Toasted Coconut Cheesecake Cups

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Heat a couple of quarts of water to boiling. Prepare a 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick spray.

Combine crust ingredients well and place about 2 tablespoons of the mixture into each of the 12 well-greased muffin molds. Press crust firmly in the bottom and halfway up the sides.

For the filling, cream sugar and cream cheese until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs, one at time, blending after each addition. Add coconut milk, lime juice, extracts, and 2/3 c of the toasted coconut and beat until smooth, scraping down the bowl again.

Ladle the batter into the “crusted” muffin cups, filling them all the way to the top. Place the muffin pan on a rimmed cookie sheet (heavy jelly roll pan works very well), and place in the oven. Pour hot water into the cookie sheet until halfway full.

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the centers are slightly jiggly. Turn oven off and leave the oven door cracked. Allow to cool for about an hour. Remove from oven and continue to cool on the countertop until room temperature. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least four hours.

To remove cheesecake cups, run a knife around the eges and gently pull them out. Sprinkle with remaining toasted coconut and a couple of macadamia nuts. Eat. Swoon.

Makes 12 cups.

Nat’s Notes:

1. You can substitute the oatmeal cookies or almond meal for graham crackers.
2. Toasting coconut is easy. Just spread some coconut on a baking sheet and put it on the top rack of your oven. Set the broil to low and keep an eye on it. It only takes a few minutes. You have to watch it really closely because once it starts to brown, it goes really fast. I ended up burning half a bag the first time.