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Cheesecake Dessert Cups are served in individually portioned 2-oz shot glasses and are made with a simple graham cracker crust and a creamy no-bake cheesecake filling! Finish yours off with your favorite toppings, like whipped cream or fruit pie filling!
Hey everyone! Sam here again from Sugar Spun Run! Today I have a simple and entirely no-bake recipe for you: Cheesecake Dessert Cups!
This recipe is based off of my favorite no-bake cheesecake recipe, but is slightly modified to be suited for being served in mini cups. A benefit of serving them this way in the cups (instead of in a springform pan) is that since you don’t need to worry about slicing the cheesecake, you don’t need to wait for the cheesecake filling to set. Once your cheesecake batter has been portioned, you can dig right in!
I always use and recommend using 2-oz shot glasses for this recipe. I buy plastic ones off of Amazon when I make cheesecake cups because I don’t actually have 24 shot glasses on hand (nor would I really feel like cleaning them afterwards!).
These creamy cheesecake dessert cups are so easy to make, so let’s get right to the recipe. We’ll start with a simple, three-ingredient graham cracker crust — one that doesn’t require any pre-baking.
How do I make a No-Bake Graham Cracker Crust?
This recipe is based off of my super simple graham cracker crust, and you just need three ingredients: Graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter. If you don’t have pre-made graham cracker crumbs on hand, you can crush about 3 1/2 graham cracker sheets to make them yourself, just make sure you crush the crumbs very well (I like to use a food processor). We’ll also add just a dash of sugar to the mix, and then melted butter is what will serve to help bind the ingredients together and make a true crust in the bottom of each cheesecake cup.
What toppings should I use over a no-bake cheesecake filling?
These Cheesecake Dessert Cups taste great with just about any topping, but my favorites are homemade whipped cream or fruit pie filling.
Cherry or Raspberry pie filling both are great on top of no-bake cheesecake, if you don’t feel like making your own you can just buy the canned store-bought filling (which is what I did for the Cheesecake Dessert Cup in the first picture — easy and delicious!).
These cheesecake dessert cups are always a hit whenever I take them to a party or a potluck. They’re easy to make, easy to customize, and fun to eat. I hope you’ll try them out and let me know how you like them!
Enjoy!
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Cheesecake Dessert Cups
Ingredients
- You will need 24 2-oz shot glasses I usually use plastic ones that I purchase through Amazon (link above).
Graham Cracker Crust
- 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 2 1/2 Tablespoons butter melted
Cheesecake
- 16 oz cream cheese softened to room temperature
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- 1 1/2 cup heavy cream*
- Whipped cream cherry pie filling, or any of your favorite toppings!
Instructions
- Prepare your graham cracker crust first by combining graham cracker crumbs and sugar in a medium-sized bowl. Add butter and use a fork to stir until well-combined.
- Drop about 1 1/2 teaspoon of the graham cracker mixture into the bottom of each shot glass and use a rounded teaspoon to tamp the crumb mixture down into a crust. Set aside and prepare your cheesecake filling.
Cheesecake
- Place cream cheese in a large bowl and use an electric mixer to beat until smooth.
- Gradually add powdered sugar and stir until well-combined.
- Stir in vanilla extract and lemon juice, pausing to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
- Add sour cream and stir well.
- Pour heavy cream into a separate, medium-sized bowl (preferably a chilled metal bowl). Whisk on high speed (preferably using an electric mixer or a stand mixeuntil stiff peaks are achieved.
- Fold whipped cream into cream cheese mixture until smooth and well-combined.
- Pour cheesecake filling into a large ziploc bag and snip off one corner -- about 1"-sized hole. Pipe filling into each shot glass, filling about 2/3-3/4 of the way until all shot glasses are evenly filled.
- Serve as is or top with your preferred topping -- fruit pie filling, whipped cream, cookie crumbs and chocolate ganache are all great options!
- Cheesecake dessert cups can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container. The filling will thicken as it chills.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
How far in advance can I make these cheesecakes? I’m hoping to make them 2 days ahead.
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I made these for my daughters graduation party yesterday and they were a big hit! Delicious recipe, easy assembly, adorable presentation, wins all around!
The French have a cute name for these little glasses used for mini appetizers or desserts: verrines. I have a few sets of them in glass and they get lots of use, whether for little servings of cold avocado soup with crab or mini vegetable flans or for tiny desserts.