• Preheat the oven to 325°. Line 12 muffin tins with paper liners and grease them. Set aside. *It may seem unnecessary to grease the papers, but the cheesecakes will stick if you don't.

Crust:

• Crush the graham crackers into crumbs and melt the butter,
• In a bowl, stir together the graham crackers crumbers, butter, and 1 1/2 Tbsp sugar.
• Press the mixture into the papers - press into the bottom and up the sides. Set aside.

Batter:

• Place the softened cream cheese in a bowl then, with an electric mixer, stir on low speed until smooth and creamy (but don't whip or excessively beat it - you don't want to incorporate much air into the batter).
• Add the sugar and stir again until well-combined.
• Add the sour cream, vanilla, and salt. Stir until the ingredients are well combined, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl so there are no lumps.
• In a separate bowl, beat the eggs gently.
• With the mixer on the lowest setting or just with a spoon, gradually add the eggs, a few Tbsp at a time, and stir until just incorporated.
• Evenly divide the batter into the paper liners (using an ice cream scoop makes this easy).
• Bake in the preheated oven for 17-20 minutes or until the edges are just beginning to turn a very, very light golden brown and the centers are just set. *Do not overbake or the texture will be dry and mealy.*

  *Watch these closely - they will turn from shiny to a matte texture when they are getting close to finished.
• Allow the cheesecakes to cool then remove them from the tins. When they are completely cool, transfer them to the fridge and chill for 2-3 hours before serving.