Oreo Cheesecake

I’ve already admitted that I’m not a huge pizza fan. It’s a little bit blasphemous in a city known for its slices that are as thin and wide as a page from the New York Times. In fact, a frequently told NYC joke is that you can tell the tourists from the cityslickers by watching how they eat pizza: New Yorkers always know to fold and bite.

Well to add to the blasphemy, let me add today that I am not a cheesecake person either. Not good news in a city with its own take on the dessert, one that is skyscraper tall and thick as a brick. The oddly gelatinous fruit toppings do little to cut the denseness of the cake, which just scream “cream cheese, cream cheese, cream cheese” and little else. Of course there are other versions of cheesecake, including the Godiva chocolate cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory that I love so much. But that at least has mousse and chocolate to cut the cheesecakey-ness.

This version has Oreos. In the crust and in the cheesecake itself. While I may not have been a cheesecake person growing up, I most definitely was an Oreo person and was the best Oreo twister in the world – I always got the cream-filled half. When we went to our Bengali community events, there were always a package or two of Oreos next to the tea, and when someone would ask, “what happened to all the cookies?” I often had to scramble to brush the telltale chocolate crumbs away from the side of my mouth. I don’t keep them around because, well when faced with a package of Oreos in my vicinity, things get ugly.

Last weekend, my aunt hosted a semi-casual dinner party for her nephew and his family. The tasks of dessert and appetizers were delegated to my cousin and I, so we naturally chose high-class fare: spicy Sriracha wings, nachos and Oreo cheesecake. My cousin made the suggestion, and I jumped at the chance to eat an Oreo after so many years.

The hallmark of a good homemade cheesecake is a smooth top with no cracks. I failed spectacularly on that front, with a large, ominous scar right in the middle of my dessert. The recipe didn’t call for a water bath, and since I was a first-time cheesecake-baker making something for a dinner party, I didn’t deviate. I don’t know enough about cheesecakes to diagnose what the issue was here, but perhaps a more even heating distribution (like the one found in a water bath) would have done the trick. Sour cream made a big difference in lightening up the cream cheese here, so that the end result was less brick-like and more airy, if the air included little pieces of Oreos.

Oreo Cheesecake
Recipe from Kraft Recipes

In an effort to make a very rich dessert slightly less deadly, I used reduced-fat Oreos, as well as low-fat sour cream and cream cheese (called Neufchatel cheese for some reason, which sounds very French and fancy). You don’t really miss the fat in the finished cheesecake, which is good if you plan on eating multiple slices like me.

– 1 package reduced-fat Oreos

– 1/3 cup  butter, melted

– 24 ounces low-fat cream cheese, softened

– 3/4 cup  sugar

– 1 cup low-fat sour cream

– 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

– 4 eggs

1) Preheat the oven to 350ËšF if using a light silver 8- or 9-inch round springform pan. If using a dark nonstick pan like I did, preheat to 325ËšF.

2) Finely crush 30 cookies. (For best results, use a blender or food processor.) Mix with the melted butter and press firmly on the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Press the bottom of a heavy mug or measuring cup on the bottom and sides to even out the crust.

3) Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and sugar until well blended. Add the sour cream and vanilla and mix well. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing only until just incorporated.

4) Chop (or pulse in the blender or food processor) the remaining Oreos coarsely. Fold the cookies into the batter gently and then pour the batter into the crust. Smooth the top using a spatula or the back of a spoon.

5) Bake for 55 minutes to 1 hour, until the cheesecake is set in the middle. If the top browns before the cheesecake is done, cover the top loosely with foil. (Baking in this method produced a large crack. Since I’m a cheesecake-baking novice, I don’t know what to do to prevent cracking — maybe a water bath? While neither I nor my guests minded at all, suggestions for crack-less baking are much appreciated!)

6) Cool the cake on a wire rack before refrigerating for at least 4 hours. Run a knife around the rim of the cake before loosening and removing the springform ring.

[print recipe in PDF form]