Mini Raspberry Cheesecakes

Ingredients:

For the crust:

• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 4 Tbsp. butter, melted
• 3 Tbsp. sugar

For the filling:

• 2 lbs. cream cheese, room temperature
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

For the raspberry swirl:

• 6 oz. fresh raspberries
• 2 tbsp. sugar

OR:

• raspberry jam, heated

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Line cupcake pans with paper liners.
3. Place graham crackers in a large measuring cup and smash with your hand. (I put a baggie over my hand so that the crackers wouldn't poke me.) To ensure that all of the crumbs were small, I poured the crumbs into the baggie and smashed them more with the glass measuring cup.
    
   
    
   
    
   
    
4. In a small bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and sugar. Using a fork, stir until well blended and all the dry ingredients are moistened.
    
5. Put 1/2 Tbsp. of the mixture into each cupcake liner. Press firmly into the bottom. (I used a small medicine cup to evenly press the crumbs down.)
    
   
    
6. Bake crusts for 5 minutes. Place on a cooling rack and allow to cool completely.
    
7. To make the filling, place cream cheese in a bowl and beat on medium-high speed until fluffy. Add sugar and beat until smooth. Mix in the salt and vanilla. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
    
8. Return the crusts to the muffin tin. Put 1 Tbsp. of filling into each muffin liner.
    
9. To make puree filling: Combine raspberries and sugar in a blender or food processor. Process until smooth, then pour through a fine mesh sieve to remove the seeds.
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   To use raspberry jam: Place approx. 1 cup of jam into a microwave-safe bowl and heat until runny.

10. Drop 1/2 tsp. of warm jam into the center of each and using a toothpick swirl the jam into the filling.
     
    
     
11. Bake 18 minutes, or until filling is set, rotating the pan halfway through baking. Check frequently at the end of the cook time and check with a toothpick. They will appear puffed up at first but will settle down as they cool.
     
12. Transfer the cheesecakes to a wire cooling rack and let cool to room temperature. Transfer them to the refrigerator and chill for at least 4 hours before serving.
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13. This recipe makes A LOT of mini cheesecakes. You can freeze them and defrost to serve. Or you can make some minis and a batch of full-sized cupcake ones too (that's what I did!).

To make cupcake sized cheesecakes:

• Prepare the crust mixture and cheesecake mixture using the same instructions as above.
• Use 1 Tbsp. crust mixture for each crust.
• Use 3 Tbsp. cheesecake filling per cheesecake.
• Use 1 1/2 tsp. jam (dropped in 3 spots) for each cheesecake.
• Bake for 32 minutes, or until filling is set, rotating pan halfway through. Check frequently at the end of cook time and check with a toothpick.
  Servings: approx. 96 minis, 32 full-size
  Prep Time: 20 Minutes
  Cooking Time: approx. 18 Minutes

  By lalala... from Port Orchard, WA