This is a great recipe, but if this is your first time making cheesecake some of the basics are assumed. A couple of notes for "first-timers"... make sure you read the Cheesecake Tips section of this board. This recipe doesn't tell you some of the cheesecake fundamentals like 1) Make sure your cream cheese is at room temp before you start 2)Your batter should be smooth and silky. If it is lumpy your cheesecakes will turn out badly. If needed, throw the batter in a blender/food processor to get rid of the lumps 3)You do NOT want to wait for your cheesecakes to crack before removing them from the oven. They are done before they crack, when the center is still soft. After I learned these lessons, the recipe turned out well!

These are delicious as is, but I made three different flavors using this batter with tremendous success and professional GOURMET looking results! White Chocolate Red Raspberry: mixed 1/2 cup melted white chocolate into 1/3 of the batter, swirled 1/4 cup raspberry coulis into batter before fillig muffin cups and once baked I topped each with 1/2 teaspoon warmed seedless raspberry jam and drizzled melted white chocolate over the tops. Chocolate Chip - substituted crushed oreos for nilla wafers, added 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips to 1/3 of batter, once baked topped with 1/2 teaspoon chocolate ganache. Cherry Almond - substituted graham cracker crumbs for nilla wafers, added 1/2 teaspoon almond extract 1/3 batter and 1/2 teaspoon almond extract to cherry pie filling. Once baked, topped each with 1 teaspoon sweetened sour cream topping (1/2 cup sour cream + 2 tbsp sugar + 1/2 teas vanilla extract) 2-3 cherries and sliced almond. Feel free to email me at mpcharvat@yahoo.com for coulis, ganache or any other info. Thanks!

For those of you wanting a different base, use 2 cups graham cracker crumbs, 8 tbls margarine and 8 tbl sugar. Mix wel with hands, press +/- a tablespoon into mini muffin papers, top with cream cheese filling and fruit. Will work like a charm!

This recipe is AWESOME. i doubled it and used oreo crumbs instead of wafers. i mixed all the abtter and i omitted vanilla extract. whn the batter was smooth i separated it itnto 3 bowls. to one bowl i added 2 tbls of creme de menthe, to the other bowl i added 2 tbls bailey's irish cream, to the last bowl i added 2 tbls Kahluah cofee liquer. i thought that i had maybe ruined the recipe by adding too much liquid, but it was PERFECT. i baked them for exactly 15 mins, they didnt crak and i took tem out right awy. rmeebr, these are just little guys, they dont need to sit in the oven and firm up like a big cheesecake. if you over cook them their creamy texture will disappear! once they cooled, i added melted dark choc to the top of each one and to the kahluah ones i added a choc covered coffee bean, to the mint one si sprinkled crushed candy canes, and to the irish ones i added a green M&M. Oh yes! i almost forgot I used 2 cups of the choc cookie crumbs to which i added 4 tbls melted butter. ALSO: leave your cream cheese out of the friegde for a good 4 hours b4 u start. i put mine beside the water heater to speed things up!! use a MIXER...blend and blend and blend..mix all the cream cheese up until its super silky, THEN add the sugar, THEN after that add each egg one at a time don't just plop it all in together. exxxxxxxxxxcellent.

I give this a 5 for the ingredients, but for me, these steps work better: I use regular muffin tins and I just put a vanilla wafer (flat side down) in the paper cup. First, I whip the softened cream cheese until it is light and fluffy. Then I gradually add the two eggs and vanilla and sugar at the end. The mix seems to be very runny, but it turns out perfectly. It takes longer to cook; I just keep an eye on the cheesecakes after about 20 minutes.

My mom used to make these for me every birthday. The only thing that I do differently: I keep the vanilla wafers whole. that leaves a good crust on the bottom and keeps it from crumbling. These taste SO GOOD. They are easy to make and a wonderful treat.

Fabulous recipe! So simple! I have only made plain cheesecakes one time. I have altered the recipe to make white chocolate raspberry, carmel, peanut butter, turtle, and strawberry. I am getting very creative w/flavors and will someday have a list to rival the Cheesecake Factory! : ) I used fresh fruit for the raspberry and then preserves for the strawberry. I find the ones w/fruit take about twice as long to bake. The peanut butter has probably been the biggest hit out of all the flavors! I just made the plain, peanut butter, turtle, and strawberry for a wedding reception (I made about 200 of them). They were gobbled up within moments! This recipe is definately a keeper! Some tips- I've used both the little mini muffin pans and normal muffin pans. I prefer mini, but I think it really helps if you use muffin liners. I used a water bath the 2nd time I used this recipe, and am not sure if it made a difference, except by making my oven feel 4 times hotter! I'd like to think it made a difference, so I will do it again. Garnishing these little bite sized beauties really sets them off and it's also very fun! You can't go wrong w/this recipe. Please let me know if anyone wants details on the specific flavors I used and how I made them. Happy baking!

This is an easy, fun recipe for cheesecake, but it needs more precision. There are two sizes of "mini" pan liners: 1 5/8" and 2". Half the recipe makes 24 mini cheesecakes in my mini muffin (tassie) pans. Half the recipe makes 16 individual cheesecakes in 2" liners, freestanding on a baking sheet. I used about 8 vanilla wafers to make crumbs for the mini size and about 16 for the individual size. In a 2" pan liner you can drop in a whole wafer instead.

Quick and easy. You can cut the sugar down to 1/2 cup and add 1 tbsp. of lemon juice to the cheese mixture if desired.

My husband made these last year and this year for our holiday party. Everyone loves them! We do half the recipe as is and the other half with mini chocolate chips. To save time we buy the graham cracker crumbs for the plain cheesecakes with cherry, and Oreo crumbs for the chocolate chip ones.