Name: Mini Santa Hat Cheesecakes
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 720 min
Ingredients: 10 Chocolate sandwich cookies (see note); 2 Tbsp unsalted butter (melted); 1/2 Tbsp granulated sugar; 12 oz cream cheese (softened); 1/2 C granulated sugar; 1/2 C eggnog; 1 Tbsp all purpose flour; 1/2 tsp vanilla; 1/4 tsp salt; 1 large egg; 1/2 C heavy cream; 2 Tbsp powdered sugar; 12 Strawberries

Mini Santa Hat Cheesecakes

By Rachel // December 2, 2013 // 586 comments //

The perfect holiday cheesecake recipe. Mini eggnog flavored cheesecakes with a chocolate crust, topped off with fresh sweetened whipped cream and strawberry Santa hats. An adorable addition to any holiday party.

Mini Santa Hat Cheesecake Recipe from bakedbyrachel.com An adorable addition to your holiday party!

It’s officially December. How did that happen? Did you get that memo? I think mine got lost in the mail or maybe sent to spam… or tossed in the recycling bin. I’m kind of in shock about it. We’ve obviously been prepping for this for months, given that stores like Target thrusted it at us even well before Halloween! I’ll admit, I had my usual ‘oh come on‘! annoyance over it but at the same time I kind of got the teensiest bit giddy over it all too.

So, I don’t totally mind that it’s already December. I’m excited in a way. It’s something new to think about but I swear it’s already screaming by and it’s only just begun. Woooah settle down there, right? But no, seriously. I mean just think, it was seriously just 1999. Or something like that. And here it is, December… the Eve of 2014. I can’t even. I don’t want to think about it.

So okay, our tree is up and we’ve already been having Christmas movie marathons. Is your tree up yet? I swear that’s what my Instagram feed was full of this weekend – lots and lots of people setting up their trees and other holiday decorations. And holiday baking music is in full effect … much to the Mr’s dismay. He isn’t exactly a fan of the same songs over and over just with slight variations by different people. I can totally get into it though. The kids are of course excited about Christmas and Santa so it seemed fitting to kick off a month of sweet tooth adventures with an adorable and totally festive treat. Right?! No tiptoeing in. It’s time to jump in and get cozy!

Mini Santa Hat Cheesecake Recipe from bakedbyrachel.com An adorable addition to your holiday party!

You know how completely obsessed I am with mini things, especially mini cheesecakes. If you hadn’t noticed, it’s time to catch up. Go ahead, take a peak (HERE) and see what you’ve been missing. Who could resist a super cute Santa hat cheesecake? It’d be the hit of your holiday party with both adults and kids! Take it a step further and give it a dusting of sugar for the ultimate touch. I really wanted to call these “snow dusted Santa hat cheesecakes” but I thought that was a bit long so… mini Santa hat cheesecakes it is.

Creamy mini eggnog cheesecakes sit on top of chocolate crusts. Homemade sweetened whipped cream and fresh strawberries create the perfect Santa hat, with a finishing touch of powdered sugar for the snow. These are an absolute must make this holiday season!

Mini Santa Hat Cheesecake Recipe from bakedbyrachel.com An adorable addition to your holiday party!

Print Recipe

Mini Santa Hat Cheesecakes

Mini eggnog flavored cheesecakes with chocolate crust, topped off with fresh sweetened whipped cream and strawberry Santa hats.

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time20 mins

Total Time12 hrs

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Cheesecake

Servings: 12 cheesecakes

Ingredients

Crust:

10 Chocolate sandwich cookies see note
2 Tbsp unsalted butter melted
1/2 Tbsp granulated sugar

Filling:

12 oz cream cheese softened
1/2 C granulated sugar
1/2 C eggnog
1 Tbsp all purpose flour
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
1 large egg

Whipped cream:

1/2 C heavy cream
2 Tbsp powdered sugar
12 Strawberries

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a mini cheesecake pan.
In a food processor, blend cookies until only fine crumbs remain. Combine crumbs with butter and sugar. Divide between prepared cheesecake cavities, adding 1 small cookie scoop of crust mixture to each cavity. Press down firmly to create an even layer. Bake for 5 minutes.
Reduce oven temperature to 325°F.
In a large bowl or stand mixer beat together cream cheese and granulated sugar until fluffy and smooth. With mixer running on low, slowly add eggnog, flour, vanilla and salt. Gradually increase speed, mixing until no lumps remain. Finally, add egg, mixing until combined and no streaks remain.
Divide batter between cheesecake pan cavities using a medium scoop. Add roughly 1 and 1/4 medium scoop or a heaping scoop to each cavity. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until cheesecakes are set.
Allow cheesecakes to sit in pan on a wire rack until they are room temperature. Transfer cheesecakes to refrigerator to chill overnight or until chilled through.
In a medium bowl, beat together heavy cream and powdered sugar until stiff peaks form. Cover and chill until ready to use.
Carefully remove cheesecakes from pan, removing the pan disc from the crust. Top off with whipped cream and strawberries. Sprinkle with optional powdered for a snow dusted look.

Notes

*For the crust, use 10 whole Oreo cookies minus the cream filling (or 20 chocolate cookies, no filling).

An original recipe from Baked by Rachel

More holiday recipes to try:
Eggnog cranberry swirl cheesecake bars
Apple cranberry crumb pie
Mini eggnog cheesecakes
Peanut brittle
Gingerbread Kiss cookies
White chocolate peppermint bark cheesecake
Gingerbread cheesecake
Snowflake peppermint bark

Items used in this recipe:

***GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED***
I’m always taunting you with mini cheesecakes so I thought it’d be fun to do a giveaway for my absolute favorite mini cheesecake pan. All opinions are my own and I haven’t been endorsed in the slightest way to show you this. I just really truly love it. It makes for some seriously fun and cute desserts and I want you to have one too! If you make cheesecakes, you know how important having a removable bottom is, right? This pan has 12 cavities with removable bottoms! And the entire pan is non-stick, which as you know, helps a lot with baking finicky desserts at times.

So…

Giveaway details:
Courtesy of Baked by Rachel (aka me!), one reader will win one mini cheesecake pan. Giveaway will run from December 2, 2013 – December 7, 2013. Winner must be at least 18 years old and a US resident. Winner will be randomly selected and emailed. Winner has 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen. Main entry must be completed or extra entries will not count.

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