Pretzel Salted Caramel Mini Cheesecakes
These pretzel salted caramel mini cheesecakes have a graham cracker crust and creamy cheesecake baked in a cupcake tin. They are topped with homemade salted caramel and a pretzel.
Servings: 12 cheesecakes
Calories: 368kcal
Ingredients
Graham Cracker Crust
- 2 cups Graham cracker crumbs about 1 whole packet of graham crackers.
- ¼ cup Brown sugar packed light or dark
- ½ teaspoon Ground cinnamon
- 6 tablespoon Unsalted butter melted
Cheesecake
- 8 oz Cream cheese room temperature
- ¼ cup White granulated sugar
- ⅛ cup Sour cream room temperature
- ⅛ cup Heavy cream room temperature
- ½ teaspoon Pure vanilla extract
- 1 Large egg room temperature
Salted Caramel
- 1 cup White granulated sugar
- 5 tablespoon Unsalted butter room temperature
- ½ cup Heavy cream room temperature
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Pure vanilla extract
- 12 Pretzels
- Flaky sea salt optional
Instructions
Graham Cracker Crust
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a 12 cup cupcake tin with cupcake liners. Set aside.
- Blend graham crackers in a food processor. Blend until fine crumbs form. Mix the crumbs, brown sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter. Stir with a fork. It should all be wet.
- Use a 1 tablespoon and scoop, compact, and pour into each cup in the cupcake tin. Compact the crust using a ⅛ measuring cup or the bottom of a spice jar. Set aside.
Cheesecake
- Using a mixer, beat the cream cheese on medium-high for 1 minute. Scrape bowl and add in sugar. Beat again for 1 minute.
- Add in sour cream, heavy cream, and vanilla. Mix on medium until cheesecake batter is smooth. Scrape the bowl and add in the egg. Mix on low and until it is just combined.
- Use a cookie scoop (1 ½ TBSP) and scoop the cheesecake batter on top of the graham cracker crust. Use a spoon to smooth the batter.
- Bake for 20-22 minutes. The cheesecakes are done baking when the edges are set and there is a very small jiggle. Turn off the oven, crack open the door about 4 inches and let it sit for 20 minutes.
- Transfer the mini cheesecakes to a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely. Cover and chill in the fridge for 6 hours or overnight.
Salted Caramel
- Have all ingredients ready before starting. Use a saucepan and heat the sugar over medium heat. Use a whisk and whisk until the sugar crystals are completely melted. It will clump up at first but will melt down. Let it sit for 30 seconds or less until the sugar turns amber in color. Take off heat immediately.
- Mix in half of the cubed butter. Whisk until combined, it will be bubbly. Then, mix in the rest of the butter. Add in half of the heavy cream and whisk until combined. Then, add in the rest of heavy cream. Once combined, add in the vanilla and salt.
- Pour caramel into a glass jar. Let it cool completely. Once cool, cover jar in plastic wrap for storing.
- Take all of the cupcake liners off the cheesecakes. Pour ½ tablespoon of caramel over the mini cheesecake and then, use a spoon to smooth it. Place a pretzel and a sprinkle of flaky sea salt on top of the caramel. Only place pretzels on them right before serving. Once the pretzels go in the fridge they will lose their snap.
- To store: keep covered in the fridge.
Notes
Crust:
Make sure the crust is compacted before adding the cheesecake batter.
Cheesecake:
Make sure all dairy ingredients are pulled out 2 hours before baking.
Scrape the bowl several times to prevent any cream cheese clumps. Also, beat the cream cheese and sugar thoroughly to prevent clumps.
Salted Caramel:
Make salted caramel the same day as making mini cheesecakes. Then, it will cool all the way and be ready to decorate the next day.
Make sure the dairy ingredients are room temperature (pull out 2 hours before baking). Otherwise cold ingredients can cause the caramel to seize up.
Nutrition
Calories: 368kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Cholesterol: 67mg | Sodium: 369mg | Potassium: 68mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 29g | Vitamin A: 776IU | Calcium: 48mg | Iron: 1mg