Around the holidays, most of us overindulge in sweets. Within reason, I fully support this. Enjoy. One way to keep this “within reason” is to, of course, control portions. This mini Eggnog Cheesecake is the perfect solution. Prepared in cupcake tins, it’s easy to control how much you are eating. (If you eat two “cupcakes,” that’s on you.) This is also a great solution for a buffet set-up, negating the need for precarious cake-cutting situations or extra serving utensils.
Some people also fear the often-inevitable cracked-on-top cheesecake. Not only does the small size of these individual cheesecakes reduce the likelihood of that happening, but the dulce de leche topping will mask any flaws. So no worries!
Mini Eggnog Cheesecakes
Ingredients
Crust
1 ¼ c graham cracker crumbs
2 T sugar
5 T butter, melted
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of cinnamon
Cheesecake
3 (8 oz) packages of cream cheese, room temperature
1 c sugar
3 T flour
1 c eggnog, room temperature
½ t nutmeg
½ t cinnamon
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 t vanilla extract
½ c dulce de leche
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place cupcake liners in cupcake/muffin tins.
- Crush graham crackers, and in a medium bowl combine all crust ingredients, mixing until well combined and moist.
- Put 1 T of crumb mixture into each cupcake liner. Press to create a firm base – I used the bottom of a glass that fit perfectly inside the cupcake liner.
- With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar, flour, eggnog, nutmeg, and cinnamon, mixing until well combined
- In a small bowl, whisk together eggs and vanilla extract. Add to cream cheese mixture and stir in by hand.
- Fill muffin cups almost to the top with the cheesecake batter. This will be approximately ¼ c each.
- Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until the centers are firm but still slightly wobbly.
- Turn oven off and open the door, leaving it ajar (I placed a folded pot holder in the jamb). Keep cheesecakes in the oven, untouched, for another 60 minutes.
- Remove from oven and cool completely before refrigerating.
- Serve topped with dulce de leche. (It helps to warm the dulce de leche to get a nice dollop on top, just zap it in the microwave for 30 seconds.) You can buy dulce de leche in the baking aisle pre-made, or make your own with condensed milk. I prefer the slow cooker method, but there are several ways to do this.
Sweet Jumbles 
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