mini cheesecakes

I made these for a holiday party and they were gone so fast I didn't even get one (ya I made 60?) I guess that means this recipe is a winner. It's a very simply cheesecake recipe modified for foil cupcake liners. This is not the vanilla wafer crust where you just drop a cookie in each liner, but if you are short on time that will save you some. I just feel a real crust is so much more delicious and holds up much better.

Crust
1 1/2 cup Crushed graham crackers
1/4 cup Sugar
5 tablespoons Melted butter

Mix the graham crackers and sugar, then add butter and mix with a fork until completely moistened. Press mixture into the bottom of each cupcake liner.

Variations: Use ginger snaps instead of graham crackers for a spicier crust or for cakes like pumpkin.

Use chocolate wafers instead of graham crackers for a chocolate, white chocolate, or certain fruit-flavored or topped cheesecakes like raspberry, cherry, or orange.

For a sweeter, moister crust (do this only if the cheesecake is going to get eaten quickly, because it gets mushy faster) use brown sugar instead of white

Filling
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2/3 cup white
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line 2 muffin tins with 24 foil lined baking cups.
In a medium mixing bowl beat cream cheese until fluffy. Add eggs, lemon juice, and sugar. Beat until smooth and thoroughly combined.
Fill each baking cup 2/3 full with cream cheese mixture.
Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 17 minutes. Cool on a rack.

At this point you can top with pie filling (not the way I roll). Or I love fresh fruit, here I did strawberries. You can do raspberries, blueberries, blackberries (you get the picture.)