These light and fluffy 4th of July Mini Cheesecakes are the perfect holiday treat! Easily make them using a mini cupcake pan and basic ingredients! Easily customize them for any occasion or holiday by switching out the cheesecake topping!
One of my husband’s favorite desserts is these Mini Cheesecakes! They are beyond delicious and are so easy to customize! You just make the base mini cheesecakes and then customize the topping for any occasion or holiday!
For the 4th of July Mini Cheesecakes, I wanted them to be appealing to both kids and adults. So, I made two different versions – one with cut fruit and the other with red, white, and blue sprinkles!
First, let’s get started with how to make the Mini Cheesecakes!
RED WHITE AND BLUE MINI CHEESECAKES
Makes 4 dozen Mini Cheesecakes!
Ingredients:
- 3 – 8oz Cream Cheeses
- ¾ cups Sugar
- 3 Eggs
- 2 teaspoon Lemon
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 48 Mini Nilla Wafers
- Mini Cupcake Liners
- 2 cups of powdered sugar
- Fruit of choice: Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries
- 4th of July Sprinkles
Directions:
Before starting, make sure your cream cheese is at room temperature. This is very important! If you try making the batter when the cream cheese is too cold, then it will not incorporate completely and the cheesecake batter will be too runny!
1) Take two packages (16 oz) of the softened cream cheese and combine it with the ¾ cup sugar, 2 eggs, 1 tsp Lemon Juice, 1 tsp Vanilla Extract and mix together with a hand mixer.
2) After it begins combining, add the additional egg. When the batter is done it should be smooth, but still a little thick. Kind of like a thick cupcake batter.
3) Take a mini cupcake pan and line each cup using mini cupcake liners. Then place a Mini Nilla Wafers at the bottom of each cupcake liner. I like to put the flat side down!
4) Take the batter and fill each cup about ½ to ¾ of the way full. I have found it is easiest to do this just using a large spoon.
Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.
Allow them to cool completely.
*TIP* I have found that when making my cheesecake batter that it mixes better when I use a hand mixer vs a Bosch or Kitchen Aid! I’m not really sure why, but this is just personal experience.
Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe:
5) While the mini cupcakes are cooling, make the cream cheese frosting.
Take 8 oz of softened cream cheese, 2 cups of powdered sugar, 1 tsp lemon juice and 1 tsp vanilla and whip for 2-3 minutes using your hand mixer.
6) After the mini cheesecakes are completely cool, pipe a small amount of cream cheese frosting onto the center of each mini cheesecake. If you don’t have piping bags, then you can also use a ziplock bag and just cut the corner of the bag with scissors.
For the Fruit Mini Cheesecakes:
Wash and cut the strawberries into tiny little pieces. If you are going to use blueberries or raspberries, then choose the smallest ones possible.
Arrange the fruit on top of each cheesecake.
Refrigerate for an hour before serving.
CHOCOLATE AND STRAWBERRY MINI CHEESECAKES
Another fun variation is to do a chocolate sauce on top of the mini cheesecake and then place a whole strawberry on top of the chocolate!
KID-FRIENDLY MINI CHEESECAKES
I have found that kids like these mini cheesecakes much better than traditional cheesecakes for a few reasons. First, they are not as first and dense. They have a *hint* more of a cake texture to them vs the wet dense texture of a traditional New York Cheesecake. And second, the flavor isn’t quite as intense.
I have also found that adding sprinkles to the top of the cream cheese frosting is a winner! For the 4th of July, I topped some of mine with Red, White, and Blue Sprinkles instead of topping them with fruit!
Looking for some other fun 4th of July Treats? Check these out:
CHEESECAKE TOPPING IDEAS:
- New Years Eve: Gold and Silver Sprinkles
- Valentine’s Day: Strawberries | Pink and Red Sprinkles | Heart Chocolates
- St. Patrick’s Day: Green Sprinkles | Green and Gold Sixlets
- Easter: Cadbury Eggs and Green Grass Candy | Peeps | Chocolate Bunnies
- 4th of July: Red, white and blue Sprinkles | Mini Fruit that is red or blue | Star Candy
- Halloween: Marshmallow Ghosts, candy corn, and orange or brown sprinkles | Black and Orange Sprinkles | Oreos made into spiders.
- Thanksgiving: Candy Corn | Brown and Orange Sprinkles
- Christmas: Upside down Strawberry and Frosting to make Santa Hat | Green and Red Sprinkles | Christmas Tree or Santa Chocolate Candy | Marshmallow Snowman | Green Frosting formed to make a Christmas tree.
