Mini Gluten-Free Thin Mint Cheesecakes
Ingredients
16 ounces (2 packages) cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
2 eggs (100 g, weighed out of shell) at room temperature, beaten
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 recipe gluten-free Thin Mint cookies (minus the glaze)
4 ounces miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 325°F. Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with greaseproof liners, and set it aside.
Make the cheesecake batter. In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a bowl with a hand mixer), beat the softened cream cheese on medium-high speed until it is light and fluffy. Add the sugar, eggs, vanilla and salt, beating on medium-high speed after each addition until smooth.
Make a water bath, or bain marie, for the cheesecakes. Place one cookie in the bottom of each muffin liner, and press down gently so that it sits on the bottom of the liner but does not break. With a spring-loaded ice cream scoop, fill each well about 3/4 of the way full with the cheesecake batter. Shake the pan from side to side to distribute the cheesecake in an even layer. Sprinkle the tops of the cheesecake batter with a few of the (optional) miniature chocolate chips. Place a large baking dish with at least 4 inch sides, into which your muffin tin can rest, in the center of the preheated oven. With the oven rack halfway out, fill the large pan halfway with water (or high enough that the water will come at least halfway up the undersides of the wells of the muffin tin). Rest the muffin tin on top of the water bath in the large pan, carefully slide in the rack and close the oven. Bake, without opening the oven, for about 30 minutes or until the cheesecakes are set. Turn off the oven, and allow the cheesecakes to sit in the oven with the door ajar until the oven temperature cools to about 200°F.
Remove the pans from the oven and place the muffin tin on a wire rack to allow the cheesecakes to cool completely. Remove from the muffin wells and serve. Store any leftover cheesecakes in a sealed container in the refrigerator. They keep well for at least 2 days.