Mini Cheesecakes

A dear friend shared these delicious desserts with us and we had to track down the recipe so we could make them ourselves! Now you can too.

All-to-Myself-Cheesecakes

6-12 chocolate sandwich cookies with white filling, split
2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate pieces
2 teaspoons shortening

Line 12 muffin pans with foil bake cups. Place a cookie half in each cups, filling side up. Set aside.

  In a medium mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until smooth and fluffy. Beat in eggs just until well mixed. Spoon cream cheese mixture into bake cups.

Crush remaining cookies and sprinkle over cream cheese mixture. (This is optional.) Bake, uncovered, in a 325° degree oven for about 25 minutes or until set. Cool.

  In a small saucepan, melt chocolate pieces with shortening over low heat, stirring frequently. Drizzle over baked cheesecakes. Cover and chill.

We decided a dollop of whipped cream would make it even more delectable!

Variation: Instead of topping with Oreo crumbs, mash a few raspberries with a sprinkle of sugar, then spoon on top of the cheesecakes. Swirl a bit before baking. Drizzle with Hershey's chocolate syrup (or another hot fudge sauce) instead of the melted chocolate chips if desired. 

Halving the recipe and still using 12 muffin cups makes shorter cheesecakes.