One of the major rules about Christmas desserts is that they have to be fun. And pretty. Oh, and able to fit securely in a box that you can balance on one knee while balancing bags of presents on both arms. These Candy Cane White Chocolate Mini Cheesecakes are beyond beautiful -- and will surely match your wrapping paper and tree ornaments (which is really just an added bonus, but not one we should overlook). Adults will reach for them because they're the perfect size -- anyone can have at least one, even after a dinner of baked ham and potatoes with all of the trimmings. And kids will just gobble them up because they're absolutely delicious. So let's get baking!
This delightful recipe is brought to you by What's Cooking With Ruthie. It takes just 45 minutes from prep to finish and yields 18 cupcakes -- so you'll obviously have to adjust your measurements if you plan on making a bigger or smaller batch.
Ingredients
18 vanilla wafer cookies 2 (8 oz) cream cheese, softened 1 (8 oz) neufchâtel cream cheese, softened 3/4 cup sugar 3 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 1/4 cups white chocolate chips, divided 1 1/4 cups crushed mini candy canes, divided 18 foil muffin linersInstructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place foil liners in 2 muffin pans. Place 1 vanilla wafer in the bottom of each cup. Beat cream cheese until smooth, add sugar, eggs, and vanilla, just until incorporated. Don’t over-beat. Gently stir in 3/4 cup chocolate chips and 3/4 candy cane pieces. Fill each cup 3/4 of the way full. Bake 20-25 minutes or until almost set. Remove from oven; let cool 5 minutes on rack and then remove from pan. Once cool cover and refrigerate for 3 hours. Before serving, place remaining chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl, microwave for 15 seconds, stir, 15 more seconds, stir, repeat again if necessary until smooth. Place 1 teaspoon crushed candy cane in the center of each cheesecake. Use a fork to drizzle white chocolate back and forth over the tops.*to crush candy canes, remove wrappers, place in gallon freezer bag, hit with the back of a metal spoon.
Image via What's Cooking With Ruthie