I hope these ideas give you some good ideas! You can also always google ideas! I like to search for “cupcake toppings” when searching. For example, Easter Cupcake Toppings.
I hope these give you lots of ideas and how you could incorporate this delicious yummy treat into your next celebration or holiday!
Below I’ve got a printable recipe card for you, along with a step by step video!
Easy Mini Cheesecakes
Equipment
- Mini Cupcake Pan
- Mini Cupcake Pan Liners
Ingredients
Cheesecake Ingredients
- 2 8 oz Cream Cheese softened
- ¾ cup Sugar
- 3 Eggs
- 1 tsp Lemon Juice
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 48 Mini Nilla Wafers
Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients
- 1 8 oz Cream Cheese softened
- 2 cups Powdered Sugar
- 1 tsp Lemon Juice
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
Topping Options
- ½ cup Strawberries diced
- ½ cup Blueberries
- ½ cup Raspberries
- Red, White and Blue Sprinkles
Instructions
Mini Cheesecake Instructions
- Before starting, make sure your cream cheese is at room temperature. This is very important! If you try making the batter when the cream cheese is too cold, then it will not incorporate completely and the cheesecake batter will be too runny!
- Take two packages (16 oz) of the softened cream cheese and combine it with the ¾ cup sugar, 2 eggs, 1 tsp Lemon Juice, 1 tsp Vanilla Extract and mix together with a hand mixer. After it begins combining, add the additional egg. When the batter is done it should be smooth, but still a little thick. Kind of like a thick cupcake batter.
- Take a mini cupcake pan and line each cup using mini cupcake liners. Then place a Mini Nilla Wafers at the bottom of each cupcake liner. I like to put the flat side down!
- Take the batter and fill each cup about ¾ of the way full. I have found it is easiest to do this just using a large spoon.Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes. Allow them to cool completely.
Cream Cheese Frosting Instructions
- While the mini cupcakes are cooling, make the cream cheese frosting.Take 8 oz of softened cream cheese, 2 cups of powdered sugar, 1 tsp lemon juice and 1 tsp vanilla and whip for 2-3 minutes using your hand mixer.
Topping Instructions
- After the mini cheesecakes are completely cool, pipe a small amount of cream cheese frosting onto the center of each mini cheesecake. If you don't have piping bags, then you can also use a ziplock bag and just cut the corner of the bag with scissors.
- Wash and cut the strawberries into tiny little pieces. If you are going to use blueberries or raspberries, then choose the smallest ones possible.
- Arrange the fruit on top of each cheesecake. .
- To make them more kid friendly, add sprinkles to the top of the cream cheese frosting! For the 4th of July, I topped some of mine with Red, White, and Blue Sprinkles instead of topping them with fruit!
- Refrigerate for about an hour before serving!
Video
Notes
MINI CHEESECAKE HOLIDAY TOPPINGS:
- New Years Eve: Gold and Silver Sprinkles
- Valentine's Day: Strawberries | Pink and Red Sprinkles | Heart Chocolates
- St. Patrick's Day: Green Sprinkles | Green and Gold Sixlets
- Easter: Cadbury Eggs and Green Grass Candy | Peeps | Chocolate Bunnies
- 4th of July: Red, white and blue Sprinkles | Mini Fruit that is red or blue | Star Candy
- Halloween: Marshmallow Ghosts, candy corn, and orange or brown sprinkles | Black and Orange Sprinkles | Oreos made into spiders.
- Thanksgiving: Candy Corn | Brown and Orange Sprinkles
- Christmas: Upside down Strawberry and Frosting to make Santa Hat | Green and Red Sprinkles | Christmas Tree or Santa Chocolate Candy | Marshmallow Snowman | Green Frosting formed to make a Christmas tree.
Nutrition
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If you’ve tried this recipe, I’d love it if you’d comment and rate the recipe! I love to hear feedback and answer questions!
Make sure to pin this post for later too! Thanks, friends! Have a great day!
Lizzie
Can these be made the night before they’re needed?
Pam Dana
Absolutely! I just store them in the refrigerator!
Kristyn
These are so perfect!! I love that you can make them a little different by adding different toppings! Cheesecake is my absolute favorite!
Melissa
Yum – we made these at home this week and they were delightful!
Lily
These are the perfect mini cheesecake you can decorate them for any holiday or birthday, they are so versatile, so creamy and delicious as well.
Jessica
These look AMAZING!! I can’t wait to make them every holiday!
Anna
So delicious the perfect summer treat.
Claudia
Can you tell me if it’s lemon extract or juice? Thanks so much!
Melissa
What is the bean paste for?