Tessa's Recipe Rundown
Taste: The classic turtle combination of pecans, caramel, and chocolate is to die for!!
Texture: Sooo many textures, just the way I like it.
Ease: Much quicker and easier than a full-sized cheesecake.
Appearance: Absolutely adorable.
Pros: Perfect bite-sized treat for any occasion. These are a total crowd-pleaser.
Cons: None!
Would I make this again? Absolutely.
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Did you have a nice Thanksgiving?
I hope it was filled with the most magnificent food you’ve eaten in a while. Or, at the very least, good company! Between testing out Thanksgiving recipes to share with you, Friendsgiving, and multiple Thanksgivings with different parts of the family, I have certainly had my fair share of Thanksgiving food!
Actually, I made these Mini Turtle Cheesecakes for Friendsgiving and they literally didn’t last longer than 5 minutes on the table before they vanished. Cheesecake is usually a guaranteed crowd-pleaser but I think mini cheesecakes are even better for a party. They’re much easier to make, transport, and eat. Win win win!
Mini Turtle Cheesecakes Tips
- I used this mini cheesecake pan. The bottoms are removable just like a springform or tart pan so you can pop out each cheesecake and keep it perfectly intact. If you don’t have a mini cheesecake pan, you could use a muffin tin. Just be sure to line it with nonstick paper or foil liners, otherwise, the graham cracker crust might crumble and the cheesecake might stick when you go to remove them.
- These babies are topped with caramel sauce. I prefer salted caramel. Learn how to make homemade caramel here. To make the recipe easier, you can of course use store-bought. Just make sure it’s high quality! I love Trader Joe’s Salted Caramel sauce.
- Keep the cheesecakes well chilled until serving so the caramel doesn’t run too much.
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Ingredients
For the crust:
- 1 sleeve (9 cookies, 4.8 ounces) graham crackers
- 3 tablespoons (1.5 ounces) unsalted butter, melted
For the filling:
- 12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 large egg
For the topping:
homemade salted caramel sauce, or store-bought- 1/2 cup pecans, chopped and toasted*
- 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
Make the crust:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 12 cup mini cheesecake pan with nonstick spray.
- Place the graham crackers in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely ground. Add in the melted butter 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.
Make 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 vanilla, cream, salt, and cinnamon and beat until smooth. Add the 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. At this point the cheesecakes can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Make the topping:
- Once chilled, top each cheesecake with a spoonful of caramel sauce, just enough to cover but not too much that it completely overflows. Press pecans into the caramel.
- Place the chocolate chips in a small heatproof bowl and microwave in 20 second bursts, stirring between bursts, until melted. Transfer to a small ziptop bag and snip a small hole in one corner. Drizzle the chocolate over the caramel and pecans. Return to the fridge to chill until ready to serve.
I made these Cheesecakes for Christmas dinner tomorrow. I made two batches. I cooked the first batch for the 18 min and they looked lovely in the oven. They dropped as soon as I took them out, the second batch I cooked about 5-8 min longer and they still dropped. Not as much as the first batch though.
I am so disappointed as I am making them for a special occasion.
What went wrong? I have made Cheesecakes before and never had that problem.
These were the most delicious little desserts. The center of mine sunk in, what can I do to prevent this? I tried cooling in oven and also pulling out of oven and cooling on counter with similar results.
I have made them before and they are delicious 🙂 However, I am making this for a large group and would be easy, faster as a cake. Can they be made in a 9×9 spring form pan? Maybe doubling the recipe?
When do you remove the mini cheesecakes from the pan…after allowing to completely cool and before refrigerating? Thanks
They’re easiest to remove when they’re cool out of the fridge IMO!
At what point do you remove the baked cheesecakes from the pan?
I made this tonight for company. Everyone loved them. I think that my mini cheesecake tin must be smaller than yours though as I had extra of everything. I will definitely be making these again. Can’t wait to try your other mini cheesecake recipes. I think I’ll attempt the s’mores next.
Thanks again for all your great recipes!!!
I would like to add a sour cream topping separate from the filling. After baking the filling take out and add the sour cream, how many additional minutes would you bake the mini cheesecakes?
Hi, just wondering if the heavy cream can be substituted with a whipping cream instead? Thanks!
I made these beauties for Thanksgiving and they are just absolutely amazing!!! Seriously!!!! I will be searching for more of your recipes!!! Keep up with the inspiration!!!
Can these be made in a regular cupcake pan and baked with cupcake liners?
Hi Vanessa, did you see my tips written in this post? “I used this mini cheesecake pan. The bottoms are removeable just like a springform or tart pan so you can pop out each cheesecake and keep it perfectly in tact. If you don’t have a mini cheesecake pan, you could use a muffin tin. Just be sure to line it with nonstick paper or foil liners, otherwise the graham cracker crust might crumble and the cheesecake might stick when you go to remove them.”
Tried two batches both fell. It could be my oven?? I’m wondering if heavy cream is heavy whipping cream or half and half?
I want to make these for a party, I don’t have time to order the mini cheesecake pan.. Any thoughts on making them in a 9X9 ( pan and using a small circle cutter to cut shapes, verses mini cupcake foil wrappers?