Turn your drink into dessert with Small Batch Mini Margarita Cheesecakes in a graham cracker crust. Easy recipe makes only 6 mini cheesecakes.
When it comes to the Super Bowl, there are two types of viewers – those who watch the game and those who watch the commercials.
For me it depends on who’s playing. If it’s the Pittsburgh Steelers, then it’s about the game. However, if they’re not, then I’m in a third category – those who only care about the food.
Sure I’ll have the game on in the background and watch the commercials so I know what everyone’s talking about the next day, but really I’m there to shove my face full of dips, wings, and cheese ball.
Usually when I’m invited to a party, everyone signs up to bring something savory or drinks; dessert ends up being an afterthought.
Good thing I have dessert covered (maybe that’s why I get invited?).
Since we’re talking about serving dessert with other party food, it needs to be something that’s small and easily portable.
I know several people who serve margaritas for parties, so I got the idea to turn that into dessert with these Small Batch Mini Margarita Cheesecakes.
Smaller than a regular slice, these mini cheesecakes can easily fit onto your towering plate of food as you make your way back to the couch.
Margaritas have three specific ingredients that make it a margarita – tequila, triple sec, and lime juice.
Of course you can vary it up by adding other fruit and making mango coconut margaritas or even using lemons instead of limes.
However, for these small batch mini margarita cheesecakes, I stuck with traditional flavors.
Because I added a good bit of extra liquid to the batter to mimic the flavors of a margarita, I added some all-purpose flour to balance it out.
Unlike a regular cheesecake, you don’t need any special tools or pans to make mini cheesecakes.
Sure, some manufacturers make dedicated mini cheesecake pans, but really all you need is a regular muffin pan and some cupcake liners.
As you can see by the photos, I peeled my liners before serving, but for easy transport, you can leave on the liners.
Small Batch Mini Margarita Cheesecakes
Small batch mini margarita cheesecakes with graham cracker crust are easy and portable, perfect to serve at football parties. Get your party started by turning your drink into dessert!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 8 ounces full-fat cream cheese, softened
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg, room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lime zest
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 tablespoon tequila
- 2 teaspoons triple sec
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- Small Batch Homemade Whipped Cream, lime zest, and lime slices, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with 6 paper liners.
- In a small bowl, mix together the graham cracker crumbs and melted butter until moistened and clumpy. Press down into the bottom of each paper liner and bake 5 minutes.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese and sugar until smooth and creamy, about 2-3 minutes.
- Beat in the egg then beat in the vanilla, lime zest, lime juice, tequila, triple sec, and flour.
- Spoon the batter into each liner and bake 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool completely at room temperature then chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours. Garnish with whipped cream, zest, and slices before serving.
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Lisa @ The Cooking Bride says
These are so cute!
Carol at Wild Goose Mama says
Wowzer what a party hit. The problem is I would make pig of myself with the dish that I brought to
the Super Bowl Party. YOU are the Cheesecake go to Queen I tell ya. Obviously I love the recipe and in ‘cupcake’ form, perfect for a party.
Annie says
Unabashedly third category. I *guess* I’m excited about the Panthers this year, but only cause I really miss North Carolina and for no other reason.
Booze-themed desserts, on the other hand, get me fired up every time.
Victoria says
look salivate, kaka :)
Mel says
Would these freeze well. (Absent the whipped cream of course!)
Carla says
Yes, you can freeze cheesecake. Place them on a tray in the freezer uncovered. Once they freeze up, wrap them individually in plastic wrap then seal them either in a freeze-proof container or a freezer bag. Then before serving, you can thaw them in the refrigerator overnight.
Ginny Stramaglia says
Are these made in a mini muffin pan?? We are doing a progressive dinner in my neighborhood & think regular sized muffins would be too much. If so how long would you cook the mini cheese? Thanks
Carla says
It’s a regular 12-cup muffin pan. If you go the mini muffin pan route, I would probably start checking after 10 minutes then go from there.
Christina says
Did you have any issues with these sinking on you? I make mini cheesecakes all the time, but these sank within seconds of coming out of the oven. and not just a little dip, practically a cheesecake cup… any suggestions?
Carla says
It definitely shouldn’t be like that! What kind of cream cheese did you use? Low fat and fat free cream cheeses tend to be more watery, so it can mess with the liquid to dry ratio (which is why it would’ve sunk in the middle – not enough structure from the extra wetness).
Christina says
Original Philadelphia cream cheese. First 2 batches looked beautiful in the oven and sank like the Titanic the minute I pulled them out of the over. 3rd batch I increased the amount of flour by 1/2 a Tablespoon, and upped the heat 10 degrees, baked ~18 minutes and so far they’re holding steady out of the oven. I sometimes get a tiny dip in the center of any mini cheesecake as they cool, but it’s not noticeable when you top them with whipped cream, etc. I’d never seen a sink like the first 2 times before. Just not enough structure the first go-arounds I suppose. Thanks!
Carla says
Ok I retested these this morning (mostly because I needed a dessert for something unrelated so figured why not retest these while I’m at it). I stand behind my recipe because mine didn’t sink. Since you mentioned increasing the heat, I highly recommend buying an oven thermometer to make sure the temperature is indeed 325 and not lower. The only other thing I can think of is sometimes cupcake pans can vary in size (I have two and one is slightly larger than the other). If you’re filling them too full, that would cause them to rise too much then sink on the way back down. I know I call for 6 liners, but perhaps making it 7 would help?
Kelly says
Just made these today for a Mexican themed party. Mine deflated in the middles too – despite adding an extra 10 mins of cooking time ???? Devastated. Hoping once topped with cream it will be un-noticeable
Carla says
It sounds like either you overfilled the liners (they would rise too much then sink in the middle as they cool) or your oven temperature isn’t accurate and they baked lower than 325F. The other possibility is you didn’t measure correctly and the liquid to flour ratio was off.
Carla says
Oh just thought of another possibility – what kind of cream cheese did you use? Low fat and fat free cream cheeses tend to be more watery to make up for the lack of fat. If it added more water, then the flour wouldn’t be enough to compensate for that.
Deb M says
Can I substitute out the alcohol? Mostly because I don’t want to buy a bottle for a tablespoon. If yes, what should I use?
Carla says
You can leave it out altogether then omit the flour which was used to balance the extra liquid.