One of my sons LOVES cheesecake and he’s always asking me to make one. I hesitate to make an entire cheesecake unless we’re having a dinner party, because only 4 of the 6 of us like it, and it would take a while for us to consume a whole cake. That problem was solved when I found this recipe for individual cheesecake cups. My son’s eyes lit up when I showed him the recipe. Because they looked so good, and despite the fact that the center is filled with cheesecake, all four boys tried the filling. Alas, still only two like cheesecake. I think one of them may have rejected it because he knew that there was cheese in it. I’m not convinced he didn’t like it.

The cheesecake in these cups is fairly soft, so I found these to be incredible served directly from the freezer. The cookie cups don’t get too hard and the filling has the perfect consistency when frozen – not too hard and not too soft – just perfect. This is now one of my favorite desserts. I love that the cheesecake is no-bake and that each cheesecake cup is an individual serving. These look beautiful on a serving platter and if you have berries around, they’d be beautiful with a raspberry, blackberry or strawberry adorning the cheesecake.

Nutella Cheesecake Chocolate Cookie Cups
Recipe from Life, Love and Sugar

Chocolate Cookie Cups
3/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoon cornstarch

Nutella Cheesecake
10 oz cream cheese, room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup Nutella

Coat cupcake pan with non stick cooking spray. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream butter and sugar together for ~5 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until well combined.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until smooth. Dough will be thick. Make balls of about 2 Tablespoons of dough. Press cookie dough in bottom and about 1/3-1/2 way up the sides of each cupcake cup, forming a cup shape. These don’t have to be perfect. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Remove from oven and allow to cool for about 5 minutes, then remove to cooling rack to finish cooling. The centers should fall a bit while cooling, but if the centers aren’t cupped enough to add filling, use the end of a wooden spoon or the bottom of a tablespoon to press the center down a bit.

Once the cookies have cooled, make the cheesecake filling. Blend the cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla and Nutella together until smooth. Pipe or scoop cheesecake filling into cookie cups.

Store in the refrigerator or the freezer (my preference).

Yield: ~16 cheesecake cookie cups

Two years ago: Fresh Carrot Risotto
Three years ago: Avocado Vichyssoise
Four years ago: Spicy Chicken Barley Soup with Sweet Potatoes and Spinach
Five years ago: Cheese Quiche
Six years ago: Pan Seared Shrimp with Garlic-Lemon Butter