Mini Chocolate Chip Cheesecakes

I’ve made this recipe several times at Christmas, and it’s always a hit. I have found that these cheesecakes perform very well in regular muffin tins – rather than the mini size, making them easier to cut and share.

Ingredients

• For the crust:
• 1 1/3 c graham cracker crumbs
• 1/3 c granulated sugar
• 1/4 c cocoa powder
• 1/3 c butter, melted
• For the filling:
• 2 c mini chocolate chips, divided
• 3 pkg. cream cheese, softened (8 oz each)
• 1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
• 3 large eggs
• 2 t vanilla extract

Method

1. Preheat oven to 300°F
2. Line muffin tins with paper liners or spray with non-stick spray¹.
3. Stir together graham cracker crumbs, sugar, cocoa, and melted butter; press equal portions on bottom of prepared cups.
4. In small saucepan over low heat, melt 1 cup mini chocolate chips.
5. In a large mixer bowl, beat cream cheese well until fluffy. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk and melted chocolate², until smooth.
6. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix well.
7. Spoon batter over prepared crusts, filling about 2/3 full. Sprinkled remaining chips on top of batter.
8. Bake 20 minutes or until just set.
9. Cool completely and refrigerate.
10. Refrigerate leftovers – these keep particularly well in the refrigerator, for about up to a week, but don’t freeze the leftovers, as it will ruin the consistency.

1. Paper or silicon liners work much better than non-stick spray in this recipe and will help keep the cheesecakes intact.
2. Omit the melted chocolate chips in step 5 for vanilla cheesecakes. Typically, I divide the batter at this point and make half with the melted chocolate and half without. This makes the chocolate portion extra chocolatey.