An Inspired Cook

We’re celebrating birthdays this week.  For those who have birthdays around Christmas, birthdays can sometimes get overlooked.  So I try to do something special for my guys so they feel celebrated.  Of course Josh wants Reese’s Cheesecake every year.   He’s big on traditions and sticking with them.  I decided to make Mini Cheesecakes so that I could make something special for Joe and Josh could continue to have his Reese’s cheesecake too.

The crust is simple, pretzels and butter.

I used a food processor to crush the pretzels into crumbs.  I needed 3/4 cup pretzel crumbs and 1/4 cup butter melted.

I used a fork to mix the crumbs with the butter.

I placed 1 tablespoon of crumb mixture in each paper cup.

Press the crumbs firmly into the bottom of the paper cups.  I tapped it down with a bottle from the pantry that was the exact size to press down the crumbs.  And yes I washed it first!  These can go into a 350 degree oven for 5 – 7 minutes to set the crust.

The cheesecake is made from 2 packages of cream cheese, some sour cream, sugar, eggs, flour and vanilla.  The chocolate chips, peanut butter, peanut butter cups and pretzel M & M’s are for the topping.

In a mixing bowl combine the cream cheese and sugar together.

Beat the cream cheese and sugar until well blended.  Now add 1/2 cup sour cream and mix that in.

Looks very creamy but I’m not done yet.

Add 2 eggs and a teaspoon of vanilla.  When you begin to mix that, sprinkle in a tablespoon of flour.

Nice and creamy, now it’s ready to go.

The crumb crust has cooled.  It’s time to add some peanut butter to Josh’s cheesecake.  I took 1/4 cup of peanut butter and microwaved it for 20 seconds.  Then I put it into a snack size baggie, cut the end and poured a coating over each crust.  I didn’t add this to the other cheesecakes.

I filled the taller cups 3/4 of the way up and the regular cups to the top.  Bake in a preheated oven 350 degrees for 15 – 18 minutes.

For Josh’s I cut 5 Reese’s Peanut Butter cups into pieces and place on top of his cheesecakes.  I melted about 2 tablespoons of chocolate chips and drizzled a little over the top.

For Joe I placed a few Petzel M & M’s over the top and drizzled some salted caramel sauce over top.

Just a little sprinkle of sea salt to make this crazy good!





Mini Cheesecakes with Pretzel Crust

3/4 cup crushed Pretzels
1/4 cup Butter
2 (8 ounce) packages of Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Sour Cream
2 Eggs
1 tablespoon Flour
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1/4 cup Peanut Butter, optional
2 tablespoons Chocolate Chips, optional
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, optional
Pretzel M & M’s, optional
Salted Caramel Sauce, optional

To make the pretzel crust, crush enough pretzels in a food processor to make 3/4 cup.  Melt butter and mix into the preztel crumbs until they are all coated.  Place 1 tablespoon of crumbs into 12 baking cups and bake at 350 for 5 – 7 minutes to set the crust.  Let cool.

Using a stand or hand mixer, blend together the softened cream cheese and sugar together. Add the sour cream, eggs, vanilla and mix well.  Sprinkle in the flour while mixing.  The mixture should be light and creamy.

Fill regular muffin cups to the top.  If you have tall cups, fill 3/4 full.  Bake at 350 for 15 – 18 minutes or until toothpick tested.

When done let cheesecakes cool slightly.  Remove muffin cups to a cooling rack.  Top with any toppings of your choice.

**Note if making Reese’s cheesecake, microwave 1/4 cup peanut butter for 20 seconds and place in a snack size zip lock bag.  Seal and cut the tip of one end and drizzle peanut butte over preztel crust before adding cream cheese mixture.