I do not think a pastry base would be pleasant for a cheesecake. Is your recipe baked or set? What sort of pan do you have? And do you need paper liners? I’m having difficulty visualising your equipment and these mini cheesecakes. Got any pictures?

I make a LOT of cheesecakes throughout the year. I see your dilemma. I would make a sugar cookie that fit. Or buy a sugar cookie....Keebler maybe? Pie pastry would be awful....JMO

My pan makes 24 mini muffins. The bottom of each cup is about one and one quarter inches. (Houzz wouldn't let me type that in numbers. ) I will be putting these on a cookie tray for a party, so I want the paper liners. I'm sure foil would work, but the mini ones can be hard to find and I already have paper.

Here is a random internet picture, I hope.

Have you tried chocolate graham crumbs, by Keebler? Adding butter and sugar to them of course. You can increase the sugar.

,Nicole, I thought about some sort of rolled and cut cookie. Are you thinking the refrigerator kind? Easy peasy.

I haven't tried chocolate grahams. I used regular crumbs last year. I can't use chocolate, my dear friend loves these, and she's allergic to chocolate.

DD just made 3 different types of individual cheesecakes for our company Christmas Party. She used:

Chocolate wafers for the Espresso Mocha Cheesecake These fit perfectly in a large muffin tin.

Graham cracker crust for the Apple Cinnamon Cheesecake

Sugar cookie crust for the Lemon Raspberry Cheesecake

She has multiple size muffin tins and adapts according to the cookie size. She doesn't always use muffin paper liners. That makes a difference as any excess butter stays in the muffin tin.

I think nicole and moosemac have answered it. I top them with lemon curd and a raspberry, so sugar cookie it is!!

I have a couple of friends that use Nyakers gingersnaps for their cheesecake crust.

Yes, ginger biscuit crumbs make a great cheesecake base.

We make the cheesecake from the Settlement cookbook, I'm sure long out of print since it was my Mother's. But their cheesecake calls for zwieback crust. Zweiback is an old kind of hard biscuit that used to be use for teething babies. Just a suggestion, not sure if it will work for your minis.

Ginger cookie crumbs, oh my!😍

Use foil liners?

I make a 6" cheesecake and really liked the crust I made for my pumpkin cheesecake. It stayed crispy for a few days because of the nuts.

1/2 c. graham cracker crumbs

1/4 c. nuts

2 tsp. sugar

2 tbsp melted butter

You can add a pinch of cinnamon.

Combine grahams, nuts, and sugar in a food processor and process until finely ground. Stir in melted butter.

I use a shot glass to press the crumbs into my pan, which would work well for muffin cups.

Nabisco Zwieback isn't available any longer. There's a brand called Brandt you can get at A-zon.

Have you tried a generic brand of vanilla wafers they tend to be smaller.

If I do the crumb crust, the shot glass is a great idea.

Yes, I tried generic cookies. No luck.

I always thought graham crackers were the basic cheesecake crust. Anyway, all the crumb mixtures mentioned here sound delish.

I think so, too, but they were a little too greasy last year. Always up for alternatives.

I've done hazel nut crust, pecan AND walnut. I put the nut in the food processor and when it's almost a powder I add a little flour, butter & sugar. Thing is....still greasy. And it costs a little more than a rolled out sugar cookie.

dollar general had mini nilla wafers

Make a shortbread crust.

https://ofbatteranddough.com/new-york-cheesecake/

Or pate brisee. I make a yummy nut pate brisee that I press into individual tart pans and roll out for apple hand pies. If you roll it and cut it into circles, refrigerate the circles as the dough is tender and can break when transferring to muffin tins or to a cookie sheet. You probably want to roll it thin, making it even more important to refrigerate first.

1 1/2 cups flour

1/3 cup finely chopped nuts

1/4 sugar

pinch of salt

1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, diced or grated

1 egg

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Mix flour, nuts, sugar, and salt. Work butter into mixture until it resembles a coarse meal. Add egg and vanilla until it all comes together. Press into pan or roll out. Bake at 350 degrees.

The last time I bought Nilla brand vanilla wafers (which was this past August), the stores offered both regular size and minis. My store was out of the regular size so I had to use the minis for my banana cream pudding. You might look for them at your local stores.

If you have a normal cup cake pan that will work just fine. You don't need foil liners...paper works just fine. On wafer cookie even though smaller than the bottom of the cup cake pan works just fine.

I’ve made a particular NY cheesecake recipe for years and the crust never feels greasy. The recipe is 2 cups graham cracker crumbs, 1/4 cup plus 3-1/2 tbsp sugar, and 4 tbsp melted butter. This is for a 9” springform pan. I've also made cheesecake squares and the recipe is similar, just less of everything for a square baking pan.

A pie dough to me wouldn’t be the same.