Salted Caramel Cheesecake Bites
User Reviews
5
Salted Caramel Cheesecake Bites
Description
This recipe begins with a crust made from finely crushed Oreo cookies combined with melted salted butter, pressed into mini muffin liners to create an even base. The cheesecake filling blends softened cream cheese with sugar, eggs, vanilla, and melted white chocolate combined with half and half, forming a smooth, rich batter. Baking in mini muffin tins results in individual bite-sized cheesecakes that puff slightly when done and firm up after cooling.
The salted caramel sauce is prepared separately by slowly melting granulated sugar over medium-high heat while whisking constantly to prevent burning, then incorporating butter, heavy cream, and sea salt for a rich, balanced caramel topping. This sauce is drizzled over the cooled cheesecake bites, and chopped nuts such as macadamias can be added on top for crunch.
These bites offer a combination of creamy, sweet cheesecake with a buttery, slightly salty caramel finishing touch. Their small size makes them ideal for serving as finger desserts at parties or as sweet treats. The recipe advises careful attention while making caramel due to its susceptibility to burning and mentions that the slight caving in of cheesecakes during cooling is normal.
Ingredients
For the Crust:
- 1 ½ cups Oreo cookies from 22-23 whole cookies, cream removed, chocolate cookie crumbs
- 6 TB butter melted, salted
For the Cheesecake:
- 6 oz white chocolate chips half a bag
- ¼ cup half and half
- 12 oz cream cheese softened to almost melted, whole
- ¼ cup sugar
- 2 egg large
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the Caramel Sauce:
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 6 TB butter sliced into pieces, and softened, unsalted
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 tsp sea salt or coarse kosher salt, flaky
- macadamia nuts optional, chopped, for sprinkling
Instructions
For the Crust:
- Preheat oven to 325F, with rack on lower middle position. Line mini muffin tins with liners.
- In a large bowl, mix fine cookie crumbs with butter until well incorporated. The mixture should resemble wet sand.
- Scoop one slightly rounded tsp of crumb mixture evenly into each lined mini muffin tin. Press down to form crusts.
For the Cheesecake:
- In a large saucepan, melt white chocolate chips with half and half on low heat, stirring often. Remove from heat once smooth. Set aside.
- In large bowl, mix together nearly melted cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time. Add vanilla and the melted white chocolate mixture.
- Scoop 1 rounded TB of batter into each lined mini muffin tin. Bake 20 minutes or until tops are puffy and no longer sticky upon light touch. Let cool to room temp and then cover and chill in fridge.*
For the Caramel Sauce:
- In a heavy saucepan, place sugar in an even layer, and heat over medium-high heat, whisking frequently. Continue to whisk as it cooks until all clumps are melted down.
- When sugar is completely melted, turn heat down to medium, insert thermometer into the melted sugar, and continue stirring until melted sugar turns red-brown. The minute your thermometer reads 350F, add all the butter and whisk. (When you add the butter, the caramel may bubble up; so be careful).
- Once the butter melts, immediately remove pan from heat. Carefully pour in the cream, and whisk until a smooth sauce forms. Then, whisk in the flaky salt.
- Let sauce cool to almost room temp before drizzling over dessert. Store leftover sauce in airtight container for future use. Keep cheesecakes covered and chilled until ready to serve.
Notes
- The slight cave-in of cheesecake tops after cooling creates space for caramel sauce.
- Chopped macadamia nuts can be substituted with pecans, almonds, or other preferred garnishes.
- This recipe is for mini muffin tins; bake time will increase for regular-sized tins.
- Watch and whisk caramel sauce carefully during cooking to avoid burning.
- For detailed caramel instructions, refer to a dedicated salted caramel sauce guide.
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 48Serving
Amount Per Serving
Calories 125 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 125kcal | 6% |
| Carbohydrates | 11g | 4% |
| Protein | 1g | 2% |
| Fat | 9g | 14% |
| Saturated Fat | 5g | 25% |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 1g | 6% |
| Monounsaturated Fat | 2g | 10% |
| Trans Fat | 0.1g | 5% |
| Cholesterol | 25mg | 8% |
| Sodium | 157mg | 7% |
| Potassium | 39mg | 1% |
| Fiber | 0.2g | 1% |
| Sugar | 10g | 20% |
| Vitamin A | 235IU | 5% |
| Vitamin C | 0.04mg | 0% |
| Calcium | 20mg | 2% |
| Iron | 1mg | 6% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
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