Roasted mushrooms, Gruyère cheese, orange bell pepper, and a medley of fresh herbs materialize as an indulgent and novel savory treat.
Mini Savory Mushroom & Herb Cheesecakes
Serves: 18
Ingredients
- 2 (4-ounce) packages sliced gourmet blend mushrooms
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ plus ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt, divided
- 42 buttery round crackers*
- ½ cup salted butter, melted
- 2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
- ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup shredded Gruyère cheese
- 3 tablespoons finely chopped orange bell pepper
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
- Garnish: chopped fresh herbs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Arrange mushrooms in a single layer on prepared baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with ⅛ teaspoon salt.
- Roast mushrooms until they release juices, approximately 20 minutes. Let cool, and chop finely.
- Spray 18 wells of 2 (12-well) mini cheesecake pans with removable bottoms with cooking spray.
- In the work bowl of a food processor, pulse crackers until fine.
- In a small bowl, stir together cracker crumbs and melted butter. Press approximately 2 teaspoons crumb mixture into bottom of each prepared well of pans.
- Bake crust for 6 minutes.
- In a medium mixing bowl, beat cream cheese at medium speed with a mixer until light and creamy. Beat in flour, whipping cream, Worcestershire sauce, remaining ½ teaspoon salt, and pepper. Beat in eggs. Stir in mushrooms, cheese, bell pepper, chives, parsley, and thyme. Divide mixture among prepared wells of pans.
- Bake until cheesecakes are slightly puffed, approximately 12 minutes. Let cool for 1 hour on a wire rack. Run a knife around edges of cheesecakes before removing from pans.
- Garnish with chopped herbs, if desired.
- Serve warm.
Notes
*We used Ritz Crackers.
