Sunday's sweet stuff.... bacon topped mini cheesecakes!

Today's sweet treat is something a little different, but since I have leftover bacon from yesterday's b'fast pizza, I am going to use it today for another experimental dessert! Mini cheesecakes with bacon!! Ohhhhh, yes! I am getting low on my Cup 4 Cup GF flour, so I wanted to make something sweet that didn't require too much.....

What you will need:

for the crust:
about 10-12 graham crackers (I am using GF crackers, but any grahams will do) 
2 tablespoons sugar 
3 tablespoons butter, melted 
Pinch of salt

for the mini cheesecakes: 
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened 
1/3 cup sugar 
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
1 tablespoon Cup 4 Cup GF flour (or you can use reg all purpose) 
1 large egg 

...annnnnnd don't forget the BACON!
4-6 strips of crispy delicious bacon, crumbled (mine was already cooked yesterday, but this would be the very first thing you'd want to start with)

Make the bacon however you would normally make it. 

Preheat the oven to 350. Line a 24-cup mini muffin pan with paper liners. 


make the crust:
Melt the butter and add the sugar...

 Pulse the crackers( I have a Ninja blender thingy, but I imagine you could use a coffee grinder if you didn't have a processor), add to the melted butter, the 2 tablespoons sugar, and the salt in a bowl and mix with a spoon or fork. 

Firmly press 1 heaping teaspoon of the crumb mixture into each mini muffin liner. 

 Bake until the crust is set, about 12 minutes. Let cool in the pan on a rack.

make the cheesecakes:

Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F. Combine the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla and mix until light and smooth, 4 to 5 minutes. 

Add the flour and egg and mix until smooth, scraping down the bowl as needed. 

 Fill each mini muffin cup with about 1 heaping teaspoon batter (you should be completely out of batter after you fill your last cup) and bake until set, about 18-20 minutes.

 (while I was cooking my cheesecakes, I cut & crumbled the bacon and threw it in the skillet to crisp it up a bit) 

After about 18-20 minutes, the cheesecakes should be set. Take them out of the oven and top each cheesecake with crumbled bacon pieces.

After all cakes are topped, let cool in the pan on a rack, then transfer the pan to the freezer for about 30 minutes, and then enjoy!!