"Midnight Surprise" Cheesecake Cookie Cups

I'm something of a paradox: I can be super-spontaneous/impulsive, and yet I love me a good plan. I like to know things in advance-- in fact, I would go so far as to say that it's probably a pet peeve of mine to go forward without a plan of some sort.

This is probably why cooking/baking is so great for me. I bake to relieve stress, and it's sometimes fairly last-minute; I look into my (rather ridiculous, now that I live by myself) pantry and go from there. But there's usually a recipe or combination of flavors I have in mind, and I can either follow it or, more often than not, modify it as I go (usually to taste). Cooking, for me, is the perfect balance of control and surprise, of certainty and uncertainty.

This next recipe was an impulse bake. I wanted to make a cheesecake of some sort, but, as per my obsession with muffins, in a muffin tin. I ran the idea by the rest of the gang-- frankly, I wasn't sure they'd agree, as we were already making these amazing Chocolate Molten Lava concoctions (recipe to come!) that night-- but they were on board, and we had most, though not all, of the ingredients on hand, so...

Cheesecake Cookie Cups

People like cookies. And they like cupcake[-shaped things]. And they like cheesecake. (Usually.) These little, almost bite-sized treats, then-- while a "Midnight Surprise" in that we knocked on people's doors at "midnight" to "surprise" them-- were, to no one's real surprise, a... well, welcome "surprise." (Say that nine times fast :p)

They were incredibly easy to make, despite quite a number of minor substitutions and alterations on our part. I can't say whether or not our adjustments adversely affected the taste at all, but I'm inclined to say that they didn't. I also can't, unfortunately, say how they compare to the original recipe; haven't had time to try that just yet. (In my conceit, though, I'll say that ours were better :p)


See the little crater? That's where the cherry pie filling would go, typically. We didn't have any, though, so ours just wound up looking a little sad/mutant. Only belied their tastiness, though... mmm.

I really think any sort of cookie dough would have worked; reviews on-line were rave for, for example, sugar cookie crusts, too. We didn't follow the exact baking instructions on the cookies, either-- you're supposed to bake the cookies first, at least for a little while, before adding the cream cheese mixture. We did it all at once, though, and just sort of eyeball-changed the baking time. I'm convinced that our method made the crust softer and chewier-- something, as it turns out, we all preferred. And the actual cheesecake part was good, too, neither overwhelmingly cheesy nor sweet. In fact, Mingham, a self-proclaimed "picky cheesecake eater," was so impressed that she e-mailed me for the recipe and made them over the holidays for her folks.

Well, what further recommendation do you need? Check it out :)

The "Midnight Surprise" Recipe (Cheesecake Cookie Cups - Modified; Original/Base Recipe here, Courtesy of Nestle® Toll House®, AllRecipes.com)

Ingredients:
12 Pieces NESTLE TOLL HOUSE Refrigerated Chocolate Chip Cookie Bar Dough
(We actually used Pillsbury Chocolate Chip-- the type you buy and slice yourself. You can really use whatever kind of cookie dough you like, though. A lot of people use Sugar Cookie dough instead.)
1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese
(We used whipped cream cheese from Trader Joe's. Not that it makes a huge difference, but whipped cream cheese is a lot easier to mix :p)
1/2 cup NESTLE CARNATION Sweetened Condensed Milk
(Our Substitution: 1/2 cup instant non-fat (skim) dry/condensed milk, 1/3 cup sugar, 1/6 cup boiling water, 3 tablespoons butter --> Mixed or Blended all together!)
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (21 oz.) can cherry pie filling
(We skipped this! :p)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Line 12 muffin cups with paper.
2. Place one piece/slice of cookie dough in each muffin cup.
3. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until the cookies have spread to the edge of each cup.
(Note: We did NOT do this. We actually shaped the cookie dough so that it already lined the bottom of the cup and wound up baking everything together. I think this makes the cookie much gooier; baking separately will make it crunchier.)
4. Beat the cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk (or substitute), egg, and vanilla extract in a medium bowl until smooth. Pour about 3 tablespoons cream cheese mixture over each cookie in the cup.
5. Bake for an additional 15 to 18 minutes or until set. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Top with pie filling. Refrigerate for one hour.

"Say cheese!"