No-Bake Shot Glass Cheesecakes

I made up the recipe for these little cheesecakes for my first catering job. My church held a Women's brunch and asked me to make 6 centerpieces with small desserts. The cheesecakes were the favorite among the women and have been a staple dessert for all my catering events. I love them for three reasons. First, they just looks so cute. Second, they're the perfect size if you just want a taste, not a whole slice of cheesecake (See? It's healthy...ish...) And finally, everything is better in a shot glass.

I've made these cheesecakes several times, and I think I've finally perfected it. At least that's what my taste testers (mom and boyfriend) said. This time around I used Mascarpone cheese in place of one brick of cream cheese and the final dessert was lighter and less tangy than the original recipe. It's a keeper!

These are really easy and fun to make, and they're always the talk of the party. They're great for birthday parties, socials, and dinner parties. You can experiment with different toppings or mix fresh fruit into the cheesecake itself...Or better yet, let your guests top their glasses with their choice of topping. Shot glasses can get expensive. If you want to keep it budget-friendly and easy to clean up, buy a pack of plastic shot glasses. I like to use candle votives instead of actual shot glasses. I find that they're a bit larger, and you can buy a whole case of them for much less than shot glasses.

Happy Baking!

Mix the cheesecake 'batter' and the graham cracker crust.

These votives came packaged in a plastic tray that holds each glass and a similar tray that fits over top. They then slide into a plastic box. I kept the packaging to hold them while I fill them and transport them.

Use a tablespoon to measure out the crust (or if you're a gadget lover like me, #70 scoop) and fill each shot glass.

Press the crust into the bottom of the glass, I like to use a tart press. Don't pack it too tight. Just enough to hold it's shape.

The crust should be about 1/2 inch high

Here's a trick of the trade: Place your pastry bag in a tall drinking glass, fold down the top of the bag over the sides of the glass and fill with the batter.



Pull the top up of the bag, twist to close and cut the tip

Pipe the batter with one lifting motion

And smooth the top of each cheesecake with a small spatula

Top with your choice of fruit preserves, ice cream topping, jams or fresh fruit.

No-Bake Shot Glass Cheesecakes
Yields about 20

Cheesecake
16 ounces cream cheese, slightly softened
8 ounces Mascarpone cheese, slightly softened
3 cups Cool-Whip
1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

Crust
1 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
7 tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 cup granulated sugar

Topping
2 jars of any fruit ice cream topping, jam, or preserves

In a medium bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, melted butter and sugar. The crumbs should be moist, but not wet, and should hold together when pressed in place. Set aside.

Using an electric mixer, cream together cream cheese, Mascarpone cheese, vanilla, lemon juice and lemon zest. Beat in 3/4 cup confectioner's sugar. Slowly mix in the Cool-Whip, and then remaining 3/4 cup confectioner's sugar. Slowly mix in enough milk to make the batter the consistency of a fluffy frosting.

Spoon the cheesecake batter into a piping bag. Cut the tip where the bags width is about 3/4 inch.
Drop 1 tablespoon of graham cracker crust into each shot glass and press down with the tablespoon or something flat. (I used a tart press) Place the tip of the pastry bag into each shot glass, squeeze and fill the glass with one lifting motion (this ensures the glass fills evenly), leaving 3/4 inch at the top unfilled. Use the back of the spoon or a small spatula to smooth the top of the cheesecake. Finally, spoon the fruit topping over the cheesecake, almost to the rim of the glass. Wipe off the edges with a damp cloth. Keep refrigerated.

Dessert Centerpieces for the Women's Bible Study

Am I good at procrastinating or what? I have a good excuse though. I have been BUSY!

I have started Culinary School and I love it! I have already learned so much, and I am so excited about what I will learn in the future!

A lot of people from my church are really supportive of my passion for baking, and the ladies from the Women's Bible Study asked me to make dessert centerpieces for the bible study opening brunch! So for the past month and a half, my mom and I have been planning and shopping, and I have been perfecting the recipes for each dessert. The opening brunch was this past Tuesday, and it went great! There were (miraculously) no mess-ups or mishaps, and it went as smoothly as possible! I thought I would share some pictures with you all and see what you think! All the recipes are my own, except for the biscotti and apple dip. Everything else I created myself! If you would like any of the recipes, please comment and I'd be more than happy to share them with you.

Here I am working the night before. For three days I had been baking non-stop. Monday night I was up until 2am baking, then woke up at 6:30 to finish up! We had to be set up by 9am! My dog Buddy was a very helpful vacuum whenever I dropped anything.

Here is my favorite dessert. These are miniature chocolate cakes layered with espresso ganache and topped with buttercream frosting. I wanted them to look like little espressos with foam on top! I started by making chocolate cakes in 9 inch cake pans, and cutting out 2 small circles per cup. I filled the bottom of the cup with espresso ganache, put a cake circle, more ganache, another piece of cake, and finally piped the frosting on top.

The little espresso cake, up close. I sprinkled a bit of espresso powder on top.

Next are miniature no-bake cheesecakes. I didn't want them to be as dense as classic cheesecake, so I folded Cool-Whip into the cream cheese 'batter' to make them light and fluffy. I also added lemon zest, vanilla, and powdered sugar. The crust is a simple graham cracker crust, and there are three different toppings: Blueberry, raspberry, and strawberry. I made the sauces by pureeing the fruit, passing it through a fine sieve, and cooking the juice with sugar and cornstarch. A cheesecake close up!

These are one of my favorite creations, 'Dutch' Donuts. I used the same almond filling used to make the Dutch cookies 'Boterletters' or Dutch letters. I made a simple cake donut recipe and thickened it up with a bit of flour. Then I stuffed the dough with the almond filling and fried them, and sprinkled a bit of powdered sugar on top. I made a simple glazed of powdered sugar and milk to go on top.

Here is almond biscotti with a chocolate ganache and apple slices with a cream cheese and brown sugar dip.

There are two different kind of muffins here. Pumpkin and cranberry-apple. I also made a maple butter to go with them! Both are made with whole wheat flour and NO oil. I had to have SOMETHING healthy, right?! The maple butter was made by melting maple sugar and butter, then whipping it into room temperature butter.

Here's the last centerpiece. The top are my latest creations, Caramel Apple Tarts. I wanted to play off the Autumn theme and combine apple pie with caramel apples. The crust is a snickerdoodle cookie baked in a tart pan. The apple filling is basically an apple pie filling, only cooked over the stove, with lots of flour, brown sugar and apple cider. The bottom are mini pumpkin pies, my grandmas pie recipe just miniaturized!

Here they are after the centerpieces were moved to the desserts table. My wonderful mom made fruit spears, fruit cups, and mini cupcakes to look like sunflowers.

Here I am asleep after all the ladies left. The week had caught up to me!

This is a 'Thank You' gift the ladies made me. It is now hanging in my kitchen! The text on the apron says 'Taste and See That The Lord is Good.' Which was the theme for the brunch.


I had SO much fun doing this. It was a LOT of work, but very worth it, and great experience. Next up: Engagement desserts and wedding cupcakes!