Jack O Lantern Mini Cheesecakes
Looking for a delicious and festive treat for your Halloween party? These mini cheesecakes are easy to make, creamy, delicious, and spooky!
Halloween is one of my favorite holidays! I’ve always enjoyed making creative costumes for my kids and creating Halloween treats and Halloween party food that is spooky and delicious!
These mini cheesecakes are perfect for parties, the individual portions make serving a breeze, plus they are super fun to decorate!
These mini cheesecakes are really just plain cheesecake all dressed up for the holiday. They color comes from orange food coloring and I’ve swapped the regular graham cracker crust for a chocolate crust so that you get the festive orange and black combination. But the flavor is a classic cheesecake flavor with just a touch of chocolate from the crust and the ganache topping. If you want to skip the chocolate scroll down to the FAQ for some other ideas!
Ingredient Checklist
Find the exact measurements in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
For the Crust-
Chocolate Graham Crackers- These make a delicious chocolate crust! You can also use chocolate wafer cookies or even Oreos. If you use Oreos skip the sugar.
Sugar – This helps bind the crust together. Just plain white sugar is all you need!
Butter– I like to use salted butter for this recipe, but you can easily use unsalted. You’ll be melting it so it doesn’t need to be softened.
For the Cheesecake-
Cream Cheese – Plain cream cheese, I use full fat. It needs to be softened to room temperature.
Sour Cream – This helps make a nice creamy texture for the cheesecakes. Don’t use low fat or light, the texture isn’t as creamy.
Sugar– White sugar or cane sugar work perfectly.
Eggs– Fresh eggs are best!
Vanilla– Make sure to use real vanilla for the best taste!
Chocolate Ganache-
Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips– I like the contrast of semi sweet chocolate with the sweetness of the cheesecake. If you prefer to use milk chocolate they’ll work too!
Heavy Cream– This melts with the chocolate to create a creamy rich ganache that is delicious and easy to decorate with.
Supply Checklist-
Muffin Pan– These are what shapes your mini cheesecakes. I like to use metal one, I find the ones made of silicone hold too much moisture.
Muffin Wrappers– You’ll need paper liners for your muffin tin, these help the cheesecake to not stick so you can remove them easily. They are also great for easy serving! I used plain white but you could also use cute festive Halloween themed muffin wrappers.
How to Make These Mini Cheesecakes
First you’ll want to preheat the oven to 350. Next line a muffin pan with paper liners, this recipe makes 18 mini cheesecakes so you’ll need to prepare 2 muffin pans or work in batches.
Next you’ll want to make your graham crackers into crumbs. You can pulse them in a food processor until they finely ground or you can place them in a zip top baggie and crush them with a rolling pin or mallet until they are fine crumbs.
Then melt your butter. I put mind in a small dish in the microwave, but you can also melt it in a small pan on the stove.
Now in a medium mixing bowl stir together graham cracker crumbs, butter, and 1/3 cup sugar. Spoon about 2 tbsp of the crust mixture into each muffin pan and firmly press to create the crust. You can use a spoon, a small spatula or the bottom of a glass to press firmly so that the crust doesn’t fall apart.
Next in the bowl of an electric mixer beat cream cheese until light and fluffy, add in sugar and continue to mix until well blended.
Now add in the vanilla and eggs one at a time mixing after each addition. Add in sour cream and mix until well incorporated. Add in a few drops of food coloring and mix. Add more and mix until desired color is achieved.
Spoon the cream cheese filling mixture over the crusts filling each muffin wrapper about ¾ of the way full.
Gently tap the muffin pan on the table or counter several times to help any bubbles come to the surface. Jiggle the pan to help the top of the filling settle and smooth out. If necessary you can use a toothpick or point of a bamboo skewer to gently smooth the surface and pop any bubbles. Eliminating the bubbles creates a nice flat surface on the cheesecakes that is easier to decorate.
Place pan in the preheated oven and bake for 15-18 minutes until they no longer look wet and the centers are still slightly jiggly.
Remove the cheesecakes from oven and allow to cool completely.
Once the cheesecakes are cooled it is time to make the ganache and decorate them.
To make the ganache combine the chocolate chips and heavy cream in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 45 seconds and allow to sit for 3 minutes.
Stir until smooth. If necessary heat in 10 second increments stirring between each until smooth. Allow the mixture to cool slightly before handling.
