Cheesecakes for Two with Cranberry Reduction

There is something special about cranberry's during the Thanksgiving and Christmas season. Perhaps its due to the fact cranberry's are readily found in the stores around that time, and other than in November or December cranberry's are either non existent or exorbitantly priced. I was craving cheesecake for Thanksgiving dessert and thought the tart cranberry would be the perfect complement to the sweet and creamy cheesecake. There is also something delightful about ramekins when cooking for two. While an entire cheesecake in the fridge is temping...I just couldn't rationalize it. I used two crumbled sugar cookies mixed with about 1 tablespoon of melted butter for the crust and found my filling from The Weekend Gourmande. Follow the filling directions as indicated and bake in two 10 oz ramekins or four 5.5 oz ramekins. After a filling meal the 5.5 oz size was perfect for us.

To make the cranberry reduction, start with 8 oz of fresh cranberry's, about 1/4 cup water and 2 tablespoons of sugar. (*if desired you can add additional sugar) Combine the sauce ingredients in a pan over medium heat. Stir constantly until the sauce thickens to your desired consistency. At this point, strain the thickened sauce. After the cheesecakes have cooled, spoon the sauce over each individual cheese cake and serve. If you need your chocolate fix, lightly drizzle melted hot fudge over the cranberry sauce.

*The pictures do not do this dessert justice :)*