These delicious mini cheesecake bites with Dove® Fruit – Whole Cranberry as a topping are not only better for you desserts because they’re super tiny and made with fantastic ingredients, but are also part of a shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are, as always, mine alone. #CollectiveBias
Whhhaaaaat say you? Better for you desserts? Dove® Chocolate Fruit – Cranberries? Tell me more!
Ok, ok, I’ll spill the beans, or should I say…I’ll spill the Dove® Chocolate Fruit – Cranberries (but if I were to spill any like I may or may not have when taking this picture, I’d eat every last one that may have fallen onto the floor..5 second rule, right?!)
So I was doing some meandering around Sam’s Club, doing shopping for my hubby’s 30th birthday party (more about that below) and came across a bag of dark chocolate covered cranberries…they just found a way into my cart, don’t know how that happened lol.
As a huge lover of dark chocolate and dark chocolate recipes, I’m always trying new products to find ones I love. And fall in love I did. The smooth, mouthwatering dark chocolate covered cranberries were amazing, and a little birdy told me that while they’re only available for a little while at Sam’s (so walk/run/etc to try some) Dove® is releasing Dove® Cherry later this fall. You would probably win a bet if you think I’ll be first in line at Sam’s to try them #LoveDoveFruits !
When I was planning my husband’s 30th birthday, I asked him what dessert he wanted me to make. He practically yelled ‘Cheesecake!’ at me, but then he said ‘can you make it a little healthier?’ (we’re trying to eat better, so I definitely wanted to indulge him while making a better for you dessert.)
And since a big ‘ole honkin’ cheesecake isn’t exactly crowd friendly or healthy, I decided to make mini cheesecake bites and then topped them with some Dove® Chocolate Fruit – Cranberries!
To make these cheesecake bites, you set out your ingredients:
Then you use a fork and stir together graham cracker crumbs and melted butter to make the crusts
Then scoop a teaspoon full into mini muffin liner
Then you press the mixture down – I do this with a bottom of a shot glass, anyone else have a shot glass collection? This Alaska one is from our honeymoon!
Then bake the crusts, and while the crusts are baking, prepare the cheesecake filling
And chop the Dove® Fruit – Whole Cranberry
Then remove the crusts from the oven
Then fill each cup with a scoop of the cheesecake batter (I used a tablespoon cookie scoop and it worked fantastically!)
And sprinkle some chopped up Dove® Fruit – Whole Cranberries on top
And bake them, then transfer them to a cooling rack
Just look at these mini cheesecakes
The end result? AMAZING! The creaminess of the cheesecake is perfectly complimented by the slight tang of the cranberries and finished by the rich dark chocolate .
Let’s just say I made a double batch of these mini cheesecakes (so we’re talking 64 mini cheesecakes) and not a one was left over! Not.A.Single.One!!!
And here are some pictures from my hubby’s 30th 80s themed birthday party!
Because these mini cheesecake bites need to be cooled, they’re perfect for making the day before!
Ingredients
- -Crust-
- 1 Cup Graham cracker crumbs
- 3 Tbs Butter melted
- 2 Tbs Sugar
- -Cheesecake Filling-
- 2 Packages 8oz each Reduced Fat Cream Cheese, at room temperature
- 3/4 Cup Sugar
- 2 Large eggs at room temperature
- 1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
- -Topping-
- 1/2 - 1 Cup Dove® Fruit - Whole Cranberry chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325. Line a mini muffin pan with muffin liners, set aside.
- In a microwave safe bowl melt the butter for the crust for 30 seconds (if it's not melted after 30 seconds microwave for another 30 seconds). Then add the graham cracker crumbs and sugar and using a fork mix all ingredients together. Spoon 1 tsp of the crumb mixture into the bottom of the lined muffin pan, and use a shot glass to press down the crumbs. Bake for 5 minutes, then remove from oven.
- While the crusts are baking, make the filling. With a hand mixer (or stand mixer) beat the cream cheese (it is important that it is at room temperature-this will make it smooth and airy and not lumpy) for 3 minutes until smooth and creamy. Then add the sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract and beat for another 2 minutes until smooth and combined.
- Spoon 1 tablespoon of cheesecake batter on top of the crust.
- Chop up the Dove® Fruit - Whole Cranberry.
- Then sprinkle a few pieces on top of the cheesecake batter.
- Bake for 20 minutes, then remove from oven. Allow to cool for 10 minutes, then move to a wire cooling rack. Allow to cool for another 5-10 minutes, then allow to cool in the fridge for at least 4 hours, or overnight (perfect for making ahead!)
Thalia @ butter and brioche says
these mini cheesecakes look delicious! i’m loving the look of those dove choc coated cranberries too.. shame we can’t buy them in australia yet!
Sweetphi says
Thanks for commenting Thalia! Too bad you don’t have the dove chocolate covered cranberries..they’re so delicious! But in their place you could use mini chocolate chips 🙂
summerdf says
WOW, Phi. You have outdone yourself once again. They look absolutely gorgeous and delicious. I wish I could have been there to taste them, though I’m sure my hips thank me that I wasn’t. YUM! #client
Sweetphi says
Awe, thanks Summer, your comment made my day! And hey, since I used reduced fat ingredients and they’re so mini, your hips say they would have been fine and are sad they missed the party lol
Amanda says
What a fun dessert!
Sweetphi says
Thanks Amanda! Guests totally loved that they were mini and didn’t require any extra dishes. One of my girlfriends came up to me holding a handful of them and said, ‘they’re only one bite so I’m going to eat 5!’ lol
Lisa @ Lisa Living Well says
Yum! Those look delicious! I love the decorations for his b-day party.
Sweetphi says
Thanks Lisa! Those decorations kept falling down so it was a true labor of love (and lots of tape) to get them to stay up…they’re still up a week after the fact because I’m just too lazy to take them down lol!
cheri says
Hi Phi, First, Happy Birthday to your husband, love these mini cheesecakes, they are perfect for entertaining.
Sweetphi says
Thank you so much Cheri, I’ll pass along the birthday wishes! And these mini cheesecakes are perfect for entertaining, guests can just take one (or five) and enjoy the little bites, no extra dishes needed to serve the dessert either!
City Coastal Life (@CityCoastalLife) says
goodness me, they look fab-u-lous! One would never be enough, scrumptious! I love chocolate covered dried fruit.
Sweetphi says
Thanks for commenting, and you’re right…one is never enough…at least that’s what I tell myself when I’m making them and ‘taste testing’ lol
Sonia (@Mummy_loves) says
Wow I don’t think we have those chocolate covered cranberries in the UK, we have a company called Dove but they sell soap lol not as nice 😉 These look amazing x
Sweetphi says
Lol about the soap Sonia! You could use chocolate covered fruit instead or just mini chocolate chips as an alternative 🙂
agatapokutycka says
They look amazing! They remind me of art pieces you look at and admire… too pretty to eat…
Sweetphi says
Awe, thank you so much for that super sweet comment, totally made my day! But I can assure you, they’re just as good to eat 😉
wearenotmartha says
These little cheesecakes are such a cute idea… And I had NO idea Dove made chocolate-covered fruit- must get my hands on that!!
Sues
Sweetphi says
Being that they’re mini, one can have more than one, right? lol! And yes, you should definitely try the Dove chocolate-covered fruit…they are so delicious!