Mini Cheesecake Bites with Dark Chocolate Cranberry

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

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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 30^th 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 30^th 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!

Mini Cheesecake Bites with Dark Chocolate Cranberry

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Print Rate

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 32 -36

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!)

Notes

It is important that your ingredients are at room temperature - this will keep the batter from clumping![br]Because of cooling times, these are perfect for making ahead![br]Makes 32-36 mini cheesecakes!