Cheesecake. A delightful and creamy dessert, that has the ability to turn your day into the perfect one. Although, many are horrified at the task of making one, it is actually pretty simple. The wait can be quite painful though, as you have to leave it in the fridge overnight. Patience is definitely one of the top lessons learned after baking one of these. There’s just something special though about making mini versions of anything, especially cheesecake. They are best shared by two after a meal or can be eaten alone for a filling dessert. Pecan flavored desserts are a classic so I ventured to make a mini cheesecake in this flavor and it was a success!

Printable Recipe here

Chocolate Cookie Crust

Length of Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 18 Oreos, without the creme filling
• 4 tablespoons of butter, melted (1/2 stick)

Directions

1. Crush the chocolate cookies in a food processor until they are fine crumbs
2. Add the crumbs to a small bowl along with the melted butter
3. Mix well and press the crumb mixture in your spring form pan evenly
4. Refrigerate the crumb lined springform pan while you make the cheesecake mixture

Chocolate Pecan Cheesecake Filling

Length of Time: 20 min preparing, 1 hr 35 min in oven, 1 hr cooling, & overnight in fridge

Ingredients

• 32 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/3 cup corn syrup
• 3 tablespoons corn starch
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 12 ounces milk chocolate chips, melted
• 1/3 cup pecans, chopped

Directions

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese until smooth
2. Stir in the brown sugar, corn starch, and corn syrup
3. Add the eggs, one egg a time, mixing well after each addition
4. Stir in the sour cream and vanilla extract
5. Lastly, mix in the melted chocolate and chopped pecans
6. Pour the filling into the chocolate crust
7. Fill a large baking dish with an inch of water
8. Cover the outside of the springform pan with aluminum foil so water can’t enter and place in the water bath
9. Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees
10. Reduce the heat to 250 and bake for an hour and 20 minutes (or until the center is almost set but jiggles slightly when you shake it)
11. Wait for it to cool and refrigerate overnight before serving

Toppings

Sprinkle chopped pecans and drizzle melted chocolate over the finished cheesecake

Tips

• For the crust, any type of cookie will do. Sometimes when I run out of Oreos, I will make half of the crumbs from graham cookies or even animal crackers!
• If you are not a fan of chocolate, simply do not mix in the melted chocolate chips
• You can make a marbled version of this cheesecake (pictured below is one that I made- I split the cheesecake filling in half and flavored half with chocolate and left half of it vanilla flavored, and then I filled the mini springform pan with both mixes)
• For other combinations, you can try making a Nutella flavored cheesecake but subbing Nutella for the melted chocolate chips
• You can order the mini springform pans from Amazon or get them from a local store like Target

What’s your favorite kind of cheesecake? What are some unique variations that you have tried?

Feel free to share any tips you have learned along the way while making cheesecake :)