Mini Cheesecake Cookies
These easy mini cheesecake cookies have been a holiday staple in my family forever! Nilla wafers are topped with cheesecake batter and cherry pie filling. A perfect bite-size treat!
It’s Christmas cookie time!
I carved out just enough time after getting the boys to bed on Friday night to whip up one of my all-time favorite Christmas recipes – these easy mini cheesecakes! I am such a sucker for cheesecake, so it’s no surprise that this recipe – one of my mom’s oldest and most popular – had always been one of my favorites as a kid. I guess my cheesecake infatuation started from a young age!
Just picture little 8-year-old me going bananas over these little cheesecakes. I was insane about them then, and still am now. These little cheesecake bites were one of three cookies I looked for on every cookie tray (along with buckeyes and peanut butter blossoms), and I always, always ate precisely one more than I really should have (oops!).
These are one of the easiest cookies to throw together, which makes them perfect for someone who needs to squeeze in baking around naps and bedtimes.
All you need to do is grab your mini muffin pans, line them with some paper cups, drop a Nilla wafer in the bottom of each one, then mix together the cheesecake batter (which takes less than 2 minutes), fill the cups, and pop them in the oven!
(Then clean up and get to the couch in enough time to do a little Netflix binging before bed!)
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Once the mini cheesecakes are cooled and chilled for a bit, pop open your favorite can of cherry pie filling (or grab a jar of homemade from your stash), and top each little cheesecake with a dollop of the pie filling.
Then take a bite… And another bite… And then another. Speaking from experience, obviously.
For a cheesecake lover like myself, these little cheesecake bites are the next best thing to a slice of regular ol’ cheesecake.
In my world, no holiday cookie tray is complete without a decent representation of these mini cheesecake cookies (but don’t leave those trays unattended, because I will eat them alllllll).
Q: What do you get most excited to see on a Christmas cookie tray?
Three years ago: Peanut Butter Swirl Chocolate Bark
Four years ago: Homemade Torrone
Mini Cheesecake Cookies
Ingredients
- 40 vanilla wafers
- 16 ounce (453.59 g) package cream cheese, at room temperature
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Cherry pie filling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line two miniature muffin pans with paper liners (you will only need 40, so leave 8 cups empty). Place one Nilla wafer in the bottom of each mini muffin well. Set aside.
- Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat together the cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix in the vanilla extract.
- Divide the batter evenly among each cup. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until the edges and top appear set.
- Cool the cheesecakes completely in the pan, then transfer to an airtight container and chill for at least 2 hours. Top with a small amount of cherry pie filling. Refrigerate until ready to serve. The mini cheesecakes should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
This recipe was originally published on December 22, 2010.
They’re the cuttest ever !!!!
I love these! My grandma used to make them all the time for us!
RE: Jordan – I’ve made them before in a normal sized muffin pan. They’re just as good!
I wonder if these would still come out well in a normal-sized muffin pan? I don’t have a miniature one unfortunately, but the recipe looks amazing!
Jordan – I’ve never made them in regular-sized muffin pans, but I don’t see why not! You’ll get less of course and you’ll need to increase the baking time, but yum more cheesecake :)
I was searching through different recipes and found one with the tollhouse cookie dough at the bottom and the other with the Nilla. I used regular size, not mini and bought the mini Tollhouse cookie that were in little blocks that you can break apart to bake. Easy, so I thought. Well, I prebaked them for about 7 mins per someone’s suggestion but they didn’t spread very well, then the final product actually stuck to the paper so we had to bite the cookie off of the paper! LOL They were delish but I think I’ll give yours a whirl, Michelle! Nillas sound easier!
I make these exact same ones! But i use reduced fat/fatfree cream cheese to keep is healthy. I also make a chocolate version by adding some melted bittersweet chocolate to the batter and chocolate Nilla Wafers! mmm :)
I was planning on making these today, but am now in a bit of a situation.
The Nilla wafers don’t seem to fit in the mini-muffin liners that I purchased because they are too large. And then in the average size muffin liner they are too small.
Did anyone else have this problem?
that’s what i was thinking too! maybe they sell mini nilla wafers or something?
They do sell mini Nilla wafers, but you could also just break the wafers in half if they’re not quite fitting. Somehow the Nillas fit absolutely perfectly in my pan – I have the Calphalon non-stick mini muffin pan.
My goodness, you’re right, these are amazing! I hope you don’t mind, I made them and shared on my blog – giving you all the credit of course. Thank you, thank you!
BTW – I love your blog!
looks wonderfull…i think the taste will be so great…..i like all your topics…am egyptian by the way ….& happy new year browneyebaker ;-)…..
Made these for Christmas dinner. Actually made them 2 days ahead and plated them up Christmas Day. Super easy and super delish! I placed them on a glass pedestal cake plate with a glass lid. Made a beautiful presentation.
Very cute dessert. I like the red contrast with the light cake base. I wonder if these can be chilled enoughto be mailed to friends and family?
Unless you could somehow ship in an insulated container and ship overnight, I don’t think that they would stay cool enough to endure shipping.
These look super cute, yummy and easy – thanks for sharing! And congrats on making Top 9!
Another delicious recipe…thanks!!
These were quick and easy! The only thing I had trouble with was filling the cupcake liners with cheesecake filling. I finally settled on putting the cheesecake filling in a frosting bag and piping it into the cups. Make it less messy!
I have made other versions with chocolate chips in the batter before. Funny enough we just had a Christmas cookie exchange and I made Oreo Truffles but my favorite thing to make are the peanut butter cookies with a Reese cup stuck in the middle.
But I have a quick question. I have a friend that is allergic to eggs but loves cheesecake. What is a good substitute for the eggs since there are no health food stores close to me where I can find the egg replacer? Thanks for the help in advance.
Unfortunately I’m not at all familiar with egg substitutes when it comes to allergies and would hate to steer you in the wrong direction. I’m sorry! :(
Like Tina from PA above, I’ve been making these since way back when. A friend brought these to a party and I was so excited at how delicious they were and “easy” to make. I’ve been making them for large gatherings ever since then. They make a great presentation and who could ask for more! And they are flexible, you can choose any topping you like.
Thanks for sharing,
Happy Holiday!
Joanne
Oh, my grandma used to make these each Christmas! She did both cherry and blueberry, and us grandkids always ate them right up! Yum! Happy holidays!
looks wonderful happy holidays
That’s it. I’ve decided: You are a genius!! Sheer genius!! :D
Oh wow–I sure love cheesecake, and am a huge fan of cookies, so combining the two is like the best idea ever in my book! It’d be fun to use all sorts of pie fillings too :-) I think cherry would be my first pick, then blueberry!
Wow these cheesecake cookies look so adorable. I wish I had some of that for my party. Can’t wait to try this :)
These cookies look just great. Love the cherry topping
Oh so easy to overeat!
I love mini anythings and mini versions of cheesecake are just tooo darn tempting to pass up! :P My fave cookies to put out will always be gorgeous chocolatey chocolate chip cookies… nothing store bought can ever match a home made version.
I love these bite sized treats! Who needs a cookie when you can have cheesecake?
Love these little classics!
Oh I love cheesecake! These are so cute! Great job!
I love this recipe! It’s so simple but sounds delicious! I’m in charge of bringing cookies for dessert at a New Years pot luck next week. Guess what I’ll be bringing!
Ooh those look really cute. Thanks for sharing the recipe! I’m not sure I’d have time left to do any more baking but these would be perfect for Christmas parties. :)
That dollop of red on top is beautiful! Lovely cookies :)
My favorite cookie to put on the cookie tray is the cookie with sugar in it! :D