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Mini Apple Cheesecakes
Mini apple cheesecakes are the perfect fall dessert with a crisp sweet cookie crust, juicy apple pie filling, and cinnamon streusel topping.
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Mini apple cheesecakes are an easy and delicious fall dessert recipe. Packing full-sized flavor into a bite-sized confection, mini apple cheesecakes are rich and creamy. Bursting with juicy apple pie filling and crisp streusel, these little cheesecakes are the perfect fall dessert.
If you adore apple desserts then you’ll also want to make Apple Slab Pie, Apple Dump Cake, and Apple Enchiladas.
Mini Apple Cheesecakes Ingredients
You will need:
- 1½ cups graham cracker crumbs
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 16 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- ⅓ cup sour cream
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 21 ounces apple pie filling, (I used Duncan Hines/Comstock brand)
Streusel Topping
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar
- ¼ cup finely chopped walnuts
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
Substitutions and Additions
APPLE PIE FILLING: Using canned apple pie filling makes these desserts very quick and easy to put together. Some brands, however, do use very large slices of apples for their filling, making Step 8 very necessary to keep these easy to eat. However, you can use a homemade apple pie filling with smaller pieces of apples (you would need approximately 2 cups), or you can just place 1 apple filling slice onto each serving.
NUTS: For those who either can not have nuts or do not like them, you can certainly leave the finely chopped walnuts out of the streusel topping, and it will still be delicious. You can also substitute finely chopped pecans for the walnuts in the recipe.
CRUST: For another really quick and easy shortcut with this recipe, I like to use the box of premade graham cracker crumbs (I used the Keebler brand) to make the simple graham cracker crust. You can also crush your own fine crumbs in a food processor if you prefer. You would need about 10 full-sized graham crackers to get the 1½ cups required for this recipe.
How to Make Mini Apple Cheesecakes
STEP ONE: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 standard-sized muffin pans with 18 parchment cupcake/muffin papers. These peel off better than the paper variety for this dessert.
PRO TIP: Parchment or foil-lined wrappers are the easiest to peel from the cheesecake filling.
STEP TWO: In a medium bowl, stir together the graham cracker crumbs, melted unsalted butter, and salt until well combined, and the crumbs stick together.
STEP THREE: Press 1½ tablespoons of the graham cracker crumb mixture evenly into the bottoms of each of the muffin cups. Set aside.
STEP FOUR: In a large mixing bowl, using a handheld mixer on medium speed, beat the cream cheese and granulated sugar for 1 to 2 minutes or until smooth. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure that all the ingredients get evenly incorporated.
PRO TIP: Make sure you are using room-temperature cream cheese so that you don’t end up with lumps in your cheesecake batter.
STEP FIVE: Add the eggs, one at a time, to the cream cheese mixture and beat just until each egg is incorporated. You do not want to overmix and add too much air into your cheesecake filling.
STEP SIX: Stir in the sour cream, all-purpose flour, and vanilla extract just until smooth, and all ingredients are fully incorporated.
STEP SEVEN: Spoon 2 tablespoons of the cheesecake filling into each of the graham cracker crumb-filled muffin cups.
STEP EIGHT: Spoon your apple pie filling onto a large cutting board and roughly chop the larger pieces of apples (you do not need to do this if your brand has small chunks instead of full-sized slices) then transfer the chopped apple pie filling into a bowl to make it easier to get scoops of filling to fill the muffin cups.
STEP NINE: Spoon 1 to 1½ tablespoons of the chopped apple pie filling into the center of each of the cheesecake-filled muffin cups. Set aside.
STEP TEN: To make your streusel topping add to a medium mixing bowl the all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, finely chopped walnuts, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Stir to combine.
STEP ELEVEN: Drizzle the melted butter into the dry ingredients and gently stir around until most of the butter has been absorbed, and large crumbs start to form.
STEP TWELVE: Add the heavy cream and stir to ensure that all the dry ingredients are absorbed, and you have a crumble mixture with small and large crumbs.
STEP THIRTEEN: Top each of the mini apple cheesecakes with 1½ to 2 tablespoons of the streusel topping.
PRO TIP: The ingredients will fill the muffin tins to the top. You can press down the streusel just slightly to keep it contained on top of each cheesecake.
STEP FOURTEEN: Bake for 20 to 23 minutes or just until the streusel topping is very lightly golden and the cheesecake is set.
STEP FIFTEEN: Allow the mini apple cheesecakes to cool on the counter, in the pan, for 30 minutes, then transfer the pan to the refrigerator to cool completely for an additional 2½ to 3 hours or until the cheesecake layer has fully set up and chilled.
PRO TIP: For best results, the individual cheesecakes do need to chill thoroughly so that they can firm up enough to handle. Keep them in the muffin tin to chill; it is much easier to remove them from the pan.
