mini vanilla bean cheesecake w/ shortbread cookie crust

makes a small 7-inch cheesecake

ingredients:

shortbread cookie crust:

16 shortbread cookies (about 1-1/2 cups), crushed fine

2 tbsps of granulated white sugar

1/4 cup of butter, melted

cheesecake filling:

2-8oz blocks of cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup of granulated white sugar

1/2 cup of sour cream, room temperature

Seeds from 2 vanilla beans

2 large eggs, room temperature

8 cups of boiling water

supplies:

mixing bowls and spoons

stand or hand mixer

7 inch springform pan

heavy duty aluminum foil

large baking dish or roasting pan (for water bath)

directions:

move your oven rack to the center of the oven, and preheat to 350.

to make the crust, mix the crushed graham crackers, sugar, and melted butter in a bowl until it feels like wet sand. press the mixture firmly into the bottom of the spring form pan. pre-bake the crust for 10 minutes. allow the crust and pan to cool completely before pouring the cheesecake filling in. lower the oven temperature to 325.

to make the cheesecake filling, mix the cream cheese and sugar in the stand mixer until creamy, about 2 minutes. next, add in the sour cream and the seeds scraped from the vanilla beans, and mix until fully combined, about 1 minute. add the eggs in one by one, adding the next egg when the previous egg is fully incorporated. once the final egg is mixed in, turn off the mixer to prevent over-mixing the batter.

to bake the cheesecake, start by boiling water in a large pot. while the water boils, wrap the bottom and sides of the spring form pan with aluminum foil. since the cheesecake will be baked in a water bath, ensure that the aluminum foil is wrapped around the spring form pan well, so water does not seep in (if it helps, wrap multiple pieces of heavy duty foil around the pan). pour the cheesecake filling on top of the crust, and smooth the top with a spatula. place the spring form pan inside a large roasting pan, and pour the boiling water into the roasting pan, coming up about half way the spring form pan. depending how large your pan is, will depend how much water you will need (i used 8 cups). 

bake the cheesecake for 60 minutes; the cheesecake is done when the center is wobbly if you shake the pan.

turn the oven off and crack the oven door. let the cheesecake cool in the oven for an hour, then remove from the oven and water bath, and cool completely on the counter. once the cheesecake cools to room temperature, refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.