These cheesecake cupcakes are mouthwatering perfection!

I made these cupcakes kind of as a last minute dessert for Thanksgiving dinner, having no idea what I was doing.

However, these bad boys turned out to be some of the best cupcakes I have ever made! The day before Thanksgiving I did NOT want to go to the grocery store and have cart rage. Instead, I stayed home and decided to just work with what I had in the pantry and take a huge gamble.

Yes, I am THAT person who decides to make new things right before a big event.

Anyway, after I finished baking the cupcakes, I put them in the fridge to settle overnight and totally forgot about them. The next day I quickly topped the cupcakes with cherry pie filling and got ready to take them to the Thanksgiving dinner… Until my husband ate one and told me we shouldn’t take them. Um okay? Really that bad? NO, he wanted us to keep all of those cupcakes to ourselves! I ate one and thought the same. NO WAY am I sharing these with anyone!

But, I promised to bring something, so instead of taking the 40 I made, I took 24 to the THANKSGIVING dinner.

I know, I’m sorry, I’m a horrible person, but I could not resist!!

I usually go overboard with anything I cook or bake, but this recipe is surprisingly really simple and I don’t think I will ever change it. Less is more!!

First things first, make the graham cracker crust. Make sure your graham crackers are honey flavored. I tried making the cupcakes with regular flavored graham cracker crust and they didn’t taste the same. I was pretty disappointed. So, honey graham crackers are crucial. Also, the butter has to be cold before you put it in the food processor with the crumbs. If you don’t have a food processor, melt the butter and mix it with the crumbs in a mixing bowl.

In each single cup, scoop 1 heaping teaspoon of the crust and press the mixture to make an even bottom layer. Leave the remaining mixture inside the refrigerator.

Make sure everything is at room temperature. Leave the ingredients out for a couple of hours before starting. Especially the cream cheese. Once the ingredients are at room temperature, beat the cream cheese on low until smooth. Mix in the sour cream, vanilla and salt until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, then slowly add the sugar. Let the mixer run for a few minutes or until you get a smooth mixture like the photo above.

Divide mixture among muffin cups, filling nearly each cup full.

Bake until they slightly jiggle in the middle. 16-18 minutes. Don’t over bake. If you do, the cupcakes will slightly deflate in the middle. They won’t taste any different, just will look unpresentable. But, when I make the mistake of over baking them, I just put extra toppings.

Once the cupcakes have cooled down and been refrigerated, you can top them off with whatever you want. In this photo, I topped the cupcake off with caramel sauce. Which by the way you should try!

Bon appétit!

Cheesecake Cupcakes

Yields: 16-18 cupcakes

Ingredients

Crust:

1 cup crush honey graham cracker crumbs (6-8 rectangles)
6 Tablespoons cold salted butter
4 teaspoons sugar
Dash of cinnamon

Filling:

2 – 8 ounce packages of full fat cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup full fat sour cream, room temperature
1 pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, room temperature
2/3 cup white sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

In the food processor, fill with graham crackers and process until small crumbs form. Mix in the sugar, cinnamon and butter. Refrigerate while you make the filling.

In your electric mixer, (or by hand) beat the cream cheese on low speed until creamy and smooth. Add the sour cream, vanilla extract and salt until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until completely blended. Add the sugar and beat until the filling mixture is smooth.

Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners. Press a heaping teaspoon of the crumb mixture onto the bottoms of the 12 muffin cups. Divide mixture among muffin cups, filling nearly each cup full. Bake until they slightly jiggle in the middle. 16-18 minutes. Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack. Let cool for an hour, then cover the cupcakes and transfer to the refrigerator to cool overnight.

To serve, gently peel off the paper liners and place on the serving plate. These cheesecakes can be refrigerated for a week.