Mini Turtle Cheesecakes
Mini Turtle Cheesecakes are the perfect bite sized dessert for holiday parties or any special celebration.
Cheesecake is my all- time favorite dessert. Mini desserts are the best for the holidays. Then you can have a bite or two of every dessert.
I’ve always been a fan of turtle candies, the combination of caramel, chocolate and pecans is just unbeatable and makes the perfect topping to these mini cheesecakes!
I am a total fanatic for that combination just like in my Salted Caramel Cookie Bars and my Caramel Pecan Brownie Sundae!
This post is sponsored by The Partnership for Food Safety Education. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
PFSE provides simple actions you can take to reduce the risk of food borne illness on The Story of Your Dinner site.
Click over and watch the video with a behind- the- scenes look at the process your food takes from the farm to the local supermarket to your kitchen.
We all play an important part in food safety. PFSE has everything you need to know from food preparation, clean up and proper food storage. I’ve been cooking a very long time and still found it very helpful.
Cheesecake seems like a finicky dessert to make but these mini cheesecakes are not. They are simple and with the amazing turtle topping, you don’t even have to worry about cracks or imperfections.
How to Make Mini Turtle Cheesecakes
I start with graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter for the crust.
I stir the mixture together with a fork until it’s well combined.
The crust is spooned into the bottom of a mini cheesecake pan (it has handy removable bottoms to make it easy to remove the cheesecakes).
I add softened cream cheese, sugar and eggs to my mixer bowl and beat it well.
I beat this mixture until well combined.
See how smooth and creamy it is? That’s just what you want. I used my cookie scoop to add the batter over the crust and baked them for about 25 minutes.
Not perfect, they are cracked and they may settle with a little indention in the top. That is totally fine, it just means more room for the ooey gooey caramel!
When I removed the cheesecakes from the oven, I popped this cookie sheet of pecans in to toast. Toasted pecans are irresistible in my book!
I removed them from the pan and let them chill in the fridge before I topped them. You can do this just before serving or you can add the toppings and just refrigerate until you are ready to serve them.
The toppings are simple dulce de leche caramel, chocolate sauce (made with melted chocolate chips) and toasted pecans.
Spoon the caramel over the cooled cheesecakes and top with chopped pecans.
Top each with a dollop of the chocolate sauce and a pecan half for garnish. Aren’t they gorgeous? I have to say they taste even better than they look. They were gone in a flash at our house. Seriously, GONE!
Don’t be intimidated by cheesecake, it’s really quite simple and my favorite dessert for holiday entertaining!
More Mini Cheesecake Recipes to Try:
- Caramel Apple Mini Cheesecakes
- Mini Mudslide Cheesecakes
- Mini Chocolate Cheesecakes
- Mini Chocolate Chip Cheesecakes
Mini Turtle Cheesecakes
Ingredients
For the Crust:
- 1 cup graham cracker crumbs about 8 whole crackers, crushed
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup melted butter
For the Cheesecake:
- 2 8 oz packages cream cheese softened
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
For the Turtle Topping:
- 3 oz pecans toasted
- 1 cup semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips
- 2 tablespoons whole milk
- 1 cup dulce de leche caramel
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325ºF.
- In a small bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, 1/4 cup sugar and melted butter.
- Spoon into cheesecake pan and set aside.
- Add cream cheese, sugar and eggs to a mixer bowl. Wash your hands after handling the raw eggs. Beat 3 minutes at medium- high speed, stopping to scrape sides and bottom about halfway through.
- Add vanilla and heavy whipping cream. Continue to beat 2 minutes at medium-high heat.
- Scoop filling over crust. Bake for 25 minutes and make sure cheesecakes are set on top.
- Remove from oven to a wire rack to cool to room temperature.
- Run a sharp knife around edges of cheesecakes and carefully remove from pan and place on a serving dish. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until chilled.
- Place pecans on a baking sheet and bake for 7-10 minutes or until lightly toasted. Set aside.
- Reserve 24 pecans for garnish. Chop remaining pecans and set aside.
- Add chocolate chips and milk to a microwave safe bowl and heat in 30 second intervals, stirring in between until chocolate is melted and smooth.
- Top each cheesecake with caramel, pecans and chocolate sauce. Place half a pecan on each cheesecake for garnish.
- Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Notes
A special thanks goes out to Cargill, Frozen Food Foundation and Costco Wholesale for sponsoring this campaign.
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It’s a perfect recipe! <3 So cute, too 😉