September 18, 2023
Review RecipeMini Apple Cheesecakes
Table of Contents
Mini apple cheesecakes pack all the creamy perfection of a rich dessert into bite-sized confections. These cute little cheesecakes are made with a graham cracker crust, creamy cheesecake filling, delicious apple pie filling, and a warm, spiced streusel topping.
Mini Apple Cheesecakes Ingredients
Savor the fusion of creamy and crunchy textures in these apple pie cheesecakes.
This dessert harmoniously combines comforting flavors and textures that highlight all things autumn into a bite-size treat.
You’ll need:
For The Cheesecakes:
- 1½ cups of graham cracker crumbs
- ½ cup of unsalted butter, melted
- ½ teaspoon of salt
- 16 ounces of cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 cup of granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- ⅓ cup of sour cream
- 1 tablespoon of all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 1 (21-ounce) can of apple pie filling (I used Duncan Hines/Comstock brand)
For The Streusel Topping:
- ¾ cup of all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup of granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup of light brown sugar
- ¼ cup of finely chopped walnuts
- 1 tablespoon of baking powder
- ½ teaspoon of cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon of salt
- ¼ cup of unsalted butter, melted
- 1 tablespoon of heavy cream
Substitutions And Additions
APPLE PIE FILLING: Using canned apple pie filling makes these desserts very quick and easy to put together.
Some brands, however, do use very large slices of apples for their filling, making Step eight very necessary to keep these easy to eat.
However, you can use a homemade apple pie filling with smaller pieces of apples (you would need approximately two cups), or you can just place one apple filling slice onto each serving.
NUTS: For those who either can not have nuts or do not like them, you can certainly leave the finely chopped walnuts out of the streusel topping, and it will still be delicious. You can also substitute finely chopped pecans for the walnuts in the recipe.
CRUST: For another really quick and easy shortcut with this recipe, I like to use the box of premade graham cracker crumbs (I used the Keebler brand) to make the simple graham cracker crust.
You can also crush your own fine crumbs in a food processor if you prefer. You would need about 10 full-sized graham crackers to get the 1½ cups required for this recipe.
How To Make This Mini Apple Cheesecakes Recipe
Much easier to make than a full-sized cheesecake. Let’s have a look at the steps to making these delightful treats.
STEP ONE: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two standard-sized muffin pans with 18 parchment cupcake/muffin papers.
OUR RECIPE DEVELOPER SAYS
Parchment or foil-lined wrappers are the easiest to peel from the cheesecake filling.
STEP TWO: In a medium bowl, stir together the graham cracker crumbs, melted unsalted butter, and salt until well combined and the crumbs stick together.
STEP THREE: Press 1½ tablespoons of the graham cracker crumb mixture evenly into the bottoms of each of the paper-lined cups. Set aside.
STEP FOUR: In a large bowl, using a hand mixer on medium speed, beat the cream cheese and granulated sugar for one to two minutes or until smooth.
Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure that all the ingredients get evenly incorporated.
PRO TIP:
Make sure you are using room temperature cream cheese so that you don’t end up with lumps in your cheesecake batter.
STEP FIVE: Add the eggs, one at a time, to the cream cheese mixture and beat just until each egg is incorporated.
You do not want to overmix and add too much air to your cheesecake filling.
STEP SIX: Stir in the sour cream, all-purpose flour, and vanilla extract just until smooth, and all ingredients are fully incorporated.
STEP SEVEN: Spoon two tablespoons of the cheesecake filling into each of the graham cracker crumb-filled muffin cups.
STEP EIGHT: Spoon your apple pie filling onto a large cutting board and roughly chop the larger pieces of apples (you do not need to do this if your brand has small chunks instead of full-sized slices).
Transfer the chopped apple pie filling into a bowl to make it easier to get scoops of filling to fill the muffin cups.
STEP NINE: Spoon 1 to 1½ tablespoons of the chopped apple pie filling into the center of each of the cheesecake-filled muffin cups. Set aside.
STEP TEN: To make your streusel topping, add to a medium mixing bowl the all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, finely chopped walnuts, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Stir to combine.
STEP ELEVEN: Drizzle the melted butter into the dry ingredients and gently stir around until most of the butter has been absorbed and large crumbs start to form.
STEP TWELVE: Add the heavy cream and stir to ensure that all the dry ingredients are absorbed and you have a crumble mixture with small and large crumbs.
STEP THIRTEEN: Add 1½ to 2 tablespoons of the streusel topping to the top of the cheesecakes.
PRO TIP:
The ingredients will fill the muffin tins to the top. You can press down the streusel just slightly to keep it contained on top of each cheesecake.
STEP FOURTEEN: Bake for 20 to 23 minutes or just until the streusel topping is very lightly golden and the cheesecake is set.
STEP FIFTEEN: Allow the mini apple cheesecakes to cool on the counter in the pan for 30 minutes.
Transfer the pan to the refrigerator to cool completely for an additional 2½ to 3 hours or until the cheesecake layer has fully set up and chilled.
