Pillsbury Chocolate Chip Cookie Mini Cheesecakes With Chocolate Turkeys
Looking for something super easy to wow your friends this Thanksgiving? These mini cheesecakes with Pillsbury Chocolate Chip cookie crusts are an amazing addition to any dessert table if they make it that far. I have a huge weakness for cheesecake but I don’t make it a whole lot…mainly because I eat more of it than I should. Which is why I love using my silicone baking cups pan to help with portion control. This recipe is from Pillsbury.com with a few minor twists.
What you will need for this treat: This recipe will make 24 cupcakes.
Pillsbury Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 Packages of cream cheese
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream (I’m not going to admit that I don’t bake enough to know what this was from the get go…now I do.)
1 container of greek yogurt
melting chocolates
Baking instructions:
Baking at My House: Remind yourself to preheat oven. Get everything together on the table and snap a few starting out shots with the camera while you tell children to keep their hands out of the treats. Tell each child it’s not time to crack the eggs. Remember you need to preheat the oven. Move something a little to the left. Tell child to put the egg down. Walk to oven but forget to turn it on. Get ready to put your cookies into the baking cups…remember to turn the oven on. Ask child again to put the egg down….clean up egg mess while the kids put the cookies in the baking pan. Put baking pan in oven and repeat over and over to self, “Cookies are in the oven. Cookies are in the oven.”
What you are supposed to do: Preheat oven to 325. Place cookies in the baking pan. Place cookies in oven for around 10 minutes.
Cheesecake Filling:
Baking at My House: Stop fight over who gets to add the eggs. Set eggs aside because you are already down two and only have three left. Help child dump cream cheese into large bowl while promising other children there will be more jobs to do. Turn on mixer for child and push down into bowl. Push it back into the bowl three more times before offering to take over so there will still be something left in the bowl. Left each child crack an egg into the bowl and watch as they act like it’s Christmas and they have just been awarded the job of handing out presents. Try to mix them before the next child adds their egg but give in because you fear the waiting for 1 minute might actually kill them like they claim. Pick out all the white shell that found it’s way into the mix. Mix all the other ingredients in yourself because after the eggs they have lost all interest.
What your supposed to do: Beat cream cheese and sugar till smooth. Add eggs one at a time, beating them in. Add whipping cream and yogurt. Mix together. Add the mix on top of the cookies and bake another 20 minutes or until the edges stiffen.
Turkey Time
Melt you baking chocolate in the microwave. Be careful…thumbs burn easily. We purchased a chocolate squeeze thingy to do this but you can use any small tip icing tip and bag. This is actually the first time I’ve done the chocolate art. It was so much easier than I thought it would be. I’m including the pattern I made for you to use. Just print out this pattern and lay a piece of wax paper over it. Then all you have to do is trace the lines but you have to be quick because once the chocolate cools it becomes harder and harder to squeeze.
Thicker turkeys hold up better when they are dry. Plus it’s a good excuse to use even more chocolate.
When the turkeys are dry, add a dab of whipped topping and then your turkey. The whipped topping holds the turkey upright.
