Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line miniature muffin tins with paper liners.
Mix together the crushed vanilla wafers and melted butter until fully incorporated and press 1/2 teaspoon of the crushed vanilla wafer mixture into each paper cup.
In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, eggs, lemon juice and vanilla until light and fluffy.
Fill each miniature muffin liner with cream cheese mixture, almost to the top.
Place pans in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes. Let cool.
In a small pan over low heat, combine caramels, milk, and salt, stirring constantly until smooth. Pour a small amount of salted caramel over each mini cheesecake. Top each with a pinch of coarse salt.