Oreo Cheesecake

One of my all-time favorite desserts as a child was Cheesecake. It was always a treat because while my mom and grandmothers baked an abundance of cookies, cakes and brownies they RARELY ever baked cheesecakes. Now that I have my own kitchen, I find myself following in their footsteps and often only bake cookies and brownies. It is not because cheesecakes are hard to make, they are actaully quite easy. It is not because they don’t store well. They freeze (and thaw) beautifully! I am not sure why I don’t make these delicious treats more often.  Perhaps I like that the rare occasion that I do make one makes it all the more special and a real treat!

This is the same recipe I use for my plain cheesecakes. This time I decided to bake in an Oreo crust and fold in some quartered Oreo cookies for a kid friendly dessert! Everyone loved it and it was gone in no time.  Feel free to make it your own by baking in a traditional graham cracker crust and folding in ingredients of your choice (chocolate chips, chunks of brownies, cookie dough, etc). Any way you make it, I am sure it will be a hit.

Cheesecakes make a beautiful presentation and their thick creamy texture makes them the perfect dessert. There are millions of cheesecake recipes and this is a combination of several that I have tried over the years and tweaked to my liking. I like my cheesecake to have a creamy texture and hold up well so I can pile on toppings when garnishing if I so desire. The secret to achieving the perfect texture (in my opinion) is the Sweetened Condensed Milk. It creates a silky, smooth, creamy texture that holds its shape well. 

To prevent cracking, I like to cool my cheesecake in the oven for several hours before transfering to the fridge to chill overnight.  I also bake with a pan of warm water on the bottom rack while baking to help keep the cheesecake moist and not crack. This usually works for me, but don’t worry if your cheesecake cracks, just hide them with garnishes such as fresh fruit, whipped cream, chocolate sauce, chopped cookies, etc.

I rate this recipe a 9

Oreo Cheesecake
2 cups Oreo Cookie crumbs
3 TBS butter, melted

3 pkgs. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
1 can (14 oz.)  Sweetened Condensed Milk
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 TBS flour
3 large eggs
1 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
15 Oreo Cookies, quartered
Oreo cookies for garnish if desired

Preheat oven to 300° F. Grease 9-inch springform pan.
Fill an oven safe cake pan (I use a 9×9) 3/4 full with warm water. Set on bottom oven rack while oven is preheating.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine Oreo crumbs and butter, stir to combine.  Press onto bottom and 1 inch up side of prepared pan.
Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes. Remove and increase oven temperature to 350.

In a large mixing bowl beat cream cheese until creamy. Add sweetened condensed milk and beat until smooth. Add sugar and flour, beat to combine. Add  eggs one at a time beating only to combine after each addition. When adding the third egg, also add the lime juice and vanilla extract; beat until combined.

Using a spatula, gently fold in the quartered Oreo cookies. Gently pour batter evenly into prebaked crust.
*You can arrange Oreo cookie pieces over top of batter for a pretty presentation if desired.

Bake in preheated oven for 50-65 minutes or until edge is set and center moves slightly. Watch carefully and do  not overbake.
Shut oven off and allow cheesecake to cool in oven for 1-4  hours. Run a warm knife around edge of cheesecake after 1 hour.
Place in fridge to cool completely. (Remove the pan of water)
Allow to chill at least 24 hours before serving for best flavor and texture.