White Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake Cups

Cool peppermint, creamy white chocolate, and delicious cheesecake top an Oreo cookie crust. I don't think these mini cheesecakes could get any better. Perfectly bite sized, it's dangerous how easy they are to eat!

I'm a big cheesecake fan, but not necessarily a fan of the process of baking one. I've tested a few recipes over the past year and haven't found a perfect one for the blog just yet. Luckily, mini cheesecakes are not nearly as challenging to perfect! I'm talking in regards to baking time, making sure the cheesecake is "set", as well as fully cooked, etc. 

These babies bake up perfectly in 15 minutes flat! Since they're so small there is no need to fuss over the centers being under-baked, not set, yadda yadda. They just work! And they're amazing. Not to mention so easy and fast to make! If you make one of my recipes this holiday, let it be this! 

The crust is simply crushed up Oreos and melted butter packed into the bottom of cupcake liners, and baked for a few minutes. The cheesecake base is classic and simple. I mixed it up and then added in some melted white chocolate and peppermint extract. Simply spoon it in over the cookie crust, and bake for 15 minutes! I let them cool for about an hour, and then refrigerated them overnight. They make a great Monday morning breakfast, if you ask me..

White Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake Cups

Recipe by Julia Hampton

Yield: 12 mini cheesecake cups

Ingredients

• 10 oreo cookies
• 2 T. melted butter
• 8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 tea. peppermint extract
• 4 oz. white chocolate
• crushed candy canes to sprinkle as garnish

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a muffin tin with 12 cupcake liners.
2. Make crust by crushing up oreo cookies and mixing with butter.
3. Divide crust into the 12 cups evenly with a spoon, and use your fingers to press it down.
4. Bake crust in the oven for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.
5. Mix together cream cheese, egg, sugar, and peppermint extract until smooth and there are no clumps.
6. Melt white chocolate in a double boiler just until melted.
7. Slowly mix the melted white chocolate into the cream cheese mixture a little at a time, until fully mixed in.
8. Spoon the batter into the muffin tin evenly among the 12 cups, about 2 Tablespoons of batter each.
9. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes, or until they are set.
10. Let cool, and keep refrigerated.
11. Top with crushed candy canes and enjoy!