Lemon blueberry cheesecake minis

The buttery crust on these little pretty minis was the talk at our family get together. Their size makes them the perfect grab n' go treat

.....WAIT FOR IT...waaait for it !!!

well I couldn't wait neither could my family. During the chilling time for these minis my phone rang off the hook..."ma, mom are they ready yet"? these lemon blueberry cheesecake treats will be amongst the top 10 requested desserts from your family.

I was asked to make a cheesecake but the bottom to my springform pan was missing so I figured I could still do a cheesecake just a different style and I found these little pretty treats, thanks to Chelseasmessyapron.com for sharing their recipe for miniature lemon blueberry cheesecakes.

Let's get started the faster we start the sooner you can enjoy a little bite of heaven. I made a few changes to fit my taste buds that will be noted with two asterisk (**)

Here's what I used...

THE BUTTERY CRUST...

~ 4 sheets of **honey graham crackers

~ 1 TBSP white sugar

~ 2 TBSP butter **pre-measured before melting

THE CREAMY CHEESECAKE FILLING...

~ 1 pk cream cheese softened

~ 1/2 cup white sugar

~ 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract ** alcohol free

~ 1 large egg **at room temperature

~ ** 1 1/2 - 2 TBSP lemon zest or the zest of two small lemons

**This recipe called for blueberry jam but I didn't have any but what I have was a fresh box of Certo fruit pectin and made a quick sweet tart blueberry sauce.

**HOMEMADE BLUEBERRY SAUCE...

~ 1 cup fresh blueberries 

~ 1 1/2 TBSP of Certo pectin to start + more needed to thicken sauce

~1 cup cold water

~ 1 TBSP white sugar + more needed to taste

~ 1 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

small to medium non stick sauce pan

- confection sugar for dusting

Now let's get'er done...

Pre-heat oven to 350° 

THE CRUST

Now...

- Line a regular muffin pan with muffin papers but only line the nine (9) wells, fill the other three (3)  halfway with water this process will help with weight distribution and even baking

- Using a food processor pulse the graham crackers into crumbs (not too fine), add in sugar and melted butter and pulse mixture a little more until combined.

-Evenly divide the crumbs into the muffin wells then press down on the crumb with a spoon or small top (I used my vitamin C bottle with cap on it) set aside

THE FILLING...

Now...

- place cream cheese in a medium size bowl, using a electric mixer combine sugar and cheese on medium speed until creamy (do not over mix), add in vanilla, egg, and lemon zest beat until just combined

- Evenly spoon mixture into muffin cups I started out using a 1 TBSP per then divided so forth, place filled pan on middle oven rack and bake for 20-22, the finished product should be a bit jiggly in the middle with brown to light brown edges

- Remove from oven, allow to cool 30-40 minutes on rack then put in refrigerator to cool at a minimum of 3 hours

-during the cooling down process the cheesecake will sink in the middle and that's quite ok that spot will hold the sauce and the berries. These were so much better and flavorful the next day at least the two that was left but....

THE SAUCE...

- in a medium sauce pan over medium high heat add water, sugar and cook until sugar dissolves

- add berries, lemon juice and pectin

-bring to a boil until white foam appears cook at this temperature about 3-5 minutes ad berries will break down

-lower heat to a simmer and adjust the sugar and lemon juice to your desired taste

-remove from heat allow to cool on rack ad the sauce cools it will thicken even better overnight.

Putting it all together...

- Spoon cooled sauce on top of cheesecake mini, add a few fresh berries and dust with powder sugar....and

ENJOY!!!!!