Photos by Aimee Broussard.

In the kitchen: Bite-size mini cheesecakes

The world needs more dessert. If it were up to us, some sort of confection would be served at the end of every meal. But unfortunately, there’s this thing called “calories.” A silver lining: these bite-size mini cheesecakes satisfy your sweet tooth in a nice guilt-free portion. That is, if you can keep yourself from eating the whole platter.

These little cheesecakes à la Aimee Broussard are just as easy to prepare as they are cute. Made with a vanilla wafer crust and ready in about an hour and a half, they’re the perfect dessert to whip up for your next gathering. If you have more than one, we won’t tell.


BITE-SIZED MINI CHEESECAKES

Prep Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 1½ hours
Ingredients:
24 vanilla wafer cookies
1 (8-oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
½ cup sugar
1 egg
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup fruit preserves
Whipped cream topping, store-bought or homemade
Desired fruit for topping
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 mini muffin cups with paper liners. Place 1 vanilla wafer cookie in the bottom of each muffin well.
With an electric mixer on medium-high, or in the bowl of a stand mixer,  beat cream cheese, sugar, egg and vanilla extract for about 2 minutes or until mixture is light and fluffy. Spoon evenly into muffin cups (about 23 full). Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from muffin tin to a wire rack to cool completely. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours before serving.
Just before serving, top each cheesecake with about 1 tsp. fruit preserves, a swirl of whipped cream, and desired fruit. Garnish with mint and sprinkle a bit of powdered sugar, if desired.
Makes 24 mini cheesecakes.