Pineapple Cheesecake Bites

I have wanted to make a pineapple cheesecake for about two months. This recipe is my 4th attempt. I am still determining what happened the first three times, but it was not pretty. I wanted pineapple in the cheesecake, not just on top. The first attempt was with some lemon zest and juice; what can I say? Nope!  Second, I'm unsure, but it did not bake in the middle. I have no idea about the third attempt, but it didn't set, was too thin, and didn't work. Somewhere along the line, I was not getting this right.

I started researching cheesecakes that had pineapple added to the filling. I came across a recipe for another pineapple dish that used a food strainer to extract most of the juice. Well, this was not something I had tried before, so what the heck? I will give it another try; it made all the difference in the world. It came out just as I imagined it would: light and refreshing.

Ingredients for Cheesecake Bites

I divided the ingredients into what you will need for the crust, along with a separate one for the filling and topping.

CRUST

• Pamela's Honey Grahams Graham crackers
• Melted butter unsalted
• Sugar white
• Macadamia nuts

For the crust, I always use Pamela's Honey Grahams. These dense graham crackers hold up when I add nuts to my crust, making them easy to carry around. You can certainly try your brand and see how they work, but Pamela's was the only one I found that held together the way I wanted.

CHEESECAKE FILLING

• Cream Cheese
• Sugar white
• Eggs
• Sour cream
• Vanilla Extract
• Crushed pineapple - Half of a 20 oz. can

TOPPING

• Cool Whip
• Crushed pineapple - Half of a 20 oz. can

Making the Pineapple Cheesecake

This is not a hard cheesecake to make, but it needs to be refrigerated overnight to set.

Start with the Pineapple

I could not find the small 8-oz. cans of crushed pineapple in the grocery stores, so I purchased the larger one for both the cheesecake filling and the topping.

You want to strain the pineapple and press the crushed pineapple along the sides to extract even more juices. I do this three or four times and let it sit there while I start the crust.

Creating a Sturdy Crust

Grab a food processor or a blender to make this an easy crust.

Start by adding the macadamia nuts and pulse them until they are very small pieces.

Then, turn the food processor on and drop all the graham crackers through the top. Then, I pulse the mixture until everything is small pieces.

Add the crumbs to a bowl and sprinkle the sugar on top. Add the melted butter and blend it all together using a fork. You want the butter to moisten the graham crackers. It's time to get the baking pan ready.

You will need handles on either side of the pan so you can pull the cheesecake out of the pan. So pull out a generous amount of tin foil on each end.

This can be tricky but take your time. You do not want any tears in the tin foil, but you do need it to form to the pan. If it is not flat against the bottom and sides, the tin foil will rip when you add the crust and press it down flat along the bottom.

Add the buttered graham cracker crumbs on top of the tin foil and press down to form a crust covering the entire bottom.

Set the pan aside and time to make the filling.

Mixing and Baking the Cheesecake Filling

The filling does not take very long to mix so you can turn your oven on to preheat to 325°F(165°C or 170°C).

Weigh or measure the sugar and add it to the mixer along with both blocks of cream cheese.

Mix the cream cheese and sugar until it is creamy. This will depend on how cold your cream cheese is but at least 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and across the bottom to make sure all the cream cheese has been incorporated.

Next, add one egg at a time. I break the egg into a small bowl before adding it to the cream cheese mixture. Add the vanilla extract, sour cream, and half of the strained 20 oz. can of crushed pineapple. Mix until blended.

Add the pineapple cheesecake filling on top of the crust. Smooth the filling evenly to cover the crust.

I pick up the pan about an inch off the counter and l drop the pan. This is to bring to the surface any air bubbles.

Bake at 325°F(165°C or 170°C) for 40 - 42 minutes. When done, it should jiggle just a little. Set the pan on a cooling rack for 1 hour. Then, place a piece of plastic wrap on top of the pan and refrigerate overnight to set.

After the Cheesecake Has Set

Take the handles of tin foil on each side and lift the cheesecake out of the pan and place it on a cutting board. I pull the sides away from the cheese cake and put my one hand under the tin foil and the other hand pulling the tin foil from the bottom. It is not real fragile but the crust will break if it bends to far.

Because of the butter in the crust the tin foil comes off easily from the bottom. Now you need to decide on the size of your squares. You can do 4 or 5 cuts down and 4 or 5 across. The choice is yours depending on how many people will be eating the cheese cake.

So, take a big sharp knife and cut down through the cheesecake. When serving I add whip cream on top with a spoonful of the reserved strained pineapple,

Enjoy!

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