I love good food. And I especially love good food that has a nice presentation, or in more girly words- is super cute!!

For Easter, my in-laws always do a tea party dinner. My mother-in-law LOVES tea parties, and with spring time, it just makes for the cutest little dinner. We usually have chicken salad sandwiches, a variety of sides/appetizers, fruits, veggies, and of course- dessert!

This year, I had had my eye on an oreo cheesecake recipe for awhile, and I knew this would be a perfect opportunity to give it a shot. Tea parties are all about cute individual portions of food- and little muffin tin servings of cheesecake totally fits the bill! I had also seen a super cute idea using chocolate and Cadbury eggs to make nests, and I knew it was meant to be!

These little cheesecakes are quite easy to make! The hardest part is just making sure you don’t over bake the cheesecake. It’s safer to err on the side of underbaked than overbaked when it comes to cheesecake! If the center is still slightly jiggly when the timer goes off, that’s totally ok! Especially if you have an oven that tends to cook on the faster side.

For the nests, I liked the idea of chopping up bits of a chocolate bar, instead of grating chocolate. That is one skill I have yet to master- I always end up with a huge mess and some very not cute chocolate shavings. But chopping up a chocolate bar worked perfectly! For the eggs, I used a variety of milk chocolate and white chocolate Cadbury eggs- because I absolutely adore white chocolate, but I thought the colored eggs were prettier and made for a more fun presentation.

I have to say- these did not disappoint! I love Oreos, and I love cheesecake, and the combination is just perfect. I especially love the little Oreo “crust” you get just by setting an Oreo at the bottom of each muffin tin liner (easiest crust ever!!). I will confess- I definitely added more Oreos than the original recipe called for- because to me, 6 chopped Oreos is just not enough for 15 mini cupcakes! I ended up probably adding more like 12 chopped Oreos, and ended up with 18 mini cheesecakes- which is perfect because I used a muffin tin with 12 cups and I have a mini one with 6. I love when things come out perfectly like that!

These will last a few days in the fridge- if you can avoid eating them that long ;). I intentionally saved one for 4 days after I baked them, just to see if it held up ok- and I can confirm, that it indeed hold up just fine ;).

And of course I had to take a picture of my baby bump with all these cute eggs! Because spring is all about new birth:). Getting so excited to meet this little one in just a couple weeks!

Easter may be over, but these would still be perfect for any springtime get together! Baby showers, birthday parties, Mother’s Day get-togethers, Memorial Day celebrations, brunches- eggs and nests are just cute to have anytime! And honestly- you really don’t need the addition of the chocolate or eggs to make these cheesecakes absolutely delicious! They’re sure to be a hit even without the cuteness, so feel free to forgo the eggs and chocolate shavings and stick with just the cheesecakes themselves!

Cookies and Cream Cheesecake Cupcakes

Cook time: 22 minutes
Yield: 15 cupcakes

Serving size: 15
Calories per serving: 156

Ingredients:
21 Oreos , 15 left whole, 6 coarsely chopped
1 pound (2 8-ounce packages) cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream
1/8 teaspoon fine salt


Directions:

Preheat the oven to 275°F. Line 2 standard muffin tins with 15 paper liners. Place 1 whole Oreo cookie in the bottom of each lined cup.

In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the sugar and beat until combined. Beat in the vanilla then add the eggs, one at a time, beating until combined. Beat in the sour cream and salt. Do not overmix. Stir in the chopped Oreo cookies.

Divide the batter among the cookie-lined cups, filling each almost to the top. Bake until the filling is set, about 22 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely inside the muffin tins. Refrigerate at least 4 hours, or overnight, before serving. These can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month. Defrost in the fridge overnight before serving.

*I added closer to 12 coarsely chopped Oreos in my batch and came out with 18 cupcakes. Highly recommend the extra Oreos!

**You can top with chocolate shavings and Cadbury Eggs to make some adorable springtime/Easter nest desserts!