Description
Small, individual cheesecake bites decorated like miniature graveyards for Halloween.
Ingredients
Scale
- 12 graham crackers
- 3 tablespoons melted butter
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- Chocolate sandwich cookies (about 12, for ‘dirt’)
- Chocolate wafer cookies (for ‘tombstones’)
- Black food coloring (optional, for darker ‘dirt’)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
- Crush the graham crackers finely. Mix the crumbs with the melted butter. Press about 1 tablespoon of the mixture into the bottom of each muffin liner. Bake the crusts for 5 minutes. Let them cool slightly.
- In a medium bowl, beat the softened cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg yolk and vanilla extract. Mix in the sour cream until just combined.
- Spoon the cheesecake batter evenly over the cooled crusts, filling each liner about two-thirds full.
- Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until the edges are set but the centers still jiggle slightly. Turn off the oven, crack the door open, and let the cheesecakes cool in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove and cool completely on a wire rack.
- Prepare the topping: Place the chocolate sandwich cookies in a plastic bag and crush them into fine crumbs (this is your ‘dirt’). If you want darker dirt, mix in a drop of black food coloring.
- Once the cheesecakes are cool, top each one with a layer of the cookie crumbs.
- Use a small knife to carefully cut the chocolate wafer cookies into rectangular ‘tombstones’. Insert one or two ‘tombstones’ into the cookie crumb topping of each bite.
- Chill the cheesecake bites for at least 2 hours before serving.
Notes
- You can use a toothpick dipped in melted chocolate to write ‘RIP’ on the wafer tombstones before inserting them.
- For a smoother texture, make sure your cream cheese is fully softened before mixing.
- Prep Time: 20 min
- Cook Time: 25 min
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bite
- Calories: 220
- Sugar: 15
- Sodium: 150
- Fat: 14
- Saturated Fat: 8
- Unsaturated Fat: 6
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 20
- Fiber: 1
- Protein: 4
- Cholesterol: 45
Keywords: cheesecake bites, Halloween dessert, graveyard, individual cheesecake, graham cracker crust, no-bake topping