Luscious Oreo Cheesecake Recipe

Sometimes a recipe can be deceiving. This Oreo cheesecake, for example, requires only 8 ingredients to make, so you might be expecting it to be one of those shortcut sweets that only somewhat resembles cheesecake. But, in fact, this is about as cheesecakey as a cheesecake can get, with the addition of some extra flavor and texture courtesy of Oreos. Developer Jessica Morone feels that "Oreos and cheesecake are a wonderful combination," and while she admits that this cheesecake "does take a while to cook and cool before you can eat it," she reassures beginning cooks that it's actually a fairly easy recipe to make.

One unique aspect of this classic recipe is the fact that it incorporates sweetened condensed milk, which Morone says "makes the cheesecake extra rich and creamy." She also says it's easily customizable with different Oreo flavors, adding, "I bet the seasonal ones would be pretty fun to try." You could even swap the chocolate chips in the ganache for white or milk chocolate or use something like mint-flavored or butterscotch chips, as well.

As we mentioned earlier, this cheesecake isn't too ingredient-heavy. You'll be using Oreos (or a similar sandwich cookie like Hydrox) for the crust and in the batter, while you'll also need butter, cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, eggs, vanilla, chocolate chips, and heavy cream.

As a first step, set the oven to 350 F. As it heats up, count out 22 Oreos and crush them into fairly fine crumbs. You can do this with a food processor or go low-tech and put them in a durable plastic bag, then smash them up with a rolling pin. Mix the crumbs with the melted butter, then press them onto the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan (no need to grease it first). Place the pan onto a cookie sheet and bake the crust for 8 minutes. Remove it so the crust can cool, then turn the oven temperature down to 325 F.

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese by itself until it looks fluffy, then add the condensed milk, eggs, and vanilla and beat everything at a medium-low speed until the batter is smooth. Crush up the rest of the cookies into small and medium bits — larger than you made for the crust, so each bite of cheesecake will contain some crunchy bits — then stir them into the batter. 

Now, take the bowl of batter and tap it on the counter. Keep on tapping as you count up to 30 or even 45 seconds. Sure, it may look and feel a bit weird, but Morone assures us that this will eliminate any air bubbles.

Pour and/or scrape the batter onto the crust, then bake the cheesecake for 30 minutes. Without opening the door, turn the heat down to 250 F and bake the cake for another 45 minutes. At this point, you will need to open the door to check for doneness. If the center of the cake is only a little jiggly, close the oven door (leaving the cake inside), turn the heat off, and let the cake sit in the oven for 30 minutes. Lastly, crack the door open and let the cake sit for yet another hour while the oven cools.

Finally, you may now take the cake out of the oven, but it's still not done cooling. Let it sit for an hour at room temperature, then wrap it in plastic and stick it in the refrigerator for 6 hours or more.

Why all the time and temperature changes? Morone points out that since this cheesecake "isn't baked in a water bath, you're instead relying on cooking the cheesecake really low and slow so it doesn't crack."

Once the cheesecake has been in the fridge for at least 6 hours, melt the chocolate chips and cream together to make the ganache topping. Using the microwave, heat them in 20-second intervals, stirring in between each interval until the chocolate is melted and the ganache is smooth. Spread the sauce over the cheesecake, then put the cake back into the refrigerator for at least another 30 minutes to set the topping.

When you want to cut into the cake, first run a knife around the edges, then take the springform pan sides off. If you want to make the cake look fancy, feel free to top it with whipped cream and decorate it with more cookies. Eat as much of the cake as you like, then store the rest in the refrigerator for up to 5 days until you're ready for seconds. Want to freeze it? Morone stores her plastic-wrapped cheesecake in the freezer for up to 6 months.