Generously grease the mini cheesecake pan or line a muffin tin with paper liners and grease them with nonstick cooking spray (if you are using ring molds, line with parchment paper).
Add Maria cookies to a food processor and pulse until the cookies are crushed into fine crumbs. Add melted butter and process to combine. The mixture should have the consistency of wet sand.
Place about a heaping tablespoon of the cookie mixture into the bottom of each cavity. Press the mixture down firmly to form the crust.
Cheesecake filling
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Add in the cream, vanilla, lime zest, and juice and continue beating until well combined and thickened.
Distribute the mixture evenly over the crusts. Refrigerate.
Guava sauce
In a small saucepan, add guava paste and water. Use medium heat to melt the guava paste, occasionally stirring, until smooth.
Let guava cool down, but don't let it solidify.
Using a spoon, pour the melted guava paste over the cheesecakes and refrigerate before serving. Remove from the pan and top with freshly whipped cream if desired.
Notes
I used my mini cheesecake pan for this recipe because the bottoms are removable, so you can easily pop them out. You can also use a muffin tin with paper liners or small ring molds.
Instead of mini cheesecakes, make a traditional cheesecake in a 9-inch pie pan.
Press the cookie crumbs down firmly into each mold. You can use your fingers, a shot glass (works great!), or another small object.
I try to brush off any stray crumbs sticking to the sides so that my cheesecake layer comes out clean.
To easily combine cream cheese with the other ingredients, it should be softened before using it. I like to take it out of the fridge about an hour before I plan on making these guava cheesecakes.
I prefer to mix the filling in a stand mixer, but you can mix it by hand if you prefer. It will take a little longer, and make sure the ingredients are smooth and well combined.
To distribute the cheesecake layer, I use an ice cream scoop/dipper. It takes about 1 ½ - 2 scoops, depending on the pan you're using.
Once you have made your mini lime and guava cheesecakes, let them sit in the fridge for at least 1 hour before serving.