Ritz Crumb Topped Cheesecakes are mini cheesecakes baked to perfection in a muffin pan with a ritz cracker crust, peanut butter cracker crumble, and caramel topping. This amazing cheesecake recipe is bound to become your newest dessert obsession.
❤️ Why you'll love it
Delicious flavor and texture: this cheesecake has a creamy baked filling that has with a ritz cracker crust. A peanut butter cracker crumble and caramel topping adds a layer of sweet and salty flavor and texture.
Perfect Bite Sized Treat: mini cheesecakes are the perfect bite-sized sweet to share with your fellow game day lovers.
Fuss free: this cheesecake recipe doesn't need a water bath!
🥘 Ingredients
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Ritz crackers: the whole cracker will be the crust base of the cheesecake.
Hot fudge topping: a thin layer is spread over the top of the cracker
Caramel topping: used with the peanut butter to create a drizzle topping
Creamy peanut butter
Ritz peanut butter cracker bites: these will be broken up , mixed with the brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter, and crumbled over top of the cheesecake.
Large eggs
🔪 Instructions
BOTTOM CRUST
- Preheat the oven to 325°F.
- Line the muffin tins with cupcake liners.
- Spread 1 teaspoon cold hot fudge sauce over top of cracker. Place ritz cracker in paper lined muffin tin, chocolate fudge side up. Set aside.
CRUMB TOPPING
- In a small bowl, combine the crushed Ritz bits peanut butter sandwich crackers, flour, light brown sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter until the mixture has a “wet” look. Set aside.
CHEESECAKE FILLING
- In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, blend cream cheese and sugar until smooth.
- Add the egg yolk, and eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
- Mix in sour cream, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and melted butter and mix until incorporated.
- Pour the cheesecake batter into the paper lined muffin tin over top of the fudge topped cracker until about ¾ full. You will use approximately ⅓ cup of batter per muffin tin.
- Bake cheesecakes in preheated oven for 15 minutes.
- Remove cheesecakes from the oven and evenly distribute crumb topping over each individual cake.
- Return crumb topped cheesecakes to the oven and continue to bake for another 25 minutes, until Crumb topping is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into cheesecake comes out clean.
- Remove cheesecakes from oven and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.
- Once cooled, transfer to airtight container and refrigerate up to 2 hours before serving.
PEANUT BUTTER CARAMEL SAUCE
- In a 2-cup microwave safe glass measuring cup, add the peanut butter and caramel sauce. Microwave for 30 seconds.
- Remove from microwave and stir to combine. Microwave another 30 seconds, remove from microwave and stir.
- Drizzle the peanut butter caramel sauce over top of cheesecakes.
🥄 Equipment
Muffin pan
Small bowl
Large bowl
Electric mixer
Food processor or blender
Cooling rack
2 cup microwave safe glass measuring cup
🥫Storage
Refrigerate: store cheesecakes in airtight container up to 5 days.
Freeze: store in a freezer safe, airtight container up to 3 months.
Thaw: thaw frozen cheesecakes overnight in the fridge. To serve, drizzle with peanut butter caramel sauce.
📖 Variations
Candy topping: sprinkle the top of the cheesecake with chocolate chips or chopped peanut butter cups instead of the peanut butter cracker crumble.
Crust variation: use a vanilla wafer instead of the buttery cracker for the base of the cheesecake.
💭 Tips
- Allow the cream cheese to come to room temperature before mixing to ensure a smooth filling.
- Don't over mix the cheesecake batter to prevent cracks during baking.
- Let the cheesecakes cool completely before refrigerating or adding the caramel drizzle.
📚 Related Recipes
These Peanut Butter Caramel Swirl Brownies are a decadent treat the whole family will love.
This Air Fryer Cod recipe is covered with a delicious ritz cracker topping.
Rhubarb Cheesecake has a layer of rhubarb sauce over a graham cracker crust and a creamy delicious cheesecake swirled with rhubarb.
🍽 Serve with..
Serve cheesecakes with the peanut butter caramel drizzle and a dollop of whipped topping or vanilla ice cream.
The Last Word..
I created this recipe in collaboration with Allrecipes website and Ritz Crackers as a football food idea for the big game in January 2014. I was not compensated in any way for this recipe. The idea for this cheesecake and recipe created is my own however, Allrecipes does house this on their site as well.
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When you make this recipe, please comment below and let me know what you think. I'd love it if you tag me on Instagram @grumpyshoneybunch or #grumpyshoneybunch so I can see your photos!
If you love this recipe, please leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating
📖 Recipe
Ritz Crumb Topped Cheesecake
Equipment
- Food processor or blender
- 2 cup microwave safe glass measuring cup
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Ingredients
FOR THE BOTTOM CRUST
- 24 ritz crackers , whole
- ½ cup hot fudge topping , cold
FOR THE CRUMB TOPPING
- 1 cup ritz peanut butter cracker bites , crushed
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 4 tablespoon unsalted butter , melted
FOR THE FILLING
- 16 ounces ⅓ less fat cream cheese , room temperature
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- 3 large eggs
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon butter , melted
FOR THE PEANUT BUTTER CARAMEL DRIZZLE
- ½ cup smooth peanut butter
- ½ cup caramel topping
Instructions
FOR THE BOTTOM CRUST
- Preheat the oven to 325°F.
- Line the muffin tins with cupcake liners.
- Spread 1 teaspoon cold hot fudge sauce over top of cracker. Place ritz cracker in paper lined muffin tin, chocolate fudge side up. Set aside.
FOR THE CRUMB TOPPING
- In a small bowl, combine the crushed Ritz bits peanut butter sandwich crackers, flour, light brown sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter until the mixture has a “wet” look. Set aside.
FOR THE CHEESECAKE
- In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, blend cream cheese and sugar until smooth.
- Add the egg yolk, and eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
- Mix in sour cream, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and melted butter and mix until incorporated.
- Pour the cheesecake batter into the paper lined muffin tin over top of the fudge topped cracker until about ¾ full. You will use approximately ⅓ cup of batter per muffin tin.
- Bake cheesecakes in preheated oven for 15 minutes.
- Remove cheesecakes from the oven and evenly distribute crumb topping over each individual cake.
- Return crumb topped cheesecakes to the oven and continue to bake for another 25 minutes, until Crumb topping is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into cheesecake comes out clean.
- Remove cheesecakes from oven and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.
- Once cooled, transfer to airtight container and refrigerate up to 2 hours before serving.
FOR THE CARAMEL SAUCE
- In a 2 cup microwave safe glass measuring cup, add the peanut butter and caramel sauce. Microwave for 30 seconds.
- Remove from microwave and stir to combine. Microwave another 30 seconds, remove from microwave and stir.
- Drizzle the peanut butter caramel sauce over top of cheesecakes.
Michele @ Flavor Mosaic says
These look fantastic! I'm going to have to give them a try!
honeyb says
These seriously look and sound so good. And there's chocolate hiding in there. 😉
Meg Falciani says
These are so cute! I love NYC - it does have a life all its own. I'm a city girl at heart - hubby takes me there at least once a year so I can charge my batteries.
Angie says
Sounds delish - I'll have to give these a try!
Renee P says
Great post! yum, yum, yum!
Unknown says
Yummy small bites of deliciousness!
Scrappy Geek says
Wow - these are so cool, and look delicious. They would make a perfect after dinner treat for our house parties. Thanks for sharing this recipe 🙂