How to Serve Recipe
Faster and easy to make than a regular cheesecake, mini cheesecakes are perfect for holidays, parties, and gatherings with friends and family. Already the perfect portion size, mini apple cheesecakes would be a wonderful addition to any dessert buffet. Take these mini cheesecakes over-the-top treat by lightly drizzling each one with caramel sauce. Just make sure you do not add the caramel topping until after the mini apple cheesecakes have chilled fully.
Storage
IN THE FRIDGE: You can store these mini apple cheesecakes in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
IN THE FREEZER: These mini desserts freeze and thaw very well. Store them in the freezer in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
Mini apple cheesecakes are creamy and decadent. This rich dessert is made with a graham cracker crust, creamy cheesecake filling, delicious apple pie filling, and a warm, spiced streusel topping. So many favorite flavors are packed all into these adorable little packages. You can serve these cute little cheesecakes straight from the refrigerator, or you can allow them to come to room temperature for about 30 minutes before serving.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Can you freeze cheesecake?
You can prep your cheesecake ahead of time and wrap it in plastic wrap before storing it in the freezer. Thaw in the fridge overnight when you are ready to serve it.
How do you know when a mini cheesecake is done?
If the center looks set but still jiggles when you move the pan, your cheesecake is done.
How do you get the cream cheese to room temperature quickly?
To get the cream cheese to room temperature quickly, cut the cream cheese into cubes and place it on a plate for about 20 minutes.
MORE RECIPES YOU’LL LOVE
- Strawberry Cheesecake Dump Cake
- No-Bake Black Forest Cheesecake
- Banana Cream Cheesecake
- Mini Cherry Cheesecake
Mini Apple Cheesecakes
Mini apple cheesecakes are the perfect fall dessert with a crisp sweet cookie crust, juicy apple pie filling, and cinnamon streusel topping.
Ingredients
- 1½ cups graham cracker crumbs
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 16 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- ⅓ cup sour cream
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 21 ounces apple pie filling (I used Duncan Hines/Comstock brand)
Streusel Topping
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar
- ¼ cup finely chopped walnuts
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup unsalted butter melted
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 standard-sized muffin pans with 18 parchment cupcake/muffin papers. These peel off better than the paper variety for this dessert.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the graham cracker crumbs, melted unsalted butter, and salt until well combined, and the crumbs stick together.
- Press 1½ tablespoons of the graham cracker crumb mixture evenly into the bottoms of each of the muffin cups. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, using a handheld mixer on medium speed, beat the cream cheese and granulated sugar for 1 to 2 minutes or until smooth. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure that all the ingredients get evenly incorporated.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, to the cream cheese mixture and beat just until each egg is incorporated. You do not want to overmix and add too much air into your cheesecake filling.
- Stir in the sour cream, all-purpose flour, and vanilla extract just until smooth, and all ingredients are fully incorporated.
- Spoon 2 tablespoons of the cheesecake filling into each of the graham cracker crumb-filled muffin cups.
- Spoon your apple pie filling onto a large cutting board and roughly chop the larger pieces of apples (you do not need to do this if your brand has small chunks instead of full-sized slices) then transfer the chopped apple pie filling into a bowl to make it easier to get scoops of filling to fill the muffin cups.
- Spoon 1 to 1½ tablespoons of the chopped apple pie filling into the center of each of the cheesecake-filled muffin cups. Set aside.
- To make your streusel topping add to a medium mixing bowl the all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, finely chopped walnuts, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Stir to combine.
- Drizzle the melted butter into the dry ingredients and gently stir around until most of the butter has been absorbed, and large crumbs start to form.
- Add the heavy cream and stir to ensure that all the dry ingredients are absorbed, and you have a crumble mixture with small and large crumbs.
- Top each of the mini apple cheesecakes with 1½ to 2 tablespoons of the streusel topping.
- Bake for 20 to 23 minutes or just until the streusel topping is very lightly golden and the cheesecake is set.
- Allow the mini apple cheesecakes to cool on the counter, in the pan, for 30 minutes, then transfer the pan to the refrigerator to cool completely for an additional 2½ to 3 hours or until the cheesecake layer has fully set up and chilled.
Notes
Parchment or foil-lined wrappers are the easiest to peel from the cheesecake filling.
Make sure you are using room-temperature cream cheese so that you don’t end up with lumps in your cheesecake batter.
The ingredients will fill the muffin tins to the top. You can press down the streusel just slightly to keep it contained on top of each cheesecake.
For best results, the individual cheesecakes do need to chill thoroughly so that they can firm up enough to handle. Keep them in the muffin tin to chill; it is much easier to remove them from the pan.
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