Easy Mini Cheesecakes with Raspberry Compote
Easy Mini Cheesecakes with Raspberry Compote are made with a chocolate cookie crust, creamy vanilla cheesecake and topped with sweet and fresh raspberries.
Who doesn’t love cheesecake? And in miniature form? Please, let me introduce you if you’ve never met: Easy Mini Cheesecakes with Raspberry Compote. To keep it simple, they are simply divine.
We had friends over the other night for dinner and one of them was gluten-free. I hadn’t ever made a gluten-free dessert before, so I set out to make one. My Google search didn’t quite turn up the results that I wanted, so I figured why not make one up?
I love cheesecake. All the different flavors of cheesecake. All the toppings. All of it – so good!
Typically when I make a cheesecake, I make the crust out of Oreo’s. Sadly, those aren’t gluten-free, so I thought I had to go back to the drawing board. But, turns out there was an easier solution down the gluten-free aisle at my local grocery store.
And then I found KinniKinnick KinniToos Chocolate Vanilla Sandwich Creme Cookies. It’s a mouthful, I know, but an absolutely delicious mouthful! These cookies are so good, I just may prefer them to Oreo’s!
To Gluten or Not?
This dessert is great because, depending on the type of cookies you buy, you can make it gluten-free or not. If you don’t need or want it gluten-free, you can just make the crust with Oreos instead. But if you or someone you know can’t eat gluten, this is a great recipe to keep in your back pocket!
Easy Mini cheesecakes
Why make mini cheesecakes instead of one whole one? Well, for starters, I just really enjoy making mini desserts. #1. They are adorable. #2. People tend to think you worked super hard on them but they are actually easier to make (we are talking about cheesecake here – have you ever tried to make a whole cheesecake?! It’s hard – or is that just me)?! #3. You can eat more – they ARE mini after all!
If you own (or decide to buy) my favorite silicone muffin tin, it will make it soooo much easier to make this recipe! You don’t even need to spray or grease the muffin tin prior to putting in the cheesecake. Then, once they are cooked, you literally push them up from the bottom and they just pop right out – it’s magic!
Whenever I bake these mini cheesecakes, I used this silicone muffin tin. It works so well – I didn’t even have to spray it and the cheesecakes came out clean! After letting them cool, I ran a knife around the edge and then just popped them out – so easy. If you aren’t in the market for a new muffin tin, I would recommend using cupcake liners so that you don’t have to spend a bunch of time washing your muffin tin and you can just spend your time eating your delicious cheesecakes!
Easy mini cheesecakes with raspberry compote
I am a BIG fan of fruit topping on cheesecake. I just love the combination of the chocolate cookie crust, the creamy cheesecake and the fresh fruit – so good! You can use raspberries like in this recipe, or strawberries, blueberries, mango or blackberries. That isn’t an exhaustive list of fruits, either. Be creative!
If you want to have a little bit of fruit juice with the fruit, just add a little sugar to the fruit. This helps to bring out the juices (and, obviously, makes the fruit a little sweeter).
Cheesecake Toppings
Now, don’t think for one second that you have to stop at just fruit. Cheesecake (vanilla cheesecake, specifically), has such a mild flavor that it makes it a great vehicle for just about any kind of topping.
You could go in the direction of candy toppings. The options are pretty endless there – M&M’s, Snickers, Twix, Butterfinger, Kit Kat the list goes on. If you need to these cheesecakes gluten-free, just make sure to choose a topping that is also gluten-free!
Another delicious combination that isn’t store bought candy is chocolate, caramel and pecans. Traditional but delicious.
Looking for more delicious desserts?
- Almond Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Ice Cream Cookie Sandwiches
- Copycat Orange Julius
- The Best Chocolate Mint Cookies
Tips for Involving Kids
- Let them help you measure all the ingredients.
- Have them crush the chocolate cookies (real shocker here, this is a fan favorite job)!
- Let them help you with your mixer. If you can’t tell from the above picture, Will absolutely LOVES this part!
- Have them use their little fingers to push the cookie crust into the muffin tins. This is great because it is kind of hard to fit my fingers in the little tins!
- If you don’t mind the mess, have them scoop the raspberry compote onto the mini cheesecakes and by all means, let them sample their hard work!!
Easy Mini Cheesecakes with Raspberry Compote
Equipment
Ingredients
Mini Cheesecakes
- 15 Oreos OR Kinnikinnick Gluten-Free Kini-Toos Chocolate Sandwich Creme Cookies (gluten-free option)
- 2 Tbsp butter melted
- 16 oz cream cheese softened
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- ½ cup white sugar
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
Raspberry Compote
- 1 cup raspberries fresh or frozen, crushed
- 1 Tbsp white sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Using a food processor, pulse the cookies until fine.15 Oreos OR Kinnikinnick Gluten-Free Kini-Toos Chocolate Sandwich Creme Cookies (gluten-free option)
- Place the cookies in a bowl and combine with the melted butter.2 Tbsp butter
- Using a silicone muffin tin (or muffin liners in a metal muffin tin), divide the cookie mixture evenly and press firmly into the bottom of the tin.
- In a separate bowl, beat the cream cheese, eggs, whipping cream, sugar and vanilla extract until combined.16 oz cream cheese, 2 eggs, ½ cup heavy whipping cream, ½ cup white sugar, 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- Divide the cream cheese mixture evenly into the muffin tins and bake for 20 minutes or until the center is almost set.
- While the mini cheesecakes are baking, combine the crushed raspberries and sugar to make the raspberry compote.1 cup raspberries, 1 Tbsp white sugar
- Once the centers of the cheesecakes are almost set, take them out of the oven and let cool for at least 15 minutes.
- Refrigerate before serving. When ready to serve, add the raspberry compote on top!
