Cheesecake Bites are a delicious bite-sized dessert that everyone loves. A rich creamy cheesecake filling is nestled on an easy cookie crust and swirled with our favorite preserves.
Not only delicious but pretty too, this easy dessert recipe is perfect to make ahead and freezes well!
I am so excited to partner with Cost Plus World Market and their new Downton Abbey inspired ingredients to bring you this cheesecake bites recipe!
Tea Time!
As many fans already know Downton Abbey is a British period drama that takes place in the early 20th century. It showcases an important part of British culture – the classic afternoon tea!
If attending afternoon tea with the Crawley family, rules and proper aristocratic etiquette should definitely be followed. Traditionally tea time consists of cucumber sandwiches, mini scones topped with jams, butter or creams. We’ve taken flavors from traditional tea nibbles and turned it into a cheesecake bite, we think the Dowager Countess of Grantham would approve!
A delicious cheesecake filling (sweetened with honey of course) is topped with a variety of Downton Abbey fruit preserves to create the prettiest of swirls!
How to Make Cheesecake Bites
When mini cheesecake bites line a muffin pan with liners for easy removal. I love the selection found at Cost Plus World Market. You can add a fun twist or theme with liners to suit any party…including a Downton Abbey themed tea party!
- Crust:
- Combine crushed Viennese cookies and butter then press into liners.
- Pressing the crust firmly helps it hold together once baked.
- Filling:
- For best results, ensure all ingredients are room temperature before mixing.
- Beat together filling ingredients until light and fluffy.
- Use a batter dispenser pen to fill the cupcake liners evenly and easily.
- Topping:
- Add your favorite Downton Abbey fruit preserves on top of the cream cheese before baking
- Use one flavor or a combination.
- Using a toothpick, swirl the preserves to create pretty patterns before baking.
Bake and cool completely. Once cooled, remove from the liners and serve. Even better, in this summer heat try frozen cheesecake bites for a refreshing snack on a hot day!
Jams, Curds & Marmalades
When it comes to topping these cheesecake bites we used a variety of fruit preserves. The main difference being the flavor and consistency.
Downton Abbey Collection Exclusive to Cost Plus World Market only.
- Downton Abbey Marmalade
- Downton Abbey Lemon Curd
- Downton Abbey Blackcurrant Jam
- Downton Abbey Honey
- Downton Abbey Viennese Whirls
- Downton Abbey Scone Mix
- Jam: Downton Abbey Traditional Black Currant Jam is a thicker fruit preserve. It contains not just the juice but the flesh of the fruit as well. This sweet spread gives a delicious texture to this cheesecake bite recipe.
- Lemon Curd: Usually made with citrus flavors, Downton Abbey Lemon Curd differs from the other fruit preserves in texture. It is a smooth, very vibrantly flavored spread that is perfect on top of cheesecake!
- Marmalade: Downton Abbey Orange Marmalade is similar to fruit preserve but easily recognized by the addition of the fruit peels. It has a distinctive bitter taste which is perfectly balanced with the sweet honey and cream cheese in this recipe!
Cost Plus World Market is one of my favorite places. I can easily spend hours browsing through the aisles. I always seem to be able to find something I absolutely ‘need’! They have beautiful napkins, linens, and kitchen items from gadgets to prep and decor (my weakness)! They have gourmet and International foods, not to mention wines, and now a Downton Abbey themed line of tea time essentials!
More Cheesecake Recipes You’ll Love
- Oreo No Bake Cheesecake – light, fluffy & creamy!
- Lemon Meringue Pie Cheesecake – classic dessert
- Cheesecake Dessert Tacos – fun twist!
- Easy Sopapilla Cheesecake Recipe – only 10 mins prep!
- Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars with Amaretto – fall favorite
Easy Cheesecake Bites
Ingredients
- 4 Downton Abbey Viennese Cookies
- 1 tablespoon butter melted
- 16 ounces cream cheese softened
- 2 eggs
- ⅓ cup honey
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 teaspoons Downton Abbey Orange Marmalade
- 4 teaspoons Downton Abbey Blackcurrant Jam
- 4 teaspoons Downton Abbey Lemon Curd
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a muffin pan with 12 foil liners.
- Crush cookies and melted butter in a food processor until you have fine crumbs. Divide over liners and press firmly to form a crust.
- Beat cream cheese In a medium bowl until fluffy. Add honey, lemon, eggs and extract. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy.
- Divide cream cheese over each cookie crust. Add one teaspoon of Downton Abbey Orange Marmalade to top of 4 of the cheese cakes. Repeat with blackcurrant jam and lemon curd.
- Using a toothpick, slightly swirl the jam/marmalade/lemon curd.
- Bake 20-22 minutes or until set. Remove from oven, cool completely and refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.
Video
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
Like our recipes?
Follow us on Pinterest!
Love your style of recipes, They fit the budget
So glad you’ve loved them Donny, thank you for following along!
Delicious! But 16 oz of cream cheese made 36 bites! Maybe that was a typo 12 oz was more than enough!
So happy to hear that you love the cheesecake bites Mona!
Hi Holly!
I LOVE your recipes (as do the friends & family I get to cook for ☺️).
I would like to bake the equivalent to the Viennese cookies used in “Easy Cheesecake Bites”-can you suggest a recipe? I reread through the post, and I didn’t see a suggestion for one ( I saw the cookies you can purchase through Cost Plus, and they’re not available for shipping ).
Thank you !
Lisa
Hi Lisa,
I suggest using Nilla wafers, graham crackers, or even golden oreos.
For baking, you could try baking sugar cookies or snickerdoodles, making them sligthly crispy.
Enjoy Lisa!
Can I use graham crackers for the crust?
Thanks!
Sure you can!
Hi! Can you top these with fresh fruit instead?
Sure, that sounds delicious Catherine.
Can I use Nilla wafers if I don’t have these cookies? If so, what would the proportion look like with those?
Thanks!
Hi Z, we haven’t made this recipe with Nilla Wafers but I am sure it would work. You will need about 2 cups of crushed wafers to make the crusts.