Calling all Paula Deen fans!

I know there are many of us who love comfort food and enjoy Paula Deen's cooking. We all know her food is pretty fattening for the most part but once in a while it's a nice treat. There are several recipes of hers that I make, but today I thought I'd share one of my favorites. It's for mini cherry cheesecakes, and they are always such a hit! Below is a picture of them when I served them to some of my girlfriends at a tea party I had at home. Click on the picture to see them up close. Hope you enjoy them!



Mini cherry cheesecakes

2 packages (8 oz each) regular cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
12 vanilla wafers (Nilla or other brand)
1 (21 oz) can cherry pie filling, or blueberry filling (you won't need the whole can)

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Place a paper muffin liner in each cup of a regular-size muffin pan. Lay a vanilla wafer, flat side down, in each of the muffin cups (this acts as the crust).

Beat the room-temperature cream cheese with a hand-held electrical mixer until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the sugar and vanilla extract, beating well.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Spoon the cream cheese mixture over the vanilla wafers and fill each muffin cup.

Bake for 20 minutes, then let them cool in the pan (on the counter) for 20 minutes. As the cheesecakes cool, they will "deflate" a bit on the top, creating room for the pie filling.

Refrigerate until cool, at least one hour (I leave them in the pan and put the pan in the fridge). Then remove each cheesecake from the pan, spoon the pie filling in the center and either serve right away or keep refrigerated in a tupperware container until ready to serve but do not freeze.

Many sweet blessings!