I love throwing parties, yet I hate preparing for them. I always take a week to prepare my meal, but the day of, I am stressed out beyond belief. Cleaning, shopping, cooking ALWAYS gets done at the last minute. And getting ready….pfff…totally overrated, mascara and wet hair is a tell-tale sign that your hostess has been busting a move to make everything homemade and perfect! At least this is what I hope people think?!?!?
Anyway, this weekend was no different. I wake up Sunday morning, with a messy/dusty house, sleep deprived children, and a dinner party in 8 hours. My Napoleons with homemade puff pastry was officially thrown out at about 9 am. Instead, I needed something that could cook unsupervised and be ready when I needed it to be. I had recently seen crock pot cheesecakes on Pinterest, and knew that it was my best option. The end results were creamy and delicious mini cheesecakes, with minimal effort.
Mini Cheesecakes in a Jar
Makes approximately 10 4 oz mini cheesecakes
Crust
- 1 1/2 cup ground graham crackers
- 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 stick (8 tbsp) melted butter
Filling
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2- 8 oz packages cream cheese, softened
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 tsp lemon zest
Beat sugar and cream cheese together, until pale. Add eggs one at a time and beat until combined. Beat in cream, extract and lemon zest and beat until filling is smooth. Pour into jars. Place jars into crock pot and carefully (avoid splashing water into the cheesecakes) pour hot water until jars are 3/4 submerged.
Cook on high for 1 1/2 hours. Because all crock pots are different, check your cheesecakes after an hour. Test the middle by touching it with your finger, if it solid then it’s done. Remove from crock pot and refrigerate for 2 hours. Garnish with fresh fruit and enjoy!
Yay! What a great way to cook your dessert while you clean. I love the mini cupcakes in the jars, you could put a lid on them and send them home with guests after the party too. Great pictures, I am still working on my photography skills.
Are those short jelly jars? Cute idea
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Sounds wonderful! And what a great idea, especially for company, What size crockpot do you have, that 10 jars fit in? And what are the dimensions of the jars? Thanks!
Thank you Margaret. I had (it has since broken and been thrown away) a pretty large crock pot, but I do not remember the size. The jars I used were the small 4 oz jars.
This looks amazing! I can’t wait to try it. One question–where does the heavy cream get incorporated? I can’t seems to find a reference to it in the step-by-step directions (beyond the ingredients list). Or maybe I should have some more coffee and wake up a bit before trying to cook?
Nope it was me who needed the coffee while posting the directions…all fixed now
This looks great! Just one quick question–where do I incorporate the heavy cream into the filling? I see it in the list of ingredients, but there doesn’t seem to be a reference to it in the step-by-step directions.
Sorry bout that…all fixed now!
Thanks so much! Sorry abou the double-posting, too. I think my computer needs the coffee
No problem!
This looks amazing and I cant wait to try to make it for my boyfriend. Where can I find jars like these?
Awesome Kathleen! I usually find the jars at any major grocery store or at walmart. They are by Kerr.