New Meal Monday: White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake Bites

Typically when it comes to dessert I am much more interested in the taste than the visual presentation, yet, when I volunteered to bring dessert to a family holiday dinner I wanted to step up my game a bit. I was in search for something that felt a little fancy, and for some reason when I started to envision what a ‘fancy’ dessert might be, I got stuck on the idea of making something miniature. I am not entirely sure why I equate tiny with fancy, but it seems to be a recent trend.  A few months ago we went out for a special dinner at a nice place and the dessert we ordered was miniature chocolate donuts and a miniature strawberry milkshake. Now, there is nothing fancy about donuts and milkshakes, but for some reason when you serve them miniature, it is suddenly a trendy and classy dessert. So my search for a “fancy” dessert led me to these Mini White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake Bites. They fit my need for cute and classy in the presentation category, and after trying them, they also get high scores in tastiness! The best part about miniature desserts? You don’t have to feel bad about having more than one! So enjoy one or two (or three) of these tasty, and fancy, cheesecake bites.

Here is what you’ll need:

For the crust

• ¾ cup chocolate cookie crumbs (I used about 12 Oreos with the cream middle removed)
• 3 Tablespoons butter, melted
  
  For the custard
•  3 oz white chocolate chips
• 1/8 cup half and half
• 6 oz cream cheese, almost melted
• 1/8 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

For the raspberry sauce

•  2.5 oz raspberries (fresh or frozen)
• ½ Tablespoon sugar
• ¾ teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 1 ½ tablespoons water

Here’s how you do it:

1. Make the crust - mix cookie crumbs with melted butter in large bowl.
2. Place 1 rounded teaspoon of crumb mixture into 24 lined mini muffin tins. Press down so crust is compact and even along the bottom.
3. Pre-heat oven to 325F.
4. Make raspberry sauce – combine raspberries, sugar and dissolved cornstarch in saucepan and bring to bowl.
5. Stir often, once mixture is thickened remove from heat and set aside.
6. Make custard – melt white chocolate chips and half and half on low heat, stirring often. Once chips have melted, remove from heat.
7. In large bowl, mix together cream cheese (nearly melted) and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg, then add vanilla and then white chocolate mixture.
8. Scoop 1 rounded tablespoon of custard into each mini muffin, on top of the crust. Place ½ teaspoon of raspberry sauce on top and mix around with a thin knife to create a swirl.
9. Bake for 20 minutes then let cool at room temperature. Cover and chill in the fridge until serving.
10. Top with whipped cream and enjoy!
    
    *This recipe makes 24 cheesecake bites, you can easily double it for a larger crowd. You can also freeze any extra bites to enjoy at a later date!