PRO TIP:
For best results, the individual cheesecakes do need to chill thoroughly so that they can firm up enough to handle. Keep them in the muffin tin to chill; it is much easier to remove them from the pan.
How To Serve
These delicious treats will satisfy your sweet tooth. You can serve them straight from the refrigerator, or you can allow them to come to room temperature for about 30 minutes before serving.
These would be a wonderful addition to any dessert buffet for a party or for quick and easy weeknight treats.
If you really want to make these mini apple pie cheesecakes an over-the-top treat, you can lightly drizzle each one with caramel sauce.
The caramel sauce that is in the squirt bottle would work great for this. Make sure you do not add the caramel topping until after the mini apple cheesecakes have chilled fully.
Other apple desserts that we recommend you try include our apple enchiladas and apple slab pie.
MORE APPLE RECIPES
Storage
We have a few helpful tips for storing these little treats so that you can enjoy them later.
IN THE FRIDGE: You can store these mini apple cheesecakes in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to one week.
IN THE FREEZER: These mini desserts freeze and thaw very well. Store them in the freezer in an airtight container for up to three months.
This mini apple cheesecakes recipe has a delightfully creamy filling, sandwiched between a crisp sweet cookie crust, juicy apple pie filling, and cinnamon streusel topping. So many favorite flavors are packed all into these adorable little packages.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can prep your cheesecake ahead of time and wrap it in plastic wrap before storing it in the freezer. Thaw in the fridge overnight when you are ready to serve it.
If the center looks set but still jiggles when you move the pan, your cheesecake is done.
To get the cream cheese to room temperature quickly, cut the cream cheese into cubes and place it on a plate for about 20 minutes.
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Mini Apple Cheesecakes
Ingredients
- 1½ cups graham cracker crumbs
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 16 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- ⅓ cup sour cream
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 21 ounces apple pie filling (I used Duncan Hines/Comstock brand)
Streusel Topping
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar
- ¼ cup walnuts, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 standard-sized muffin pans with 18 parchment cupcake/muffin papers. These peel off better than the paper variety for this dessert.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the graham cracker crumbs, melted unsalted butter, and salt until well combined, and the crumbs stick together.
- Press 1½ tablespoons of the graham cracker crumb mixture evenly into the bottoms of each of the muffin cups. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, using a handheld mixer on medium speed, beat the cream cheese and granulated sugar for 1 to 2 minutes or until smooth. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure that all the ingredients get evenly incorporated.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, to the cream cheese mixture and beat just until each egg is incorporated. You do not want to overmix and add too much air into your cheesecake filling.
- Stir in the sour cream, all-purpose flour, and vanilla extract just until smooth, and all ingredients are fully incorporated.
- Spoon 2 tablespoons of the cheesecake filling into each of the graham cracker crumb-filled muffin cups.
- Spoon your apple pie filling onto a large cutting board and roughly chop the larger pieces of apples (you do not need to do this if your brand has small chunks instead of full-sized slices), then transfer the chopped apple pie filling into a bowl to make it easier to get scoops of filling to fill the muffin cups.
- Spoon 1 to 1½ tablespoons of the chopped apple pie filling into the center of each of the cheesecake-filled muffin cups. Set aside.
- To make your streusel topping, add to a medium mixing bowl the all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, finely chopped walnuts, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Stir to combine.
- Drizzle the melted butter into the dry ingredients and gently stir around until most of the butter has been absorbed, and large crumbs start to form.
- Add the heavy cream and stir to ensure that all the dry ingredients are absorbed, and you have a crumble mixture with small and large crumbs.
- Top each of the mini apple cheesecakes with 1½ to 2 tablespoons of the streusel topping.
- Bake for 20 to 23 minutes or just until the streusel topping is very lightly golden and the cheesecake is set.
- Allow the mini apple cheesecakes to cool on the counter in the pan for 30 minutes, then transfer the pan to the refrigerator to cool completely for an additional 2½ to 3 hours or until the cheesecake layer has fully set up and chilled.
Notes
- Parchment or foil-lined wrappers are the easiest to peel from the cheesecake filling.
- Make sure you are using room temperature cream cheese so that you don’t end up with lumps in your cheesecake batter.
- The ingredients will fill the muffin tins to the top. You can press down the streusel just slightly to keep it contained on top of each cheesecake.
- For best results, the individual cheesecakes do need to chill thoroughly so that they can firm up enough to handle. Keep them in the muffin tin to chill; it is much easier to remove them from the pan.
Comments
Pamela Howell says
JUST THIS PAST FRIDAY, I MADE A FRESH APPLE BUNDT CAKE WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING. THIS RECIPE MAKES ME THINK OF IT. MUST TRY SOON.๐
Crystal Cook says
These would make an excellent fessert for a Boy Scout meeting
lynn Doane says
Looks good. Never tried with apples before. Interesting idea.
Kyleigh says
This looks super yummy!!!!
Gabriela B. says
Sweet caramel treat