Mini Cheesecake Sugar Cookies

These cheesecakes have a delicious sugar cookie crust. The recipe is an adaptation of two recipes combined: The sugar cookies here: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/the-best-rolled-sugar-cookies/?scale=30&ismetric=0 And the mini cheesecakes here: http://www.food.com/recipe/mini-cheesecakes-74990?scaleto=12&mode=null&st=true

• Ready In: 45 mins
• Serves: 12
• Yields: 12 mini cheesecakes

Ingredients

• Sugar cookie crust

• 3⁄4 cup butter
• 1  cup sugar
• 2  eggs
• 1  teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1⁄2 teaspoon cinnamon (can use a whole teaspoon for extra cinnamon flavor)
• 2 1⁄2 cups flour
• 1  teaspoon baking powder
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt

• Cheesecake filling

• 8  ounces cream cheese
• 1⁄2 cup sugar, plus
• 2  tablespoons sugar
• 1  egg
• 1  teaspoon vanilla

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. For the sugar cookies, cream the sugar and the butter.
3. Beat in the eggs and vanilla.
4. Mix the sugar with the cinnamon, flour, baking powder, and salt.
5. Add the dry ingredients to the creamed butter and mix until it forms a dough.
6. Line and grease a 12 muffin tin.
7. Roll out the cookie dough.
8. Using a cookie cutter or a cup, cut out circles in the dough. Then shape the circles into cups in the muffin tin.
9. Bake the cookie cups for 8 minutes and remove from the oven. (You may have some leftover dough, which you can use to make some sugar cookies).
10. Let the cookie cups rest for at least 10 minutes.
11. In the mean time, prepare the cheesecake filling by beating the cream cheese with the sugar, egg, and vanilla.
12. After the cookie cups have rested for at least 10 minutes, fill the cups with the cheesecake filling.
13. Bake 20 more minutes, or until the cheesecake has set.
14. Remove from the oven.
15. Chill overnight.
16. You can add a fruit or chocolate sauce on top as a garnish.