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.
These are so cute and yummy, too! I use a mini ice cream scoop to fill them evenly. Have made them several times and they always get favorable comments. Great recipe!
Recipe sounds wonderful! I can’t wait to try it! Have you ever frozen the cheesecake part after baking, then add pie filling before serving? I was wondering how that would turn out.
Hi Shawn, Yes, the cheesecakes freeze well!
I’m 25 weeks pregnant and got a major cheesecake craving. My 2 year old and I whipped these up the other day, and once they’d cooled I put them in my freezer. I’m loving having cheesecake available whenever the craving strikes, but there’s no pressure to eat a whole cheesecake while it’s fresh.
Hi, The Nilla wafers are bigger than the bottom of my mini cupcake pan AND the liners? What are you doing to make them fit? I bought the ingredients today to make this, but am holding up until I understand. Danke
Hi Carole, I haven’t done anything at all. I literally just drop the Nilla wafer into the muffin tin.
Just wanted to say I decided to make our own vanilla wafers and found a great recipe by Alton Brown for his Vanilla Wafers. Wow, are they good and so simple!!! Use 4 teaspoons of vanilla and it calls for vanilla sugar which we do not have but just with the 4 teaspoons of vanilla, these homemade vanilla wafers are delicious. We are eating them just plain! So good. Also they do not fit in our paper liners and never have (even with store bought vanilla wafers) so my mom would just chisel around the wafer with a small paring knifeto get them to the right size and now I am doing the same with the homemade ones. But with the homemade ones, you can at least try to get closer to your muffin pan liner size. Just FYI.
These were really good and super easy!
I’m not sure if it was the brand of Nilla wafers I bought/size of my mini muffin tin (I’m in Canada), but the wafers absolutely did not fit whatsoever into the pan! I ended up just using a regular muffin tin (even though it was slightly too big) to make 21 cookies. Each one had about 2.5 tbsp of filling and took 18 min in the oven. Still delicious!
Do you use the mini vanilla wafers for this recipe?
Hi Laura, No, regular size.
Thank you for posting – this was one of the recipes that my mom didn’t include in her stack and couldn’t remember how to make. These are definitely a Pittsburgh thing as we had them for every graduation and every Pittsburgh wedding I have been to, these were on the cookie table.
You have saved my bacon! My mother made these every Christmas Eve, but she passed away three years ago and this year I could not find the recipe. I did not know what to do and then…you put this is! Thank you! We will be able to enjoy one of Mom’s special treats again this year.
Much love to you and yours.
Oh Carole, I’m so sorry for your loss. I hope you and your family enjoy these cookies at such a difficult time. xo
I’ve made these cheesecake treats for years as well but I use regular muffin tins lined with foil baking cups. Makes a pretty dessert
Hi BEB.
I am originally a neighbor, (Youngstown, OH), now living in LI, NY. Regarding these mini cheesecakes, I tried them years ago using mini pans, my problem was the Nilla Wafers wouldn’t fit into my pan! Do you use regular size or mini size Nilla Wafers? And one other question please, have you every experimented with Buckeyes? I was thinking of trying crunchy peanut butter instead of smooth. And have a jar of Hershey chocolate spread that I was thinking using on my regular buckeye recipe? Thoughts?
Hi Jennie, I just regular size Nilla wafers. My mom said she has trouble with hers fitting, but we realized she doesn’t have a true mini muffin pan – it’s a tassie pan. That could be why! I haven’t used crunchy peanut butter, but I recently saw a version with Rice Krispies, so I bet either would be good! I don’t think the chocolate spread would work – I don’t think it would set firm enough.
Adorably delicious! These are so simple and so perfect for all things holiday. Totally trying these soon!
Mini cheesecakes are the best!
Kari
http://sweetteasweetie.com/honey-bunches-oats-almond-treats/
Hi Michelle! I have also made these many times, although not in a long while. Always used regular size muffin cups, it’s okay if the Nilla wafer doesn’t quite cover the bottom. I also liked the idea of someone who posted earlier about using an Oreo cookie as the bottom crust, I’d like to try that sometime! I’ve also used different pie fillings, especially blueberry. One time I saw raspberry pie filling and tried that, and it went over very well.
My favorite Christmas cookies are: peanut butter cookies with sugar and a Hershey’s Kiss on top; buckeyes; chocolate chip cookies with walnuts and M&Ms added; snickerdoodles; iced sugar cookies, and iced sugar cookies with crushed peppermint candies on top.
Hi there! Could I crumble the cookies and put them into the bottom of the mini liners? I’m having the same issue with the cookies not fitting in the bottoms of my pan!
Hi Ashley, I think that would work okay, but you might want to combine crumbs with butter to make an actual crust vs just crumbs.
I find that the Nilla wafers are to big for the mini muffin pans and to small for the large, any suggestions?
Hi Janette, The Nilla wafers fit perfectly into my mini muffin pan; I guess you could break them or buy the mini wafers?
I plan on refrigerating these cookies for about 10 days. First, is that okay to do that? And second, do I still top them before refrigerating? By the way they came out perfect. Thank you!
Hi Andrea, We keep these for a week or two around the holidays after they have been topped, because we put them out on cookie trays periodically. However, if you know you won’t be serving them for 10 days, I would hold off on topping until you’re closer to serving them (could still do it the day before).
Love your website and love this receipe!!! I tried it twice and my boyfriend loves it!! Thank you!
Hi,
These Sounds like Yummy..!!
This Mini CheeseCake Cookies looks delicious and adorable.
I love cheesecake most. I read your recipe its really unique and easy to make.
Thanks For Sharing….
Hi there. There look delicious and I’d love to try making them. Where do you get your mini cupcake liners, please? I just bought my mini-muffin pan and it’s the same one that you use, but all the mini liners I’ve seen (Michael’s, Joann’s) are too small around the base and too short. Thanks!
Hi Bernadette, I actually got those from my mom… she purchased them from a local bakery supply store. I know what you mean – the ones at the store are never the right size! I checked the packaging on mine and they are just in a cardboard tube – no markings or anything. I’m sorry I can’t be of more help, but if you have a bakery supply shop near you, check that out!
How well do you think these would fair at a bake sale indoors???
They would do well! Highly recommend these!
I also had the problem with the Nilla Wafers being too big for my muffin tin. Planning to try mini Nillas…
I made these and they were absolutely delicious! In place of the cherry filling, I used strawberry. :D
hi michelle love your recipes, can you publish the recipe of the cherry pie filling pliss?
Hi Erika, There is no recipe, I use canned cherry pie filling :)
canyou freeze these
Yes, definitely!
So simple and so awesome!
Will these hold up if baked the day before a party or will they get soggy from sitting too long?
Hi Lindsay, No you can definitely make them ahead and keep them in the fridge! My mom would make them for the holidays and keep them in the refrigerator for at least a week in case company showed up!
Wow, these look so GREAT. I’ve saved this to try sometime!
These were my absolute favorite growing up. My mom always made them in a normal-sized cupcake pan, and they are what I wanted to bring to school for birthdays and other celebrations. I made them for 4th of July about 5 years ago — half with blueberry pie filling on top, the other half with cherry — but haven’t made them since. I’ll have to dig up her recipe and make some soon! (and also see if her recipe is the same as yours — it seems like it would be)
I grew up with almost exactly the same thing
only difference is the cookie
My mom would use grandmas family shortbread recipe & use them as the base!!
delish!!!