And now for something completely different: Cheesecake!

I purchased an individual cheesecake pan and a mini cheesecake pan from the Cutlery and More website recently.  It appears they no longer carry the mini pan.  Boo.  I made the individual size for Todd and the minis for the shop.  The pans have flat removable bottoms which allow you to simply push the cakes up from the bottom and I am not kidding when I say these pans are non-stick.  The straight sides make for more even cooking.  I am going to experiment with using them for muffins and bread rolls.  If you can't get this kind of pan, use standard and/or mini muffin cups lined with cupcake liners

1 lb. Cream Cheese at room temp (I buy the 3 lb. blocks at Sam's Club)
1/2 C. Sour Cream
3 Eggs
1 C. Sugar ***
1 Tbl. Lemon Juice
1 tsp. salt
1 sleeve Maria's Cookies (in hispanic section of grocery store)****
1 stick melted butter

I used my mini food processor to grind the sleeve of cookies, stirred in the melted butter well, and set aside to soften up a bit.

The rest of the ingredients were put into mixing bowl and combined with an electric mixer until relatively smooth.  Tiny lumps are okay.

The cookie mixture was then divided among the cheesecake pans to form a solid layer that was then tamped down.

 Then the batter was divided between the pans.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven (I adjusted to 365 for altitude).  The minis took about 20 minutes and the individuals took close to 30 minutes.  You want the tops to be set but not brown.  Adjust time as necessary.  Remove from oven and cool in pans until just warm.  Use a skewer if needed to loosen any browned clinging sides.  Push bottoms straight up and remove the cakes.  The bottoms should remove from the crust extremely easily.  The final product is the picture at the top.  Don't be upset if the centers cave in a bit.  That just gives you a well to fill with fresh fruit, whipped cream, melted jam, or whatever catches your fancy!

*** For a low carb cheesecake, substitute the measure to measure powdered Splenda.  I use Whey Low, a low glycemic sugar substitute I get online.  I looks, tastes, and reacts like sugar and has a low glycemic load. It is apparently available at Whole Foods now.  The website carries granulated, brown, and powdered sugar varieties, among other products.

**** Substitute crushed almonds or pecans for the cookies for a delicious (and decadent) low carb substitute.