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Maple Bacon Mini Cheesecakes

Maple Bacon Mini Cheesecakes

Maple Bacon Mini Cheesecakes are sweet-salty cream cheese perfection! They even have a piece of candied bacon as a garnish AND bacon fat in the graham cracker crust. Talk about YUM.

Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Inactive Time 3 hours
Total Time: 3 hours 45 minutes
Yields: 12 mini cheesecakes
Recipe by Tessa Arias

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 salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon 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

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 12 cup mini cheesecake pan with nonstick spray.

FOR THE CRUST:

  1. 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.
  2. 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).
  3. Bake the crusts for 5 minutes, or until fragrant. Remove from oven and reduce temperature to 325°F.

FOR THE FILLING:

  1. 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 egg and beat until just combined. Divide the mixture among each cavity.
  2. 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:

  1. Once chilled, whisk together the glaze ingredients until smooth. Drizzle each cheesecake with the glaze. Top with the reserved candied bacon. Serve.

Recipe Notes

Inspired by The Food Network