Birthday Treats

This month for #letslunch, we’re talking birthday treats, since yesterday was Cheryl Tan’s birthday. If you don’t know Cheryl, you should, she’s the author of a fabulous foodie book called “A Tiger in the Kitchen”. She also brought together a group of food lovers, originally on twitter, to cook monthly themed lunches and #letslunch was born.

So this month, we’re honoring Cheryl. Though I had the best of intentions and made mini slider rolls, I haven’t yet done the meat for the sliders, what I did do, however, was cheesecake. Teeny tiny, cheesecakes.



























This cheesecake recipe is ridiculously simple. So simple, in fact, that I was almost ashamed to tell you how I made them.  But yes, I took a recipe from the Kraft website using  Philadelphia cream cheese.

You can find the recipe here:
http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/philadelphia-mini-cheesecakes-143464.aspx?tab=recipe

I changed it up some, I didn’t use the paper muffin cups, and I made them in mini muffin tins, since they are for a cocktail party and I wanted bite sized treats.



























To make 2 dozen of these little guys I made a 2/3 batch of the cheesecake and still had a bit leftover.
I baked them at 325 F for about 18 minutes.

The best way to release these from the muffin tins is to pop the pan in the freezer for 30 minutes and then run around the outside with a small offset spatula and they pop right out!



























I couldn’t get my hands on any Saskatoon berries, so I used some wild blueberries with water and cornstarch to make a nice berry topping. Heat on the stove until thick and syrupy and then chill completely before topping the cheesecakes!



























Make plenty, they are simple but delicious!