Cake, Batter, and Bowl

Mini Rosemary Cheesecakes with Caramel Apple Topping

Desserts

I’ve still got mini cheesecakes on my mind. You can never have too many around, right? Well, I suppose that’s not entirely true, but people are usually happy to help out with any surplus goodies!

For this version, I mixed some rosemary into the cheesecake batter. Our rosemary plant is super hearty and growing out of control, so I’m always brainstorming ways to use up some of its leaves. This is tougher than it sounds since a small bit of rosemary goes such a long way!  I really enjoyed the little something special it added.

For the crust, I pulsed up some graham crackers and pine nuts, and then I smothered the cheesecakes with a nice layer of caramel that dripped down the sides. Finally, I topped the caramel layer with some finely chopped apples cooked down with a little bit of butter and brown sugar. These cute minis are the perfect fall treat to make after you’ve been apple picking!

Mini Rosemary Cheesecakes with Caramel Apple Topping
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

Mini Rosemary Cheesecakes:
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (5 crackers pulsed into crumbs in the food processor)
1/4 cup pine nuts, pulsed until finely ground in the food processor
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
16 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped rosemary

Caramel Apple Topping:
2 apples, peeled, cored, and finely diced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup caramel sauce (this is my favorite recipe)

Directions:
To make the mini cheesecakes, heat oven to 350˚F. Spray a 12-cup mini cheesecake pan with cooking spray. Mix graham cracker crumbs, pine nuts, and melted butter in a small bowl. Distribute evenly among the cups of the mini cheesecake pan and push down evenly with your fingers. Bake at 350˚F for 7 to 9 minutes or until set. Reduce oven heat to 300˚F. Combine the cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl and beat on medium-high speed with a mixer for 3 minutes or until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Stir in vanilla extract and rosemary. Pour into the cups of the mini cheesecake pans and bake at 300˚F for 20 minutes or until edges are set and middle is slightly wobbly. Cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Place in the refrigerator for 2 hours or until chilled and remove from the pan.

Meanwhile, make the caramel apple topping by placing apples, butter, and brown sugar in a small pot over medium heat; sauté for 10 to 12 minutes, or until apples are softened and lightly browned. To serve the cheesecakes, evenly top with caramel sauce and the apples. Makes 12 mini cheesecakes.

Nutrition: 298 calories, 19.9g fat, 1.3g fiber, 3.9g protein per mini cheesecake
Cost: $0.62 per mini cheesecake

Honey Sesame Cashew Brittle

I think I inherited my love of peanut brittle from my grandpa. My brother and I always gave him a few boxes of brittle for Christmas when we were growing up and I can’t see peanut brittle and not think of him! Whenever I’m in a gourmet candy shop I may peruse the...

Sweet Potato Cups

We love sweet potatoes and always have them around, so when I saw the North Carolina Sweet Potato Sweet n’ Healthy Blogger Recipe Contest had a kid friendly category, I immediately knew I wanted to enter. Apolinaras and I may not have children yet, but we’re both big...

Pretzel and Graham Cracker Chocolate Bars

I went to a super fun blogger event on Saturday - Shannon’s annual cookie swap! Last year I made cookies inspired by my very favorite ice cream, Ben and Jerry’s Chubby Hubby, and this year I wanted to incorporate Nestle’s Flipz White Fudge Coated Pretzels aka crack...

My First Video: Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Brownie Tart

I have a special post today – my very first video! I’ve been thinking about making recipe videos for some time now, so when Pixability, the company Apolinaras works for, offered to make a wrapper that would open and close the videos for my blog (How cool is that?...

Banana Mascarpone Mousse Trifles

I’ve been on quite the popsicle kick lately. This unbearable heat wave means our oven hasn’t been turned on in weeks, so I haven't baked any desserts. My sweet tooth still needs to be satisfied though, and popsicles are just the perfect low calorie refreshing treat! I...

Pumpkin Puff Pastry Tarts

The countdown to our flight to Arizona has begun and we’re playing our favorite game of trying to finish up all the perishables in our fridge before we go. We got a little off track when Apolinaras brought a half gallon of milk home on Sunday and thawed six pork...

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Nutella Cream Cheese Frosting

Yep, another cake recipe! I finally broke out the canned pumpkin and the first thing I wanted to do was make pumpkin cupcakes with Nutella cream cheese frosting. I entered these decorated ones in our work Halloween baking contest today and didn’t win the prize...

Nutella S’more Tart

Girl Scout cookie season has arrived! We scooped up five boxes from two troops selling boxes at the Davis and Harvard Square T stops. Despite our best attempts to ration the treats, one box of samoas has already disappeared...but they’re small, so you have to eat more...