What was your favorite dessert as a child? Mine, by far, was these mini cherry cheesecakes. I mean, sure, I loved ice cream and pie and cookies. But if my mom asked me what she should bake — especially if it was to take to school or a party — it was mini cherry cheesecakes. Once you make them, you’ll understand.

You are probably wondering why I’ve had this blog going for so long and have never shared this recipe. I asked myself the same question, but the main reason is that I’ve only made these mini cheesecakes myself a few times, and the last time was before I got my stand mixer. Why does that matter? The original mini cheesecake recipe (from my mom) says to beat the cream cheese mixture for 10 minutes.

That’s not really a big deal with a stand mixer, but it’s incredibly annoying with a hand mixer. Which is why I’m telling you that you don’t actually have to beat the cream cheese mixture for 10 straight minutes. Just make sure you beat it long enough for it to be very well mixed and creamy. Then spoon some onto the vanilla wafers, bake, and top with cherry pie filling. You could do some with cherry pie filling and some with blueberry pie filling, if you’re feeling particularly patriotic. And if you’re somewhere that doesn’t stock pie filling at the grocery store, use some cherry or strawberry jam instead.

And then tell me what you think. Are they your new favorite?

Mini cherry cheesecakes

(Makes 15-18 cupcake-sized cheesecakes)

Vanilla wafers
2 8-ounce packages of cream cheese, softened (I leave it on the counter for about 30 minutes)
3 large eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 can cherry pie filling

Preheat over to 350F. Prepare a muffin pan with cupcake papers, then place a vanilla wafers in each, flat side facing up.

Beat cream cheese, eggs, sugar, and vanilla together in a medium bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer) until well combined and creamy. Spoon the mixture into the cupcake papers, on top of the vanilla wafers, until the muffin cup is about 3/4 full.

Bake for 17 minutes — the cheesecakes should be puffed up. Let cool (they’ll collapse/sink down a bit), then top with cherry pie filling. Depending on the size of can you use, you should be able to put 3-4 cherries on top of each one. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.