Description
These Mini Christmas Cheesecakes are festive and fun, featuring a rich cream cheese filling swirled with red and green colors atop a crunchy Oreo cookie crust. Perfect for holiday celebrations, these bite-sized cheesecakes are baked to creamy perfection and finished with whipped cream and sprinkles for a cheerful touch.
Ingredients
Scale
Crust
- 100 g Oreo Cookies (Crushed with the filling)
- 30 g butter (melted)
Cheesecake Filling
- 450 g cream cheese
- 150 g granulated sugar
- 20 g all purpose flour
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- 60 g heavy cream
- 2 eggs
- Red & green food coloring
Topping
- Whipped cream
- Sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat oven and prepare tray: Preheat the oven to 150°Celsius and line a cupcake tray with cupcake casings to prepare for baking.
- Make the crust: Crush the Oreo cookies with filling into fine crumbs using a food processor or by pressing them in a zip lock bag with a rolling pin. Mix the cookie crumbs with melted butter until evenly moistened.
- Form crust bases: Place one tablespoon of the cookie crumb mixture into each cupcake casing and firmly press down with the sides of a small rolling pin to create a compact base.
- Beat cream cheese: In a separate bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth for about 30 to 60 seconds, scraping the bowl often to ensure a creamy texture.
- Add dry ingredients and flavor: Mix in the sugar, flour, and lemon zest and beat for 20 seconds to combine evenly.
- Incorporate eggs and vanilla: Add both eggs and vanilla extract at once. Beat for 10 seconds, scrape the bowl, and beat for another 10 seconds until smooth. Avoid overbeating to prevent excess air in the batter.
- Fold in heavy cream: Gently fold the heavy cream into the batter to maintain creaminess without deflating.
- Color the batter: Transfer one-third of the cheesecake batter into two smaller bowls. Add green food coloring to one and red food coloring to the other; mix well to achieve vibrant colors.
- Fill cupcake casings: Pour the plain batter into each crust-lined casing alternately with spoonfuls of red and green batter. Use a skewer to swirl the batter in a circular motion creating a marbled pattern, being careful not to break the crust.
- Bake the cheesecakes: Place the tray in the oven at 150°Celsius and bake for 20 minutes. Place a water-filled baking dish inside the oven to maintain moisture while baking.
- Rest in oven: After baking, leave the cheesecakes in the oven for an additional 5 minutes to gently finish cooking.
- Cool the cheesecakes: Remove from oven and allow the cheesecakes to cool at room temperature for 15 minutes.
- Refrigerate: Chill the cheesecakes in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight to set and develop flavor. Carefully peel off the cupcake casings once fully chilled.
- Serve with toppings: Just before serving, top each mini cheesecake with whipped cream and sprinkles for a festive finish.
- Storage: Keep any leftovers refrigerated to maintain freshness and texture.
Notes
- Do not overbeat the cheesecake batter to avoid incorporating too much air, which can cause cracking or uneven texture.
- Using a water bath or a water-filled dish inside the oven helps keep the cheesecakes moist and prevents cracking.
- Chilling the cheesecakes overnight improves their texture and flavor.
- Carefully peel off cupcake casings after chilling to keep the mini cheesecakes intact.
- Use food-safe skewers or toothpicks to create marbled patterns for a festive look without disturbing the crust.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: mini cheesecake, Christmas dessert, holiday cheesecake, Oreo crust cheesecake, festive dessert, marbled cheesecake
