Tessa's Recipe Rundown
Taste: I’d imagine these taste like what breakfast in heaven would taste like.
Texture: Crunchy yet buttery graham cracker crust, creamy and luscious cheesecake filling, rich maple glaze, and a crunchy piece of candied bacon on top. Can’t beat it!
Ease: Candying the bacon is a little extra slightly messy step, but it’s so worth it.
Appearance: So adorable and impressive.
Pros: Who could beat maple & bacon… in the form of CHEESECAKE?
Cons: None.
I make this again? Of course!
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I love the combination of maple with bacon and all, but if I’m honest, this flavor profile is definitely more of Jared’s thing.
Even though maple bacon is not to be messed with, I’m still a chocolate freak at heart. But there’s nothing quite like the salty sweet complexity of these two ingredients together! I can actually remember one of the first times we ever tried maple bacon anything. It was at a doughnut shop in San Francisco, one of our first vacations together years ago. That was a delicious trip.
I got a chocolate glazed with sprinkles (my usual) but Jared was feeling adventurous and went for maple bacon. It was crazy good and perfect for a special vacay breakfast. Ever since then I know the way to his heart is instantaneous with maple + bacon.
His other fave dessert is cheesecake, so this is like the perfect bite in his book! I hope you’ll give this Maple Bacon Mini Cheesecakes recipe a try if you’ve got any maple, bacon, or cheesecake lovers in your life.
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Ingredients
FOR THE CRUST:
- 4 strips bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 sleeve (9 cookies, 4.8 ounces) graham crackers
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
FOR THE FILLING:
- 12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon maple extract
- 1 large egg
FOR THE TOPPING:
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon maple extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 12 cup mini cheesecake pan with nonstick spray.
FOR THE CRUST:
- Cook the bacon pieces in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until browned. Pour off the bacon fat and set aside. Sprinkle the sugar over the bacon and cook, stirring, until the bacon is crisp, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a resealable container and set aside.
- Place the graham crackers in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely ground. Add in the melted butter along with 1 tablespoon of bacon fat and pulse until moistened. Divide the mixture among the cavities of the cheesecake pan, about 1 heaping tablespoon in each. Firmly press into the bottom of each cavity (a shot glass or other small object makes easy work of this).
- Bake the crusts for 5 minutes, or until fragrant. Remove from oven and reduce temperature to 325°F.
FOR THE FILLING:
- In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the cream cheese and sugar on medium-high speed until smooth and fluffy. Add the maple syrup, salt, cinnamon, and flour and beat until smooth. Add the extracts and egg and beat until just combined. Divide the mixture among each cavity.
- Bake for about 18 minutes, or until set. Let cool to room temperature. Cover with plastic wrap and let chill for at least 3 hours or overnight.
FOR THE TOPPING:
- Once chilled, whisk together the powdered sugar, maple syrup, and maple extract until smooth. Drizzle each cheesecake with the glaze. Top with the reserved candied bacon. Serve.
I made 48 mini cheesecakes out with this recipe, which was a nice surprise. I’m not sure how it could only be 12 unless they were regular cupcake size. The flavor was very good and the candied bacon was a nice touch. For some reason my cheesecakes did not come out of the tins cleanly despite greasing the tins. The crust fell apart when removing the cheesecakes from the tin and did not hold together.
I made these cheesecakes without the bacon and they were a big hit at the party. My only gripe is that the instructions do not specify when to add the extracts. It is a little thing but someone new to cooking may be confused.
Thanks so much for your feedback, Evelyn! Definitely not a little thing, I’ve updated the recipe to include the missing instructions. So happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe! 🙂
Thanks Emily!
I will definitely be making these again but using the bacon. I needed to accommodate vegetarians the first time around. I am glad to have such a flavorful recipe.
Evelyn
I made these cheesecakes along with other types to bring along when attending Christmas parties. The Maple bacon cheesecakes were a favorite of many.
exceptionally delicious!!!!!
Is the bacon only for the topping. If so why is there so much?
If I don’t have a mini cheesecake pan, can i use a mini cupcake pan with liners?
Hello I don’t see the answer to Laurel’s question and I am also curious….is this only for 12 out of 24 mini cheesecakes or is it the regular 12 pan muffin?
What do you think of topping these with dark chocolate caramel whipped cream?
One for the state fair!
I have a mini muffin pan (makes 24 muffins) and a regular muffin pan (makes 12 muffins). Which one should I use? Thanks.
Breakfast in heaven is exactly what I was thinking 🙂 These look awesome, nice job girl!