Friday's Treat

Where have the last few weeks gone??? I know I have said before that time is flying by but it seems to go continually faster day by day....I don't like it!

Anyway....this weeks treat. Mini cheesecakes with homemade cherry topping:) I love a good cheesecake. There is just something about the combination of cream cheese with graham crackers, add toppings or mix-ins and it is just amazing!! My topping of choice for this week's treat is cherries..

 I don't like store bought cherry filling and I have to admit that until yesterday I didn't think I would be a fan of homemade cherry topping either. But I was wrong! I'm not sure what made me want to do cherries. I suppose it was the bags of cherries in the freezer ( originally bought for punch ). Or maybe the bright red topping that I knew would look pretty?...who know's...I'm just glad I went with it. They are just soo cute! I love it!

I had to open one up and show you the layers. I like to think that everything I make turns out perfect but just like any other cook/baker I have my failures now and then...but this is not one of them. The layers are so pretty:)

ready for a party:)

Here are the recipes. Hope you enjoy!!

Graham Cracker Crust

2 packages of Graham Crackers
1/3 cup Butter, melted
2 tbls Sugar

Place Graham Crackers in food processor and pulse until fine. Add melted butter and sugar and then place in mini cake cups. Bake at 350 for 2-3 min. prior to filling with Cream Cheese.

Cheese Cake Filling

2 packages Cream Cheese
1/2 cup Sour Cream
2 Eggs
2 tsp Vanilla
1/4 cup Flour
1 tbls Lemon Zest

Cream together the Sour Cream and Cream Cheese. Add Sugar and beat until fluffy. Add Eggs and Vanilla, and Lemon Zest, mix well. Add flour and stir until combined. Pour spoonfuls into the prepared crust.
Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes.

 Cherry Topping

2 bags of frozen Cherries ( I had unsweetened tart cherries )
1 cup Sugar
2 cups Water
1 box Cherry flavored Jello
1 tbls Lemon Juice

Mix everything together and bring to a boil. Simmer for about an hour. Just before topping the cakes remove  about 1 cup of the juice and mix with about 1/4 cup of flour ( or cornstarch ). Mix well and then slowly pour that back into the cherries. This will thicken it up so it doesn't run all over the place. Once the Cheesecakes are cool place cherries on top.

( Please keep in mind these are my own recipes so feel free to do a little tweaking to your personal liking )


I hope you all have a great weekend. My little darling and I are headed to the outlet's for some shopping with friends today. I will share that with you next week:)

Thanks for stopping by

Mary Elizabeth