Sandra’s Mini cheesecake cupcakes

Crust:

1 ½ c graham cracker crumbs

¼ c butter melted

Preheat oven to 325F

Combine graham cracker crumbs and melted butter

Press firmly in cupcake liners

Bake at 325 for approximately 9-10 minutes 

Remove from oven then reduce oven temperature to 300F

Cheesecake:

16 oz cream cheese, room temperature

1 c granulated sugar

1 c sour cream 

2 eggs

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla

Pinch salt

In large bowl, beat cream cheese with electric mixer until smooth.

Add sugar, sour cream, eggs, lemon juice, vanilla, and salt aand beat on medium-high speed until smooth, about 2-3 minutes.

Divide evenly between muffin cups (should be almost full). Bake for 20-22 minutes at 300F or until centers are nearly set. Do not overbake. 

Remove from oven and let cool in the muffin pan for 20-30 minutes then remove from muffin pans and cool on wire rack until completely cool. Refrigerate for 3-4 hours before serving.  Top with dollop of Cool Whip and fresh strawberries, blueberries, or raspberries.  

Variations:

Top with salted caramel sauce and toffee bits

Apple pie filling with whipped cream (freshly made using heavy whipping cream)

Chopped Reese peanut butter cups and a drizzle of chocolate

Add the zest of 1 lemon to the batter before baking and increase lemon juice  to 3 teaspoons of lemon juice rather than 2 t

Add 4 oz of white chocolate (melted and cooled) to batter before baking

Add ½ c mini chocolate chips to batter before baking