Margarita Mini Cheesecakes: Raise a glass to exciting new beginnings and days without diets.

Yum

I feel like I’ve been living in a season of indecisiveness. I’ve been faced with a terribly difficult career decision in the past few weeks, and I have finally decided to move on to a new job after many sleepless nights and soul-searching. With similar agonizing, I found myself incredibly indecisive over Round 7 of my Boozy Bakes. I knew I wanted to do a margarita-themed sweet, but the internet seems pretty heavily saturated with margarita cupcakes, so it seemed like I needed to do something different. But what? Sandwich cookies? Eclairs? Donuts? I finally landed on mini cheesecakes, and I’m so glad I did. These little margarita mini cheesecakes are incredibly easy, have a punchy kick of booze, and are the perfect little rich bite of spring.

Trying to think long-term in the middle of a pandemic year.

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Not interested in my life and just looking for this recipe? Skip this section.

As I’m sure everyone knows and as I’ve talked about before on this blog ad nauseam, this year has been super super difficult for everyone in the education field. Every time I have a conversation with a parent, administrator, teacher, or student, they express that this school year has been the hardest in their memory, and I’m definitely no exception to that. I know that this year was not necessarily the year to be making huge decisions about my job, but the universe didn’t really seem to take that into account when presenting me with the opportunity to move on to a different school district next year.

I won’t go into all of my reasoning here, but suffice it to say that I was torn. Mainly, because I care about my students a lot, and I feel pretty responsible for seeing my program through the bump that is COVID CHOIR. On the other hand, I do believe that I am a quality teacher, and I think it is important to make the decision that will let me be the best teacher I can be for as long as possible, and it has become increasingly clear to me that my current situation is not going to cut it when it comes to preventing burn out.

So, I’ve come to a season of goodbyes and greetings. Of change, of grief, of joy and excitement. I am filled with blossoming hope and anticipation. I can’t wait to try something new, to go someplace fresh with no mistakes in it yet. Three cheers to making all new mistakes. That’s how we learn, after all.

I also usually do weight-watchers but have been taking a break because of some stress in my life, so cheesecake is on the menu for sure. There is no calorie counting when you’re two weeks before a massive performance and in the midst of turning your life upside down professionally. Right?

It’s been an emotional week. Telling the kids: tears. Thinking about how many hours it will take me to pack up my office: tears. Watching Wall-E in the dark while eating Halo ice cream: tears.

Anyway.

Margarita Mini Cheesecakes: the elements.

Margaritas generally have three flavors: tequila, lime, and either triple sec or Grand Marnier (orange liqueur). And these cupcakes have all three. I will admit that I added the tequila using a rather heavy hand. Listen, I wanted to TASTE IT. And I think you definitely can.

I think the little ridges look cute on these margarita mini cheesecakes, which comes from baking them in paper liners, but if you don’t like that you can definitely use a silicone cupcake tray and just pop them out.

These have a traditional graham cracker base. You just mix up graham cracker crumbs with some melted butter, dump in a little bit of sugar, and you’re good to go. Lots of recipes call for you to grind up actual graham crackers in a food processor, but listen, who’s seriously got the time for that? Or the desire to then wash all of the fiddly pieces of your food processor? No, I like my store-bought crumbs just fine, thank you very much.

I also opted to put in quite a bit of lime zest and lime juice, which was definitely a good choice. When my mom was last in town I bought a little microplane zester and it is my favorite thing. I’ve only zested my thumb like three or four times, it’s fine. If lime is not your thing or you can’t find it in your area, then orange or lemon would definitely be a delicious substitute. You could also use some lime extract in a pinch.

Stabilized whipped cream: why didn’t I know this was a thing?

Ever put whipped cream on a dessert in a perfect dollop, set it in the fridge for a few hours, and then come back to find it melted into a little puddle of white goo?

Apparently you can avoid all that nonsense by stabilizing your whipped cream with a little bit of powdered gelatin. The more you know.

I put these in the fridge for about thirty-six hours before eating them, and that cream stayed perfectly formed. Mom, why didn’t you teach me this?

New boozy bake post is live! Moscow Mule Cupcakes recipe is available right here, perfect for summer!

I have been getting a few more cake commissions, and I’m really enjoying it! Let me know if you are interested in a mother’s day cake or a graduation cake! I love collaborating on new designs!

Interested in more boozy bakes? Check out the other treats in my boozy bakes series here. I highly recommend the strawberry daiquiri cupcakes and my most popular recipe, the Baileys mudslide cupcakes. Oh yes.

Also, you know you want to see my cats. That’s right, my cat page is back. You’re welcome.