Mini Red Velvet Cheesecakes
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I know. I jumped from Super Bowl snack food to this indulgent treat for Valentine’s Day. I can’t help it. I was seriously torn over what to share with you first because snacks are huge right now, given that the game is coming up and then soon after is Valentine’s Day. Normally it wouldn’t be such a rush to share a recipe with you but I want you to have time to get the right tools to make this. Thus, sharing this earlier than I might normally.
I’m honestly not a big fan of Valentine’s Day. It’s just fact. But I had this intense need to make something. More specifically, something special that I’d never tasted or made before. Something that in the end would dye my hands red, or at least a few fingertips accidentally. That being red velvet. Being a northern girl I think I’m automatically given a pass for having never tasted or made it. It’s like a southern girl having no idea what Boston cream pie is. Or something along those lines. Food with strong ties to a specific region.
It was actually Jessica Simpson who introduced me to red velvet cake. The first time I had ever heard about it was for her (first) wedding. I was kind of totally obsessed with that show, mostly for it’s comedic moments. ‘Is this chicken or fish? I know it’s tuna but it says chicken of the sea’ She’ll never live that one down.
But I still had no idea what red velvet really was.
Oooh it’s creamy (velvety) chocolate goodness dyed a totally unnatural bright red. Why is the red necessary, I’ll never know. BUT it’s fun and kind of festive, if you’re into that kind of thing.
These bite sized red velvet cheesecakes absolutely, positively, must be topped off with fresh sweetened whipped cream. Because I said so. And because it means you can enjoy the leftovers as you please. I might’ve taken a few whipped cream shots when I was done with these photos. SO good.
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SaveYield: Makes 12 mini cheesecakes
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15-18 minutes
Mini Red Velvet Cheesecakes
Ingredients:
Crust ingredients:
10 original chocolate sandwich cookies
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
Filling ingredients:
12oz cream cheese, softened
1 Tbsp sour cream
1/2C sugar
3 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 tsp red food color
1 egg
Whipped cream ingredients:
1/2C heavy cream
2 Tbsp powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a mini cheesecake pan.
In a food processor, blend cookies until only small pieces remain. Add butter to combine. Add 1 small cookie scoop of crumbs to each cheesecake cavity. Press down with a flat sided object, such as a small shot glass, to form an even crust. Bake for 5 minutes.
Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees.
In a large bowl, beat softened cream cheese, sour cream and sugar together until smooth. Add cocoa powder, mixing on low until combined. Add vanilla and red food color, followed by the egg.
Fill each cheesecake cavity 3/4 full (roughly 1 and 1/4 medium scoop). Bake for 15-18 minutes.
Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour before transferring to the refrigerator to chill overnight.
When ready to eat, carefully remove cheesecakes from pan.
Prepare whipped cream. Beating ingredients together in a small bowl until soft peaks form. Add a dollop to each mini cheesecake. Serve immediately.
Check out these other mini cheesecake recipes:
Mini lemon-lime cheesecakes
Mini coffee cheesecakes with caramel whipped cream
Mini pumpkin cheesecakes with gingersnap crust
Mini eggnog cheesecakes
Items used in this recipe:
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links
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This is in the top 3 best cheesecakes I’ve ever had, and that’s saying a lot because I’m an expert in cheesecake lists.
I’ll take The Mr. at his word. Do you deliver? Ugh why aren’t we neighbors?!
I’ve been doing lots of red velvet baking lately but not in cheesecake form… looks like something needs to change!
Beautiful photos! I love the colors of this and that you can see them fully. Can’t wait to try these out.
So here I was talking the other day with my husband about cheesecakes and he complained that he wanted something new and exciting. I think so I found it!
Yes– Newlyweds was a guilty pleasure of mine too!
I am loving these in every possible way. And seriously the “chicken or fish” JSimpson thing is STILL funny all these years later.
Also – I think the bright unnatural red colored thing has natural red roots with how they used to process cocoa, – the cocoa and vinegar mix would turn a reddish color… now we just go with the oddly-too-bright-to-be-natural thing. :) Either way Red Velvet ALWAYS tastes amazing.
Will you be my valentine? These look amazing!
These are gorgeous!!
Red velvet is a fave at my house; my husband would adore me even more if I made these little ruby red beauties for him!
Oh my goodness! I LOVE that top photo. So stunning! These are incredible gorgeous and Ill definitely take the Mr at his word, since he is the expert and all ;)
You amaze me every time! I have a HUGE weak spot for cheesecake. Definitely trying these.
Stunning, absolutely stunning! Perfect for Valentine’s Day or just because red velvet is my favorite!
Haha, I totally watched Newlyweds! I’m ashamed to admit I was actually devastated when I heard she and Nick were getting divorced… Anyway, I love these little mini cheesecakes. Red velvet is awesome!
