Mini Cranberry Orange Cheesecakes with Gingersnap Crust

Mini Cranberry Orange Cheesecakes with Gingersnap Crust are an explosion of flavor!  They’re topped with sugared cranberries for a festive holiday dessert!

Mini cheesecakes are something I’ve been known for ever since I picked up a couple of pans a few years ago.  My pumpkin cheesecake and lemon cheesecake are some of our favorite and I make them for holidays often. 

These Mini Cranberry Orange Cheesecakes are a new favorite.  They’re a true explosion of flavor!

I made my sugared cranberries specifically for this recipe.  I truly couldn’t think of a better way to top them off. 🙂

I know I’ve only got one orange sugared cranberry atop each cheesecake, but be sure and serve a lot more on the side.  I wanted one cranberry for every bite I took. 

The cranberry orange cheesecake is packed with orange flavor as it contains orange juice and zest, which is the perfect match for the spicy gingersnap crust.  

You’ve got all of the best flavors of the season in a few bites right here, and you definitely can’t eat just one!  I speak from experience.

I used my mini cheesecake pans, but you could also use a standard muffin pan with liners if you don’t want to purchase special pans.  Cooking time will be a bit longer and you’ll get less than 12 cheesecakes, but it can definitely be done.  

I almost always double my batch of cranberry orange cheesecakes because they go so fast.  And secretly I’m hoping for leftovers.

Mini Cranberry Orange Cheesecakes will be the stars of your holiday dessert table.  For starters, everyone loves mini desserts because they’re so adorable, and nobody can resist cheesecake bites….nobody.  

Especially when they’re topped with orange sugared cranberries, because they’re the most festive holiday food on the planet. 🙂

See my produce guide on Cranberries, featuring a number of recipes! 

More cranberry recipes you’ll love:

• Cranberry orange biscotti
• Cranberry orange granola bars by Cook Nourish Bliss
• Cranberry orange sauce
• Cranberry sangria

Mini Cranberry Orange Cheesecakes with Gingersnap Crust

Servings: 12 mini cheesecakes

Prep Time: 30 minutes mins

Cook Time: 15 minutes mins

Total Time: 45 minutes mins

Mini Cranberry Orange Cheesecakes with Gingersnap Crust are an explosion of flavor!  They're topped with sugared cranberries for a festive holiday dessert!

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Ingredients

• 1 batch [Orange Sugared Cranberries]

For the crust:

• ¾ cups gingersnap cookie crumbs pulsed in a food processor (I used Pamela’s gluten free brand), plus more for garnish*
• ¼ cup finely chopped toasted pecans* see notes
• 4 tablespoons 2 ounces unsalted butter, melted
• pinch of salt

For the filling:

• 8 ounces cream cheese softened
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons full fat sour cream may substitute with Greek yogurt
• 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
• 1 tablespoon orange zest
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Homemade Whipped Cream

Instructions 

Prepare the crust:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the inserts into the bottom of each of the (12) cavities of a mini cheesecake pan, and spray with cooking spray. Set aside.
• Place the gingersnap crumbs, pecans, and pinch of salt in a small bowl and stir to combine. Add the butter and stir until the mixture is well coated with butter. Drop 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon of the mixture into the each of the (12) cavities, and press down firmly with the back of a teaspoon. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack while you make the filling.

Prepare the filling:

• Beat the cream cheese in a medium bowl until smooth, about 1 minute. Add the sugar, egg, sour cream or yogurt, orange juice, zest, and vanilla, and beat until smooth and well combined. Fill each cavity with the filling as evenly as possible, and bake on the middle rack of the oven for 15-20 minutes or until set but slightly wobbly in the center. Begin checking for doneness after 10 minutes, as oven temperatures vary considerably.
• Cool 20 minutes on a wire rack, then using your finger, push up through the hole in the bottom of each cheesecake and remove each one. Use a knife to loosen the sides if necessary — I didn’t have to. Remove the metal insert and cool completely in the refrigerator for 2 hours or overnight.

Prepare the whipped cream:

• Place the heavy whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and beat on medium high speed until soft peaks begin to form. Remove the whisk attachment and whisk just a bit more by hand until you’ve reached the desired consistency.

Assemble the cheesecakes:

• Place the cheesecakes on a serving tray. Pipe the whipped cream decoratively over the cheesecakes and top with the desired amount of orange sugared cranberries. Garnish with more orange zest and serve with more orange sugared cranberries. Enjoy!

Notes

• *If you want to make your crust nut free, simply replace the pecans with an equal amount of cookie crumbs. Be sure to wait until just before serving to top the cheesecakes with the cranberries.
• If refrigerated, the sugar on the cranberries will dissolve/weep.
• I used a mini cheesecake pan for this recipe, but you may also use a standard muffin pan with paper liners. The cooking time will be a bit longer, and you will get less than 12 cheesecakes.
• Nutrition information does not include the whipped cream or sugared cranberries as that information has been calculated in a separate post.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g, Calories: 218kcal, Carbohydrates: 19g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 15g, Saturated Fat: 7g, Cholesterol: 47mg, Sodium: 123mg, Potassium: 47mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 14g, Vitamin A: 411IU, Vitamin C: 2mg, Calcium: 36mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.

Course: Sweets

Cuisine: American

Author: Marcie

All recipes and images © Flavor the Moments.

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