Santa Hat Mini Cheesecakes
These Santa Hat Mini Cheesecakes are an easy, festive and tasty single serving Christmas dessert. Perfect for all your holiday gatherings!
A FUN SANTA MINI CHEESECAKE RECIPE
Holiday season is upon us and I can’t help but share all my fun and tasty desserts with you! These Santa Hat Mini Cheesecakes are an easy and tasty recipe that makes a huge batch and are a great single serving dessert! Topped with whipped cream and strawberries these create a fun Santa-themed treat that everyone will love, especially kids! They are perfect for gatherings!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
Having the cream cheese at room temperature prevents lumps in the batter.
Make sure that you do not over beat the cream cheese mixture. This will add air into the batter which causes the cheesecakes to crack. Mix on low.
No you could use vanilla wafers. Just place one wafer in the bottom of each of the liners before adding the cheesecake filling.
No. Cool Whip whipped topping or canned whipped cream like Reddi Whip work great too!
These can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator where they will keep for up to 5 days. These can also be frozen. Freeze cheesecakes without decorating. Place the baked cheesecakes in a freezer-safe container separated by parchment paper where they will keep for up to 2 months. To defrost, remove to the refrigerator overnight until thawed. Decorate and enjoy.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (FULL RECIPE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST)
- graham cracker crumbs
- salted butter
- cream cheese
- granulated sugar
- eggs
- sour cream
- vanilla extract
- heavy whipping cream
- powdered sugar
- strawberries
HOW TO MAKE SANTA HAT MINI CHEESECAKES:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a mini muffin pan with mini cupcake liners. In a mixing bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs and butter until fully combined (should look like wet sand.).
Scoop about 1 Tablespoon of graham cracker crumb mixture into each muffin tin. Using your fingertips, press the mixture into an even layer until it’s evenly packed. Bake the crust for 5 minutes. Allow it to cool on the countertop while you prepare the cheesecake batter. Reduce the oven to 325°F.
In a large mixing bowl, combine cream cheese and sugar until well incorporated using a hand mixer on low speed.
Add in eggs, sour cream, and vanilla extract.
Beat for about 1 minute until smooth.
Scoop a generous teaspoon of the cream cheese filling into each cupcake liner until it lines right at the top of the cupcake liner. Bake in the oven for 15-17 minutes. Let cool. Proceed with baking the rest of the cheesecakes since you’ll have to make these in batches unless you have several mini muffin tins.
Meanwhile, in a medium mixing bowl, beat together heavy whipping cream and powdered sugar with a handheld mixer. Beat until it forms a peak. Transfer the whipping cream into a piping bag.
Pipe the cream onto the middle of the cheesecake cups.
Place strawberry (with the end cut off flat style) on top of the whipping cream and gently push it down. Top off the tip of the strawberry with whipping cream.
Refrigerate overnight.
WANT MORE DELICIOUS RECIPES? YOU MUST TRY THESE!
Santa Hat Mini Cheesecakes
Ingredients
To make the crust:
- 1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs
- 10 tablespoons salted butter, melted
To make cream cheese filling:
- 2 (8 ounce) blocks cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
To make whipping cream: (can use canned whipped cream or Cool Whip)
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
Hats:
- whole strawberries, with tops removed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a mini muffin pan with mini cupcake liners.
- In a mixing bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs and butter until fully combined (should look like wet sand.)
- Scoop about 1 Tablespoon of graham cracker crumb mixture into each muffin tin. Using your fingertips, press the mixture into an even layer until it’s evenly packed.
- Bake the crust for 5 minutes. Allow it to cool while you prepare the cheesecake batter.
- Reduce the oven to 325°F.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine cream cheese and sugar until well incorporated using a hand mixer on low speed.
- Add in eggs, sour cream, and vanilla extract.
- Beat for about 1 minute until smooth.
- Scoop a generous teaspoon of the cream cheese filling into each cupcake liner until it lines right at the top of the cupcake liner.
- Bake in the oven for 15-17 minutes. Let cool. Proceed with making the rest of the cheesecakes since you'll have to make these in batches unless you have several mini muffin tins.
- Meanwhile, in a medium mixing bowl, beat together heavy whipping cream and powdered sugar with a handheld mixer. Beat until it forms stiff peaks. Transfer the whipping cream into a piping bag.
- Pipe the cream onto the middle of the cheesecake cups.
- Place strawberry (flat end side where you cut the top off) on top of the whipping cream and gently push it down.
- Top off the tip of the strawberry with whipping cream. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Notes
- Make sure that your cream cheese is at room temperature.
- These can be frozen, see above on how to do that.
- Vanilla wafers can be used in place of the graham cracker crust.
- Mix on low, this helps not incorporate air which helps to prevent cracking.
- Cheesecakes can be made ahead of time and placed in the refrigerator. When ready to serve, prepare the strawberries, make the whipped cream then proceed to top each cheesecake with whipped cream and strawberries to make Santa hats.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.