Place the chocolate mixture in a piping bag and decorate cheesecakes with jack o lantern faces. To make filling the piping bag easier place it in a glass and fold the edges around the rim of the glass (like a bag in a trash can) and then fill with the chocolate ganache.
Refrigerate until ready to serve.
FAQ & Tips for Success
Can I use regular graham crackers? If you want the flavor of a classic cheesecake crust you can swap out the chocolate graham crackers for regular graham crackers. You’ll have a tan base instead of dark brown but they will still be cute and delicious.
Do I have to make chocolate ganache? If you’re looking for something quick and easy you can skip the ganache and use frosting instead. You can get chocolate decorating icing, black decorating icing or black decorating gel. These are really fun to let kids decorate their own and the decorating gel can be a great way to do that!
Can I make these in different colors? YES! Or with no color at all! Mini cheesecakes are great for any occasion so you can make these with no food coloring for an any time dessert or swap the orange out for other colors like pink for Valentine’s Day or red, white, and blue for the 4th of July! Anything goes!
-If you make the cheesecakes ahead of time and refrigerate them before decorating make sure to allow them to come to room temperature before decorating. They will sweat a bit and the tops will be wet as they warm up and that can prevent the ganache from sticking
Can I make these in advance?– These keep well for 3-4 days so if you want to make a dessert ahead of a gathering or party these are a great option.
Jack O Lantern Mini Cheesecakes
Ingredients
- Crust-
- 2 Cups Chocolate Graham Cracker Crumbs about 15 graham crackers
- 8 Tbsp Butter – melted
- 1/3 Cup Sugar
- Filling-
- 2 Blocks Cream Cheese softened
- 2/3 Cup Sugar
- 2 Eggs
- 2/3 Cup Sour Cream
- 1 tsp. Vanilla
- Orange Food Coloring Gel
- Chocolate Ganache-
- ½ Cup Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
- 3 Tbsp Heavy Cream.
Instructions
- First you’ll want to preheat the oven to 350. Next line a muffin pan with paper liners, this recipe makes 18 mini cheesecakes so you’ll need to prepare 2 muffin pans or work in batches.
- Next you’ll want to make your graham crackers into crumbs. You can pulse them in a food processor until they finely ground or you can place them in a zip top baggie and crush them with a rolling pin or mallet until they are fine crumbs.
- Then melt your butter. I put mind in a small dish in the microwave, but you can also melt it in a small pan on the stove.
- Now in a medium mixing bowl stir together graham cracker crumbs, butter, and 1/3 cup sugar. Spoon about 2 tbsp of the crust mixture into each muffin pan and firmly press to create the crust. You can use a spoon, a small spatula or the bottom of a glass to press firmly so that the crust doesn’t fall apart.
- Next in the bowl of an electric mixer beat cream cheese until light and fluffy, add in sugar and continue to mix until well blended.
- Now add in the vanilla and eggs one at a time mixing after each addition. Add in sour cream and mix until well incorporated. Add in a few drops of food coloring and mix. Add more and mix until desired color is achieved.
- Spoon the cream cheese filling mixture over the crusts filling each muffin wrapper about ¾ of the way full.
- Gently tap the muffin pan on the table or counter several times to help any bubbles come to the surface. Jiggle the pan to help the top of the filling settle and smooth out. If necessary you can use a toothpick or point of a bamboo skewer to gently smooth the surface and pop any bubbles. Eliminating the bubbles creates a nice flat surface on the cheesecakes that is easier to decorate.
- Place pan in the preheated oven and bake for 15-18 minutes until they no longer look wet and the centers are still slightly jiggly.
- Remove the cheesecakes from oven and allow to cool completely.
- Once the cheesecakes are cooled it is time to make the ganache and decorate them.
- To make the ganache combine the chocolate chips and heavy cream in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 45 seconds and allow to sit for 3 minutes.
- Stir until smooth. If necessary heat in 10 second increments stirring between each until smooth. Allow the mixture to cool slightly before handling.
- Place the chocolate mixture in a piping bag and decorate cheesecakes with jack o lantern faces. To make filling the piping bag easier place it in a glass and fold the edges around the rim of the glass (like a bag in a trash can) and then fill with the chocolate ganache.
- Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Followed recipe exactly using 2 tbsp of crust mixture in each one and there was enough to only fill 10 not 18 so measurements are off