Hey everyone and Happy Halloween!! Totally one of the best holidays ever, and what better way to celebrate than with mini chocolate chip cheesecakes with a red velvet bottom, because, well, why not? π
Really, any day is a great day for cheesecake, because cheesecake is by far one of the best desserts ever, and if you don’t agree you’re a weirdo you’re misguided. Unfortunately, I find cheesecake to be quite labor intensive to make at home, and who’s got time to run down to The Factory–Cheesecake that is– every time you hear it calling your name?
Fortunately for us, mini cheesecakes that bake up perfectly at home are just as delicious as a traditional cheesecake but about a million times easier to make.
Also, these just happen to be super adorable (yes I referred to food as adorable, don’t judge) and handheld so you can sit in a corner and eat them all yourself share with your friends and family.
The soft, rich, chocolatey flavor of the red velvet pairs so well with the smooth, slightly sweet, creamy texture of the cheesecake and mini chocolate chips.
Basically, these are awesome, go make them, your taste buds will thank you.
- 1 Box of Red Velvet Cake Mix
- 1 8 Ounce Block of Cream Cheese at Room Temperature
- 1 Egg
- 1 (1/2 Cup) Stick of Butter at Room Temperature
- 1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
- 2-8 Ounce Blocks of Cream Cheese
- 2 Tablespoons of Sour Cream
- 1/3 Cup of Granulated Sugar
- 1 Large Egg at Room Temperature
- 1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
- 1/3 Cup of Mini Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips***
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Line 24 cupcake tins with cupcake liners.
- With a handheld or stand mixer with paddle attachment**cream the butter and cream cheese until smooth.
- Add the vanilla and egg to the butter/cream cheese.
- Add the cake mix and blend until incorporated.
- With a spoon, scoop the red velvet batter into your hands and roll into a ball (it should equal about 2-3 tablespoons) and place the ball in the bottom of each paper liner.*
- Take your spoon and smoosh down the batter a little-but not too much- this keeps them from getting too large, because these do puff up quite a bit.
- Bake the red velvet bottoms for 4-6 minutes, when they come out of the oven they will still be very gooey but slightly cooked.
- While the red velvet bottoms are cooling, cream the 2 blocks of room temperature cream cheese until smooth.
- Add the sugar and blend into the cream cheese until incorporated.
- Add sour cream, egg, and vanilla.
- Slowly fold in the chocolate chips
- Half fill an ice cream scoop (that's what worked best for me, you can use whatever is easiest) with the cheesecake batter and pour onto the red velvet bottoms until covered.
- Return your pans to the oven for about 20 more minutes, but please check to make sure the tops are not browning too quickly. I placed aluminum foil on top of my cheesecakes for the last 2 minutes because some were. Your cheesecakes are done when they don't jiggle in the middle.
- Once removed from the oven, let them sit out and cool for at least 30 minutes before storing in the fridge.
- *** you can use more than 1/3 cup of the chocolate chips, if you like more, then awesome, obviously I don't π
- ** you don't have to have a stand mixer but this batter is extremely thick and a stand mixer makes it so much easier
- *this is very messy and your hands are going to turn red from this batter, I washed my hands periodically throughout while rolling the red velvet so they wouldn't stain my hands.
- you will see in the pictures I put my favorite whipped frosting on top of these, you do not have to, but it most definitely tastes delicious.
Patty and Kenny says
Your mom sent us the link
Very neat idea – we know how important your cheat day is to you!
Holly says
Haha yes! thank y’all for stopping by, and yes very important to me. π
Barbara says
Just waiting to return to Mississippi to try these.
Holly says
Yes! I highly recommend you do π
Sandra says
I made them today for first time. I used piping bages to fill the baking cups, zero mess compared to trying to roll little balls in my hand. Cupcakes came out ok.
Holly says
Hey Sandra! the piping bag was a great idea, I’ll have to try that next time. Thanks!