- 12
- 20 mins
- 35 mins
Ingredients
- TOPPING:
- 1 cup vanilla wafer crumbs
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 1 pound pitted canned or frozen tart red cherries
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- Red food coloring, optional
Preparation
Step 1
In a small bowl, combine crumbs and butter. Press gently onto the bottom of 12 paper-lined muffin cups. In a large bowl, combine the cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice and vanilla. Add egg; beat on low speed just until combined. Spoon into crusts.
Bake at 375° for 12-15 minutes or until centers are almost set. Cool completely.
Drain cherries, reserving 1/2 cup juice in a saucepan; discard remaining juice. To reserved juice, add the cherries, sugar, cornstarch and food coloring if desired. Bring to a boil; cook for 1 minute or until thickened. Cool; spoon over cheesecakes. Chill for at least 2 hours.
Yield: 12 servings.
Test Kitchen tips
Give these a sweet-salty spin and use crushed pretzels instead of vanilla wafers.
Replace the cherries with strawberries to celebrate warm-weather produce making its yearly debut.
Originally published as Mini Cherry Cheesecakes in Taste of Home
February/March 1995, p8