Chocolate Covered Cheesecake Bites
The idea for this recipe happily popped into my head unexpectedly last week, much like finding forgotten money in your pocket. The thought of bite-sized bits of cheesecake drowned in a smooth, snappy chocolate coating made my mouth water. Remember the recipe for homemade chocolate-shell ice cream topping I published weeks ago? That’s what coats these cheesecake bites. Each cheesecake bite is like an escape to textural heaven. You can’t eat just one!
Recipe Rundown
Taste: Sweet, tangy, chocolatey.
Texture: The contrasting textures are the very best part of this recipe. The graham cracker crust is buttery yet crunchy, the cheesecake is lusciously rich and the chocolate coating is smooth with a snap.
Appearance: The chocolate is perfectly smooth and when you bite inside you see the layers of cheesecake and crust.
Ease: Even with the extra step of dipping in chocolate, this recipe is still easier than a regular, full-size cheesecake (no needing to worry about cracks).
Pros: Such a wonderful array of flavors and textures, plus anything bite-sized is adorable.
Cons: None.
Would I make this again? Oh, I most definitely will. Even though my boyfriend told me to never make these again, but that was only because they’re so addicting.
Chocolate Covered Cheesecake Bites
Adapted from Taste of Home
Makes about 36 squares
For the crust:
- 1 cup graham cracker crumbs (from 1 sleeve or 9 crackers)
- 1 stick butter, melted and cooled
For the filling:
- 2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For chocolate coating:
- 15 ounces semi-sweet chocolate (about two heaping cups of chocolate chips)
- 4 tablespoons virgin coconut oil
To make crust:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8×8 square baking dish with foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray.
In a small bowl combine graham cracker crumbs and butter. Press mixture evenly into prepared pan. Bake 8-10 minutes, or until light golden and fragrant. Reduce heat to 325 degrees F.
To make filling:
Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth, 2-3 minutes. Add in sour cream, eggs, and vanilla and beat until just combined. Pour mixture over crust and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until cheesecake is slightly puffed and center is set. Cool completely on a wire rack. Refrigerate until chilled, at least two hours. Freeze 8 hours or overnight.
To coat:
Once frozen, lift cheesecake out of pan and gently peel away foil. Using a sharp knife, cut cheesecake into bite-size squares. If squares become too soft, freeze until chilled again.
Place the chocolate and coconut oil in a microwave-safe bowl and heat for 1-2 minutes, stirring every 20 seconds, until melted and smooth. Place parchment paper or a silicone baking mat on a baking sheet. Dip cheesecake squares, one at a time, in melted chocolate mixture. Let excess drip off and place on prepared sheet. Repeat for all the squares then refrigerate or freeze until chocolate is set. Store squares in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer.
These look amazing!
I want to go to textural heaven!
This would be a great way to use up extra cheesecake. If that ever could possibly occur.
wowww, these look wonderful! Brilliant idea
These are everything I could ever want and more. Remind me of ice cream bites, but so much better.
My sister would LOVE these !! I will have to try to make them soon, I am sure they would be a big hit with family and friends !!!
What is not to love about these?! YUM
These look incredible!
one word: GENIUS! can't wait to make these.
I am pretty sure these could be dangerous. They look great!
I'm throwing a cheesecake party next weekend and think these need to be added to the menu!
handleheat replied: — July 21st, 2011 @ 2:52 pm
Can I come!?
I just stumbled across a bit of heaven definitely making these even though my butt n thighs say different………… :O)
These would be fantastic to serve at my daughter's wedding shower! If any are left after I finish “sampling” them first.
What a fantastic idea, they sound so decadent!
What a perfect bite! I used to love those Dairy Queen dipped cones but this looks about one million times better.
you are a genius.
They look excellent
Oh my goodness, these look amazing! And, they look absolutely perfect. So impressive!
Sigh. If only I could cook!!
Does the coconut oil taste like coconut?
handleheat replied: — July 21st, 2011 @ 2:51 pm
Nope, they don't. My boyfriend doesn't like coconut so I would have heard something if they did!
I'm in love! I was just looking for “magic shell” recipes today. I live in the boondocks and might have to order coconut oil from the internet. I will be dreaming of these scrumptious little cheesecake bites tonight!
my boyfriend is allergic to coconut…can you sub that for something else?!
Love the review and honesty with each post. Based on the photo, they look amazing. Recipe looks straightforward enough. Definitely a show stopping dessert. Looking for recipes to add to my list of regular signature dishes. This could be one of those easily. ~ thanks, Tom
These cheesecake bites were delicious. However, we initially had trouble getting the cake out of the pan after freezing it for 8 hours. We would tug on the tin foil. But it just wouldn't budge. It was frozen in place, so we ended up cutting it while still in the pan. Next time, we probably won't bother with the tin foil, or we will try cooking it in a disposable foil pan, which we could then cut apart to remove the cake. We were also unsure of the proper technique for dipping the cake pieces in the chocolate. Rolling them around in the bowl of chocolate with a fork seemed to be our best bet.
yum!
Mmmmm. I am making an enormous platter of these for our thanksgiving dessert table. I don't have coconut oil so I am making a chocolate ganache coating instead. Yum!
Yeah, they look great, but please don't try to pass them off as something that popped into your head. Philadelphia Cream Cheese sold this exact thing about 10 years ago. They even posted the recipe 4 years ago. http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Chocolate-Cove…
handleheat replied: — September 30th, 2011 @ 1:27 am
Rakhel, I'm sorry you feel the need to leave negative comments on my blog. Maybe you didn't read the entire post, but I did gave credit to Taste of Home magazine for the recipe. After the idea popped into my head (which it actually did), I researched the idea online where I found a similar recipe by Taste of Home magazine which I used as the base for my recipe development. There are virtually no recipes that are 100% original. As for what happened 10 years ago, I was only 10 years old then so I wouldn't know
Looks absolutely delicious! I have some friends coming over for dinner on Sunday so I might try and recreate the recipe for them.
Dipped cheesecake? Who wouldn't love these? Maybe I'll try them using parchment, since another reader said they were so difficult to get out of the pan. Congratulations on being included in the Sweet Sixteen Collection this week!
Is it a typo to add a whole stick of butter? I needed to add way more graham crumbs to make my crust work…turned out great though!
handleheat replied: — March 7th, 2012 @ 9:48 pm
Not a typo, that's the amount that works for me to have a really firm crust (one that won't fall apart when the cheesecake is cut into bite-size pieces). Glad you liked it!
Michelle replied: — April 2nd, 2012 @ 8:39 pm
Most other recipes I saw had less butter, and I was worried about this as well (mainly my sweet tooth and the thought of eating that much butter, lol). I did use less butter, 1/3 cup (5 1/3 TBSP) and my crust wasn't crumbly. I also added in 1 TBSP of sugar based off of other crust recipes found. Next time I may try adding in nuts. The use of the coconut oil is so much better than shortening or veggie oil! My sister works at our local chocolate store and I asked her, she said DO NOT ever use shortening or veggie oil. I think yours was the only recipe that used coconut oil that I found! Thank You!!
I'm making these today and I'm so excited to taste them!
These look so amazing! What a great idea. I am new to the blogging world, but would love to share these on my blog. I can’t wait to try them out!
They sound yummy big fan of cheesecake so looking forward to locking myself in a closet with them and pigging out. One question can you subsitute the coconut oil for something else really allergic to coconut. Looking forward to exploring your other recipes.
Llooking forward to locking myself in a closet with them and pigging out. One question can you subsitute the coconut oil for something else really allergic to coconut. Looking forward to exploring your other recipes.