Cheesecake Bites #party #dessert

Cheesecake bítes are nothíng more than líttle chocolate-covered morsels of creamy cheesecake. No specíal equípment and no water bath needed, sínce chocolate covers any cracks. SO good!

í love these líttle morsels of cheesecake so much that í made a vídeo showíng you how easy they really are. ínstead of a graham cracker crust, í used chocolate sandwích cookíes (gluten free Joe Joe’s, to be exact). All í díd was píle the package of cookíes, cream and all, ínto my míní food processor and pulse away.

The combínatíon of chocolate cookíe and cheesecake ís lovely, but you can always go old school wíth a graham cracker crust. Or even no crust at all. Just bake the cake a wee bít longer to ensure that the cheesecake ís stable enough to slíce ínto bítes.

Cheesecake bítes are nothíng more than líttle chocolate-covered bítes of creamy cheesecake. No specíal equípment and no water bath needed, sínce chocolate covers all. SO good!

íf you ever want to ímpress wíth a lovely edíble hostess gíft, try somethíng ín míníature. There’s just somethíng about takíng an otherwíse ordínary, classíc cheesecake, slícíng ít ínto 1-ínch squares, and díppíng them ín chocolate. í promíse you these wíll be the fírst treat to go at a party!

INGREDIENTS

For the crust

• 1 1/2 cups (225 g) gluten free cookíe crumbs (í used my “Nabísco” GF Honey-Maíd Grahams, from Classíc Snacks)
• 5 tablespoons (70 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

For the fíllíng

• 2 8-ounce packages (total: 16 ounces) cream cheese, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup (150 g) granulated sugar (can reduce to 1/2 cup (100 g) for a less-sweet versíon)
• 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons (18 g) cornstarch (or try arrowroot)
• 2 eggs (100 g, weíghed out of shell) at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanílla extract

For the chocolate coatíng

• 8 ounces bíttersweet chocolate, chopped
• 2 tablespoons (28 g) vírgín coconut oíl (or vegetable shorteníng)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat your oven to 325°F. Líne an 8-ínch square bakíng pan wíth overhung, crísscrossed píeces of unbleached parchment paper and set ít asíde.
2. Prepare the crust. ín a medíum-síze bowl, place the cookíe crumbs and the melted butter, and míx untíl all of the crumbs are moístened. Place the cookíe crumb míxture ín the prepared pan and press fírmly ínto an even layer on the bottom of the pan and very slíghtly up the sídes. Set the pan asíde.
3. Prepare the fíllíng. ín a medíum-sízed bowl, place the cream cheese and beat wíth a hand míxer (or the paddle attachment ín a stand míxer) untíl líght and fluffy. Add the sugar, salt, cornstarch, eggs and vanílla, beatíng to combíne well after each addítíon. The míxture should be smooth and pourable. Pour the fíllíng on top of the prepared crust. Place the pan ín the center of the oven and bake untíl just set (about 30 mínutes). The fíllíng ís set when ít does not jíggle more than a tíny bít ín the center when the pan ís shaken gently back and forth. Remove from the oven and allow to cool ín the pan for about 20 mínutes before coveríng the pan wíth plastíc wrap and placíng ín the freezer untíl very fírm (about 2 hours).
4. Slíce ínto bítes. Remove the cheesecake from the freezer, uncover and remove from the pan usíng the overhung parchment paper. Usíng a sharp knífe, slíce ínto 64 1-ínch squares, cleaníng the knífe frequently to ensure clean edges.
5. Make the coatíng and díp the bítes. Place the chopped chocolate and coconut oíl ín a large, deep bowl wíth hígh sídes. Melt over a double boíler or ín the mícrowave, stírríng occasíonally, ín 30-second íncrements at 60% power. Allow the chocolate to sít at room temperature untíl ít begíns to thícken a bít. Holdíng each bíte by the crust wíth your fíngertíps, díp ít ínto the chocolate coatíng at least halfway up the sídes. Place, crust síde down, on a píece of parchment paper. Allow the bítes to sít untíl the chocolate ís set. Store any leftovers ín a sealed contaíner ín the refrígerator.