Monday, January 12, 2015

A Quick Cheesecake Dessert: Cheesecake Cupcakes

Time is a premium commodity here in the Midwest.

The South Dakota Badlands in the winter. I love living here :)

Between deadlines and a son moving, last week was crazy. Throw in the AFC Divisional Championship, and I needed a quick dessert to share here and with our friends at our church's evening service Sunday night.

Deadlines? Two books are in process right now. One due out from Love Inspired Historical in September, and then another from Revell coming in March 2016.

Son moving? Our youngest started an eight month internship on the other side of the state today. He drove from the Black Hills to Brookings on Wednesday, and the another son and I made the trip (and back) with a van full of his stuff on Friday. On Thursday we had a blizzard. It wasn't too bad on the west side of the state, but the east side was like something out of a Laura Ingalls Wilder book. And like Pa Ingalls, we traveled between storms.

And the AFC Championship? Broncos against the Colts. We'll know the outcome of the game by the time you read this!

So where do you go to find a quick recipe? I asked my daughter if she had any ideas, and she pointed me to Pinterest.

And this was NOT a Pinterest fail!!!

Beautiful and delicious!

Cheesecake Cupcakes

There really isn't a recipe for this.


You need no-bake cheesecake mix, and either chocolate sandwich cookies or peanut butter cups. I used both since I made a double batch.

Line muffin tins with paper liners. Place a cookie or a peanut butter cup in the bottom of each one, reserving a few cookies or one peanut butter cup for the topping.


Mix the no-bake cheesecake according to the package directions. Don't make the graham cracker crust, though. Save that for later.

Spoon some of the cheesecake batter into each muffin cup.

Now, for the cookie cheesecakes, take those reserved cookies and crush them. Sprinkle the crushed cookies on top of the cupcakes.

For the peanut butter cup ones, Sprinkle some of the graham cracker crust crumbs on top. Then take the reserved peanut butter cup, mince into small pieces, and sprinkle it on top of the graham cracker crumbs.


Put them in the refrigerator to cool. Or if you live in the north, use your extra winter cooler (aka, your garage). Wait a few hours before serving. One batch makes 14-16 cupcakes.

These quick cupcakes were perfect for a busy weekend. Delicious, impressive looking and fun.



Did I mention delicious?

Is your life as busy as mine is right now? Tell us about it!

16 comments:

  1. Quick update:

    1) People at church raved about these. Loved them :)

    2) The Broncos lost the football game. :(

    ReplyDelete
  2. MUST TRY! MUST TRY! MUST TRY!!!!! What a fun, simple, marvelous idea! Jan, did the paper shells work or would the aluminum ones be better?

    I can't wait to try these bad boys! YES!!!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The aluminum ones might be better. The paper shells were kind of wobbly around the edges.

      But on the other hand, they didn't last long enough to be a problem, wobbly sides and all :)

      Delete
    2. I bet they didn't! I can't wait to try this!

      Delete
  3. I need this for a lunch tomorrow. YUM!!!!!!! Crazy week for us too but you had the beauty of the Badlands.

    I am dealing with the NC State upset over Duke. I can't call my Duke grad dad for days until he cools down. But our NC State family is thrilled.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, it's so tragic when football divides families! ;)

      And this recipe is so quick and easy! I kept wanting to turn on the oven...but no baking!

      Delete
    2. Oh, she's talking basketball in that case. And the biggest rivals. I haven't dared ask my son about it!

      Delete
  4. Oh...that's what AFC is -- football talk. I thought it might be a writing group or something. LOL Says the non-athletic Canadian who knows absolutely nothing about football except that it's always pre-empting regular programming. :-)

    Winter moving in your neck of the woods doesn't sound like much fun. Was it hard to see him go? I bet the dogs get depressed when their pack diminishes.

    Love this idea. Going to add ingredients to my grocery list though I haven't seen the no back cheese cake mix up here. Mind you I haven't been looking either. And I got some nifty decorated cupcake papers in my stocking. Perfect. But I'm only going to make one batch so which would you recommend? Peanut butter or oreo?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm the wrong one to ask which one was best! I had some of each....probably the peanut butter cup ones. :) And in our store they sell the no-bake cheesecake mix near the pudding mixes, but on a different shelf.

      And yes, moving in the winter is hard. In fact, when my son was offered this internship, I remember thinking - maybe he could start in the spring instead??? But we made it. You really have to watch the weather maps, though! Moving him home in August will be a LOT easier!

      Yes, the pack is diminished. I'm not sure if Thatcher has noticed he's gone, but Wynter finally stopped waiting up for him. When someone is gone at night, she sleeps in the living room until they get home, and then moves to her favorite bed in the bathroom. Last night she started out in the bathroom, so I guess she's given up on him!

      Delete
    2. Oh, Jan, that's so sweet how Wynter does that. My daughter was just telling me about a study where they studied pets' brains. And the dogs' brains react to interactions with humans as if they are family! So cool. I'll have to ask her where she read it.

      Delete
  5. Jan, i'm wondering if that fun cheesecake mix I used for the berry cheesecake would work.... it was a blend of cream cheese, sour cream and powdered sugar and it's so delightful and no weird gelling chemicals. I think I might want to try that, see how it goes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ruthy, share if you haven't done so before!

      Delete
    2. Here's the address to Ruthy's recipe:

      http://yankeebellecafe.blogspot.com/2014/06/ruthys-no-bake-triple-berry-cheesecake.html

      Delete
  6. Okay, I can see the Oreos--that sounds wonderful! But I'm not so sure about the peanut butter cup recipe! :) I'd probably just want to eat the peanut butter cups plain!

    Jan, you have had a crazy week! I can't imagine moving in that weather. I'm also laughing about using your garage as a refrigerator. Probably more like a freezer! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's why you live in the south, Missy! I had a terrible time when we lived farther south. What do you do with Thanksgiving leftovers when there's no room in your refrigerator???

      Delete
    2. We have a second fridge in the basement. :)

      Delete