Mini Pecan Pie Cheesecake

These Mini Pecan Pie cheesecakes combine a luscious, velvety cheesecake filling with an extra gooey, pecan pie topping that has hints of caramel in it. All of this sits on top of a buttery cinnamon graham cracker crust. These cheesecakes take less than 20 minutes to bake, and just a few minutes to mix together. The mini, handheld version, make these perfect for get-togethers, (these are perfect for your Thanksgiving desserts table), or if you just want an individually portioned dessert ready to go.

Somehow mini desserts just seem fun, don’t you agree? I love mini desserts for their simplicity, and for their ability to use at get-togethers. OR, let’s be honest, if I want to sneak a quick late afternoon sweet treat, mini desserts are just easy to grab and go :).

These Mini Pecan Pie Cheesecakes are a dessert that you will want to make again and again. If you love pecan pie and cheesecake, then you will definitely love this dessert. The cheesecake alone, is GOOD, but then combined with that gooey pecan pie topping, it’s just out of this world.

If you are searching for Thanksgiving desserts, in particular easy Thanksgiving desserts, these Mini Pecan Pie Cheesecakes are the dessert to make.

The details

The components

• Graham Cracker Crust – the graham cracker crust is buttery, sweetened with brown sugar, and flavored with ground cinnamon and graham crackers. The crust is thick, and adds a delicious texture as well as flavor to the cheesecake.
• The filling – this cheesecake filling is my absolute favorite. It’s creamy, smooth, velvety, and just downright GOOD. The secret to this filling and why it is so good is thanks to the combo of ingredients in the filling. The filling uses sour cream, heavy cream and of course cream cheese. It also uses two eggs, which helps to stabilize the cheesecake filling, as well as give it a smooth and rich texture. Now, in terms of the sour cream versus the heavy cream, they both offer different attributes which make the cheesecake really good. The sour cream adds a bit of tang, similar to the tang of the cream cheese, but it helps to lighten up the texture of the cream cheese so it’s not as dense. The heavy cream on the other hand, adds richness to the filling.
• The pecan pie topping – The pecan pie topping is not just good on the cheesecake. You can also add this on top of ice cream, or even on top of a cake. The pecans are toasted in butter, giving them a delicious buttery taste. Next, brown sugar, cinnamon and heavy cream are added and cooked until the mixture thickens slightly. As the mixture cooks, the sugar begins to caramelize slightly, giving hints of caramel flavor.

Ingredients

• Pecan Pie Topping
  • unsalted butter – pecans are added to the melted butter to get toasted, giving them a delicious buttery pecan flavor. I prefer to use unsalted butter so that I can adjust the salt to my own preferences. This topping does have a pinch of salt in it, which is the perfect amount to balance the flavors and sweetness in the topping.
  • pecans, chopped – what’s pecan pie without the pecans!? 🙂 The pecans will get roasted, slightly, as they cook in the skillet, so you do not need to buy roasted pecans, or roast them beforehand.
  • brown sugar – as the brown sugar cooks and melts, it begins to caramelize, giving hints of caramel flavor in the topping. Yum!
  • heavy cream – the heavy cream adds richness and creaminess to the pecan pie topping
  • salt – salt helps balance out the flavors, and it helps to enhance the flavors
  • ground cinnamon – the cinnamon really adds great flavor to the pecan pie topping
• Graham Cracker Crust
  • graham cracker crumbs – the essential component of the graham cracker crust
  • brown sugar – I love the addition of the brown sugar in this crust. It adds depth of flavor to the crust
  • ground cinnamon – the ground cinnamon in the crust pairs really well with the pecan pie topping
  • unsalted butter, melted – the butter helps to hold the crust together and adds flavor to the crust.
• Cheesecake Filling
  • granulated sugar – these Mini Pecan Pie Cheesecakes have just the right amount of sweetness in them to make the filling rich and delicious. The amount of sugar in these is perfect for these cheesecakes to be enjoyed alone, without the pecan pie topping, or with the pecan pie topping.
  • cream cheese – the main component for the cheesecake filling
  • heavy cream – this adds richness, and creaminess to the cheesecake filling
  • sour cream – sour cream adds a bit of tang and helps to lighten up the texture of the cheesecake so it is not as dense
  • vanilla extract – the vanilla extract adds delicious flavor to the cheesecake
  • eggs – eggs help to stabilize the cheesecake as it bakes

Here’s How to Make the Mini Pecan Pie Cheesecake

get everything ready

In baking school we were always taught to get everything in place and ready to go before beginning to mix the ingredients together. Technically, this is called “mis en place” . It’s good practice, because what if you thought you had enough cream cheese, but you realize you are nearly out? This has certainly happened to me before!

So, first things first, when making these Mini Pecan Pie Cheesecakes. Get all of your ingredients out, line your muffin pan with cupcake liners, or your DIY cheesecake liners, and turn your oven on.

make the crust

You can either grind up your own graham crackers or buy graham cracker crumbs from the store. I usually just buy graham cracker crumbs. It saves me a step! Add the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, cinnamon and butter to a bowl, then mix to combine, stirring to moisten the graham cracker crumbs.

