Salted Caramel Cheesecakes

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The salty sweet caramel with the creaminess of the cheesecake layer and the crunch of the graham cracker crust is so good together. Sure you can top these little cheesecakes so many different ways, but this salted caramel is so good, and perfect for this time of year.

Salted Caramel Cheesecakes

Ingredients
FOR THE GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST

• 15 graham cracker sheets, finely crushed
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 7 tablespoons butter, melted

FOR THE CHEESECAKE FILLING

• 4 (8oz.) packages of cream cheese, softened
• 1½ cups sugar
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ½ cup sour cream
• ½ cup heavy cream

FOR THE SALTED CARAMEL

• 1 C. Sugar
• ¼ c. water
• 2 Tbsp. corn syrup
• ¼ c. butter, cut into pieces
• ¼ c. heavy cream
• 1 Tbsp. Sour Cream
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• crushed salt flakes, to garnish

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Crush the graham crackers either with a rolling pin or in a food processor.
3. Whisk together crushed graham crackers, sugar and melted butter until combined.
4. Divide graham cracker mixture into paper lined cupcake pans, add in a heaping spoonful into each liner and press mixture down evenly.
5. Bake graham cracker crusts at 350 for 5 minutes. Remove pan from oven and let cool while you make the cheesecake filling.
6. In a large bowl combine all cheesecake filling ingredients except the eggs and mix with a hand mixer or stand mixer. Once pretty well blended, add the eggs and mix until well combined and smooth.
7. Divide the cheesecake filling between the paper liners in the cupcake pans, filling each one nearly full.
8. Bake at 350 for 18 to 25 minutes. Do not over bake. If they start to crack, remove pan from the oven, and allow to cool for one hour. Cover pan loosely with plastic wrap and store in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours or overnight.
9. To make the salted caramel: add sugar, corn syrup and water to a medium saucepan (do not stir at all!).
10. Bring to a simmer over medium heat without stirring. Simmer until the sugar has turned a dark caramel color (recipe says it takes about 10 min. It takes more like 15 min where I live. Don't let it burn! )
11. Remove from heat and add the butter, heavy cream, sour cream, salt and vanilla stir until smooth. Let cool slightly before serving.
12. When ready to serve, top each cheesecake with a spoonful of salted caramel. Enjoy!
13. This recipe makes 48 mini cheesecakes and 12 cupcake sizes cheesecakes. The mini cheesecakes are great for serving a crowd.

Source nobiggie.net