I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, but there are a few things in the world of desserts that really rev my engine. One of those things is cheesecake. I love cheesecake with a fury, and as of late, I’ve been craving the sweet and tart, creamy and seductive indulgence. I had dreams about it, thought I smelled it when it wasn’t there, and I’ve even found myself being completely distracted from tasks at hand due to thoughts of the velvety joy that is cheesecake.
Obviously I have been feeling very passionate about the stuff, and I don’t know about you, but when I have a craving this intense, the only true cure is to just go ahead and have it.
To get started on my cure, I hopped on Pinterest and looked up a variety of different cheesecake recipes, and after sifting through a ton of different ones, there was one that kept showing through the dim. It was a Martha Stewart recipe for Cookies and Cream Cheesecakes. OH yes. THIS was the one.
The recipe was simple, easy to follow, and required very little ingredients, as well as no spring form pans or water baths. Piece o (cheese)cake. After I took inventory of our pantry/fridge, I only had a few things I needed to get at the store to make my cheesecake dreams a reality.
Once I got home, I got to work.
I was thankful that the baking temperature in the oven was only 275F, which kept the kitchen cool during the blisteringly hot heat we’re STILL experiencing here in the Texas Hill Country. After whipping together the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, eggs, sour cream, and salt, and folding in some crushed up Oreo cookies, we were ready for business.
My favorite part of these crazy-delicious little cakes, aside from the creamy goodness, is the fact that a WHOLE Oreo cookie is used as the crust. A WHOLE COOKIE. How cool? And cute? And smart? And DELICIOUS?
Before we get to the recipe, though, I do have a confession to make. When I started emptying out all the cream cheese into my bowl, I realized that I was about to make A LOT of cheesecakes. Way too many cheesecakes for our little family. Luckily, I’ve got a brunch coming up this Friday with 25 other women who I’m sure are going to absolutely adore these mini treats! Phew. Next time, I’ll be halving or even quartering the recipe. So keep that in mind!
- 42 Oreos, 30 left whole and 12 coarsely chopped
- 2 pounds (32 ounces/4 blocks of 8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 cup sour cream
- pinch of salt
- Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Place 1 whole cookie in the bottom of each lined cup.
- With an electric mixer on medium high speed, beat cream cheese until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Gradually add sugar, and beat until combined. Beat in vanilla.
- Drizzle in eggs, a bit at a time, beating to combine and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in sour cream and salt. Stir in chopped cookies by hand.
- Divide batter evenly among cookie-lined cups, filling each almost to the top. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until filling is set, about 22 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Refrigerate at least 4 hours (or up to overnight). Remove from tins just before serving.
