Key Lime Cheesecakes in Jars

It was another family birthday and dessert was on me.  Well maybe not ON me, it would be better in jars.  I wanted to make key lime cheesecake, which I’d made a few years ago for my dad’s birthday and he’d loved it.  I’d make it again and this time put it in little jars that were easier to survive a 3 hour road trip.  They stacked neatly in a small cooler covered with ice.

I used a recipe that I had collected awhile back and forgot to attach a website.  I thank whoever originated the recipe, it was delicious.  I just don’t know who you are!  That said, I wished it was a slightly larger recipe.  Most of my cheesecake in jars recipes make 20-24 jars of cheesecake goodness.  This recipe only made 14.  I could perhaps double it, but that’s for another time.  This time I got 14 desserts and that was plenty for our small gathering.

Mix graham crumbs, melted butter and sugar well. Divide among 14 half pint jars. Press down gently to form crust.

I started by mixing the crumbs, butter and sugar well and pressing it into the jars with my tart tamper.  It’s a wooden tool that has small and large flat ends that comes in so handy for crusts and things.  I filled 20 jars with crusts.

Add eggs and sour cream and beat until well mixed

Next I beat the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and key lime juice with my handheld mixer.  I’m sometimes a masochist.  I have a perfectly fine stand mixer I could have used but was too lazy to dig it out of the cupboard.  My arm muscles scolded me later.

When the cream cheese mixture was creamy and fluffy I added the eggs and sour cream.  I beat it until they were also well mixed.

Fill jars with key lime filling and place on baking sheet.

To pour the key lime filling into the jars I placed it into a pouring pitcher.  It was easier to control the fill and wasn’t quite as messy.  I was surprised that I could only fill the 14 jars.  I ended up tossing the graham crust out of the remaining jars and writing it off as bad guesswork.

Bake for 20 minutes or until risen in the center

I placed the jars on a baking sheet.  I put the sheet pan into the oven I’d preheated to 350°F and set the timer for 20 minutes.  At 20 minutes I shut off the oven, propped open the door a bit and let the jars slowly come to room temperature.

Key Lime Cheesecakes in Jars

I placed the lids on the jars, refrigerated them, and the next day packed them into my little cooler with ice.  They were ready for a road trip!

Key Lime Cheesecakes in Jars

My family loved the key lime cheesecakes.  Again I got comments that they wished the jars were larger, and I just laughed.  Maybe I’ll eventually invest in the jeweled look pint jars as well.  I have 5 dozen of the half pints and will probably stick to that size for now.  Besides, you can always have seconds!

My dad’s key lime cheesecake birthday tower.