 minutes. Cool in room temperature for 5 minutes. In a separate bowl, beat sugar and eggs with an electric mixer until they begin to thicken. Add cream cheese, lemon or lime juice and vanilla extract and continue beating. If the mixture ends up looking a little lumpy, that is perfectly normal and the lumps will disappear in the oven. Place the cream cheese mixture on top of the crusts (the paper liners will only be filled up to one-half or so). Bake for 15 minutes. Cool in the fridge for at least 4 hours (cooling overnight works very well if the cheesecakes are made a day in advance). (Optional) Cut the strawberries in half and put on top of 8 of the cheesecakes. (Optional) Pan-fry the bacon with maple syrup. Cut each slice in half and put one piece each on top of 8 of the cheesecakes. (Optional) Melt the chocolate using a double boiler and add the butter. Spoon the chocolate ganache on top of 8 of the cheesecakes and put them back in the fridge for 30 minutes.