Cheesecake bars: The ultimate hack when you don’t want to make an entire cheesecake from scratch with all the trimmings. I like these Oreo cheesecake bars a lot because they have a nice chocolate cookie crust and the filling has bits of Oreo in it too. It is a baked cheesecake recipe but you don’t have to worry about water baths or how long you should leave it in the oven after it’s baked. Cheesecake bars are hassle-free and just as delicious as the major league cheesecakes.
Making the Oreo crust
I have a food processor and I invested in it just to make cheesecake and pie crusts. No kidding. Making crusts in a blender is a pain so I prefer the wider bases in food processors which allows less room for clumpy issues. The next best alternative, in my opinion, is crushing the biscuits over with a rolling pin. You just place the cookies in a huge Ziploc bag and pound away at it until it becomes crushed crumbs. A last option is to buy the Oreo crumbs at the grocery store.
The Oreo cheesecake filling
All your ingredients need to be at room temperature, first and foremost. This allows the cream cheese in particular to be soft enough to be whisked without any lumps. Block cream cheese (pictured below) works best for any cheesecake recipe, rather than the spreadable ones for sandwiches. I also like adding sour cream and sometimes lemon zest to give that classic tangy cheesecake aftertaste without it being overpowering. Adding crushed Oreos really makes this really awesome so I wouldn’t be frugal with the cookies. Use two Oreo cookie packages if you must for peace of mind.
The fun part about cheesecakes is that they always taste better ahead of time so you can make a this a few days ahead of when you want it served. Refrigerate this Oreo cheesecake for at least 5 hours before slicing into it with a sharp knife. You can run hot water over the knife for a smooth finish. Garnish these Oreo cheesecake bars with your favorite sweet syrups like caramel or chocolate sauce.
Ingredients
Crust
25 Oreo cookies
1/4 cup melted unsalted butter
Cheesecake filling
15 Oreos, crushed
1&1/2 cups confectioners' (icing) sugar
3 packages (250g each), at room temperature
1 teaspoon table salt
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 large eggs, at room temperature
Instructions
Crust
- Line a 13x9 inch baking pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper, leaving it to hang at the sides of the pan for easy removal later.
- Pulse the Oreo cookies until smooth in a food processor. Alternatively, crush them with a rolling pin until you get crumbs.
- Mix the cookie crumbs with butter and press into the 13x9 inch pan and bake in a preheated oven at 325°F/160°C for 10 minutes. Let it cool . Leave the oven on.
Cheesecake filling
- Using a hand or stand mixer, whisk the softened cream cheese until it is super smooth.
- Add in the confectioners' (icing) sugar, salt, cream, whipping cream, sour cream and vanilla extract until combined.
- Next, whisk the eggs one at a time into this same bowl.
- Stir in the crushed Oreos last.
- Pour this into the baked crust.
- Bake at 325°F/160°C for 35-40 minutes.
- Let the cheesecake cool completely to room temperature before refrigerating it for at least 5 hours. Or even better, overnight.
- Slice as desired and garnish with your favorite sweet syrups like caramel or chocolate sauce.
Notes
You can freeze any cheesecake leftovers in a Ziploc bag for up to 3 months. These taste great in the fridge in airtight containers for about 5 days.