Scoop the mixture into the prepared muffin tin, evenly dividing the mixture.

make the batter

Now, that we have everything set up, we are ready to make the mini pecan pie cheesecakes. It’s best to use room temperature ingredients when making the cheesecake. There’s more information on this below, as well as helpful tips if your ingredients aren’t room temperature (because mine usually aren’t, since I forget to get them out in enough time).

I like to add the softened cream cheese, sugar, and sour cream to the bowl, then beat until light and fluffy. I recommend scraping your bowl down a few times to make sure that the cheesecake batter is completely mixed together and smooth.

Once the mini pecan pie cheesecake batter is smooth and creamy with no visible lumps, add in the vanilla extract and eggs. These mini pecan pie cheesecakes, and mini cheesecakes in general, are not as finicky as regular cheesecakes. I have found that adding both eggs at the same time has worked perfectly fine. Typically, you add one egg at a time when mixing into the batter. This is because you don’t want to whip too much air into the cheesecake batter. Too much air can result in a surface that cracks.

scoop the batter

Now that the batter is fully mixed, it is ready to be added to the prebaked, cooled crust. Scoop the batter evenly amongst cavities in the muffin tin. Bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes. Keep in mind the oven temperature is 25 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than it was when you baked the crust. The lower temperature cooks the cheesecakes a bit more gently, as the batter can overbake easily.

allow the cheesecake to cool

The mini pecan pie cheesecakes need to cool at room temperature for 30 minutes, then they are placed in the refrigerator for 3 hours to fully firm and set up.

make the pecan pie topping

You can make the pecan pie topping for the mini pecan pie cheesecakes ahead of time. Just store in the refrigerator, and heat in the microwave in 30 second increments when ready to use.

This pecan pie topping is easy to make. You’ll melt butter in a saucepan, then add the pecans. Toast for a minute or two (trust me, this makes them buttery, and sooo delicious), then add the remaining ingredients. Allow the mixture to bubble a couple minutes to thicken and voila! It is ready to use! I do recommend allowing it to cool for 10 minutes before adding on top of the cheesecakes.

Helpful Tips

1. It is important to use room temperature ingredients when making cheesecake, so that all of your ingredients mix together smoothly.
   • HOWEVER, if you are like me, and think to make this cheesecake at the last minute, with all of your ingredients sitting in the fridge, here’s what you can do. Heat the cream cheese in a microwave safe bowl for about 30 to 45 seconds to soften it. Beat the cream cheese ALONE in your stand mixer, or with a handheld mixer until smooth and creamy. Add in the heavy cream, sour cream, sugar and vanilla extract. Beat until smooth and creamy, then proceed to add the eggs.
   • If your mixture comes out a little lumpy, pour the mixture through a fine mesh sieve. This will remove all of the lumps.
2. Since these mini pecan pie cheesecakes have a gooey pecan pie filling on top, I’d recommend making your own cheesecake liners. These liners may score you some points, too, because they make the cheesecake look like they came from a bakery. The homemade liners have taller sides than a cupcake liner, which means they would more easily be able to contain the pecan pie filling, without it spilling or running off. This makes it easy for your friends and family or YOU to grab one, without making a mess.
   • To make your own liners, cut 12 pieces of parchment paper that measures 5×5 inches. Place a piece of parchment paper on the bottom of a glass, then use your hands to press the parchment paper along the sides of the glass. This will create the shape of the liner. Place the liners in the muffin tin. It’s okay if they don’t fit perfectly. The cheesecake batter will hold the liner in the muffin tin, once added.
3. Now, you may be wondering about baking these in a water bath. Typical cheesecakes are baked in a water bath. The nice thing about mini cheesecakes is that they do NOT need a water bath. This is because the amount of filling in them is far less than that of a standard cheesecake. This results in a shorter bake time. Further, the smaller cheesecakes are less prone to uneven baking. The reason cheesecakes use a water bath when baking is to help the cheesecake bake more evenly and prevent the surface of the cheesecake from cracking.
4. How do you tell when your cheesecakes are done? The cheesecakes will look set around the edges, then have a slight wobble in the center. My mini pecan pie cheesecakes baked for 17 minutes, but of course ovens can vary.

Here are a few of my favorite fall and Thanksgiving treats

• Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars – the perfect fall treat, or great addition to your Thanksgiving desserts table.
• Mini Pecan Pie Cakes – if you are looking for easy Thanksgiving desserts, these would be one to keep in mind. They won’t last long on your Thanksgiving desserts table. I also enjoy eating these during the fall season as a delicious after dinner treat.
• Cranberry Orange Muffins – cranberry and orange is one of my favorite fall flavor combos. These may not be fit for the thanksgiving desserts table, but honestly they could be a great addition for Thanksgiving. Enjoy these as a delicious fall breakfast treat.
• Mini Pumpkin Pies – here’s another fun mini treat. These can be made ahead of time, saving you one step during the busy Thanksgiving day. Add these to your easy Thanksgiving dessert recipes.

If you make these Mini Pecan Pie cheesecakes, I would love to know what you thought in the ratings and comments below. I always appreciate hearing your feedback. Make sure you find me on instagram, facebook, or youtube to watch my baking videos and for some fun behind the scenes.

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