Hi Rachel! These are darling, and perfect for Valentine’s Day!
These looks amazing! Does the cheesecakes need to be baked in a water pan?
Rachel — January 26th, 2013 @ 8:16 am
Nope! Use the pan listed at the end of the post along with lightly greasing the sides and you shouldn’t have a problem.
These look great! I’ve never seen red velvet cheesecake before, such a good idea!
I like cheesecake, but can’t eat much of it. These would be the perfect flavor and size!
So cute! I’m a sucker for anything red velvet.
I still haven’t eaten red velvet anything but your cheesecakes do look beautiful and delicious.
These are so cute and are a great idea for Valentines.
I love red velvet and cheesecake so this is pretty much perfect!
think I’ll be making these for my girlfriend’s 4th of July Wedding!!!! Just need something blue, then something white!
Rachel — January 29th, 2013 @ 7:50 am
How cute! Just keep in mind unless it’s indoors w/ac you’ll want to use something else as the topping since traditional whipped cream will melt right off ;)
What a perfect Valentine’s Day treat! They look soooo good + i love that they’re mini – less chance of me accidentally eating half a cake that way… =)
Such a great combination! Looks so decadent and delicious!
These are just so darn cute! I love the deep red color, and the crust – yum!
These scream Valentines day! I love the colors.
ok another fact that solidifies we’re twins: i LOVED the newlyweds. seriously, i even bought all whatever seasons on dvd..maybe you didn’t love it that much to buy it on dvd, but i sure did. can you fedex these cheesecake bites to me? cause i needed these like 3 days ago.
Rachel — January 30th, 2013 @ 7:58 pm
lol I definitely wasn’t quite that invested in the show ;)
I want these! They are adorable and perfect for Valentine’s, even if you don’t like it. Maybe if I whipe these up I can get BF to be extra romantical for Valentine’s.
These are absolutely gorgeous! With or without the food coloring they will be wonderful company dessert year round.
This is a combination of my husbands 2 favorite things, Cheesecake and Red Velvet cake. I am looking forward to making this for him for his birthday. Question for you, have you ever done in a true “cheesecake” form pan? If so, what are the baking times?
Rachel — February 5th, 2013 @ 8:58 pm
I have made larger cheesecakes but not for this particular variety. This recipe was created for 12 mini cheesecakes, so I do not have ingredient quantities or a bake time for a larger cheesecake.
These are adorable and look delish! Could a mini muffin pan be used unstead of the mini cheese cake pan?
Rachel — February 7th, 2013 @ 12:18 pm
You definitely could. I’d recommend using cupcake liners if opting to go that route, so you’ll be able to get them out of the pan.
I feel stupid but what are original chocolate sandwich cookies.? Are you talking about Oreos or something else?
Rachel — February 10th, 2013 @ 9:00 am
Yes, that is correct.
So cute this red cake! Fantastic!
Gorgeous! I have mini springform pans, but wanted to make sure that we have the same size… how big is the diameter of your mini springform pans?
Rachel — February 11th, 2013 @ 3:37 pm
There is a link to the cheesecake pan used at the bottom of the post. As for the cookies, they are processed whole.
Oh, and I forgot to ask, do you scrape the cream out of the Oreo’s, or do you just put the cookies in whole into the food processor?
WOWZA those look soooo good. My best Friends birthday is on Valentines day these are going to be perfect!!!! Quick question: I don’t have the mini cheesecake pan to make them in, can I use a regular muffin pan? Any suggestions? Can you get the pan at walmart?
Rachel — February 12th, 2013 @ 8:09 pm
I have never seen the pan in person but you can try a muffin pan instead. Just be sure to use liners, otherwise you’ll have trouble removing the cheesecakes.
Red velvet cakes are always dyed a crazy red because the original recipes used beets. Beets and cocoa are actually very lovely together; I much prefer a couple of cooked beets in blended into my cake batter than artificial color. Just not sure that would work for cheesecake… Anyway, these are adorable!
I made these two weeks ago and they came out GREAT :) thanks for the recipe! Now, I am planning to make these for a gift — would it be okay to put the whipped cream on the night before and give to someone the following morning?
Rachel — March 24th, 2013 @ 8:19 am
If you keep them chilled prior to gifting then yes you can absolutely prep them the night before. Just be aware that they should not sit out at room temperature long with the whipped cream.
The red dye is just for show now but it used to turn out red because e recipe used to call for beets. Haven’t tried this recipe yet but my bf is graduating tomorrow and its our 2 year anniversary and he loves everything red velvet and cheesecake. Wish me luck
Rachel — June 19th, 2013 @ 1:39 pm
Good luck! And enjoy :)