Once upon a time, I was at The Olive Garden with a friend of mine.  For dessert, she ordered their white chocolate raspberry cheesecake.  She loved it so much that she insisted that I learn to make it.  At the time, I was just getting my feet wet in the art of making cheesecakes, so this was a pretty daunting task.  I eventually found a recipe that yielded an excellent result.

Sometimes, though,  you just don’t want a whole cheesecake.  Besides, mini cheesecakes are so much easier to share.  And, they are easier to tell yourself you’re not consuming as much calories, even if you eat 3 in a row.  But, who does that, right!?  Definitely not me.  Nope.

I love how no two look exactly the same.  I have to thank whoever it was that figured out that tart raspberry and super-sweet white chocolate would strike a perfect balance and make beautiful music together.

Click here to get the recipe for white chocolate raspberry mini cheesecakes.

White Chocolate Raspberry Mini Cheesecakes

Ingredients

Directions

First, make the sauce…

In a small saucepan, combine your raspberries, water, corn starch, and sugar.  Bring to a boil.

Continue to boil for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly.  Strain sauce through a mesh strainer to remove the seeds.

Next, make your crust…

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease two 12 cup mini cheesecake pans, or line 2 12-cup muffin tins with paper liners.

Crush your cookies in a food processor until no large chunks remain.  If you do not have a food processor, you can put them in a 1 gallon storage bag and crush them with a rolling pin.  Pour crumbs into a bowl.

Add the melted butter and stir to combine until all of the crumbs have been moistened.  If needed, add another tbsp of melted butter.

Divide the crumb mixture into the 24 cavities and press onto the bottom of the cups.

Bake for about 5-6 minutes.  Allow to cool completely.

Now, for the cheesecake!

Reduce your oven temperature to 300 degrees.

Cream the sugar and cream cheese together until smooth.  Add your eggs, one at a time, and mix until just combined.  Add the vanilla extract.

Melt your white chocolate with your half and half over a double-boiler, or in the microwave using a microwave-safe bowl.  Be extra careful that you don’t let your chocolate burn.

Add your white chocolate mixture to your cream cheese mixture and mix until combined.  Add about 1 heaping tablespoon of the mixture to each muffin cup, followed by two or three little dollops of the raspberry sauce.  Repeat with the rest of the cheesecake batter and raspberry sauce.  Swirl your raspberry sauce through your cheesecake using a toothpick or thin-bladed knife.

Bake for about 18-20 minutes, or until the centers are set.  Allow to cool completely, then refrigerate overnight before serving.