Oreo Cheesecake – Recipe!

I have learned from the best when it comes to baking cheesecakes.  My mom has been making them, since I was a child in almost any flavor you can think of, so this Oreo Cheesecake is a nod to my mom, and all her baking inspiration.  Oreo Cookies have been a part of most of our childhoods, and even though we don’t eat them as often, sometimes it’s fun to splurge and enjoy them in cheesecake form.  There was always a controversy about how to eat an Oreo properly.  Do you dunk it straight in a glass of milk in full cookie form, or do you unscrew it, then lick the filling out, and dunk the crispy wafers only in the milk?  Well, in this recipe you don’t have to worry about how to enjoy an Oreo, that’s for sure.

Making this cheesecake takes pretty much the same steps as traditional cheesecake, except that you make the crust and filling with Oreo Cookies.  If you own a food processor, the crust is a breeze, or should I say, a whirl?  And a good stand mixer or hand mixer is all that is necessary to gently mix up the creamy filling.  The trick to a good cheesecake is not to whip up the filling too fast, but gentle and slow, because you don’t want excess air in the filling ingredients.  Meaning, less holes in your cheesecake after baking.

A water bath is essential for baking cheesecakes, but don’t let that intimidate you.  It’s basically covering the bottom of the Springform pan with foil, and setting it in a roasting pan, or casserole dish, and filling it with hot water, until it is halfway up the sides of the cheesecake.  Another good trick is to let the cheesecake hangout in the hot water for 10 minutes, or so after taking it out of the oven to gently continue cooking, so the center isn’t too jiggly and meets the sides for firmness.  Then, you can remove it from the water, along with the foil.  The results are more than delicious, they’re scrumptious, and you probably won’t be able to stop lobbing off a slice or two until it’s gone.

Ingredients

Crust

12 Oreo Cookies, crushed

3 tablespoons butter

Filling

16 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoon vanilla extract

10 Oreo Cookies, crushed (leaving a few chunks)

(Serves 8)

To Prepare:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Wrap bottom of 8-inch Springform pan with foil.  In a food processor, blend crust ingredients.  Dump into pan and press into bottom.  Bake in oven for 10 minutes, remove and let cool.
2. In a stand mixer or large bowl, mix cream cheese and sugar on low speed for 3 minutes.  Add eggs, one at a time and continue to mix on low for 4 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl, when needed.  Add vanilla and Oreos and mix on low for 1 minute.
3. Pour into cooled crust and place in a roasting pan.  Place roasting pan in oven and add very hot water around edges of cheesecake until it reaches half way up sides.  Bake for 50 minutes or until mostly set.  Remove and let cheesecake rest in hot water bath for 10 minutes.
4. Remove pan from hot water bath and remove foil.  Let cool on wire rack until room temperature, about 1 hour.  Place in refrigerator to chill for at least 4 hours before serving.  Best if stored overnight.  Enjoy!