Oreo Cheesecake Bars
Stacked with flavor, these easy Oreo Cheesecake Bars are a homemade treat ready in half the time of regular cheesecake. Combining two classic favorites in one delicious indulgence, the creamy cheesecake filling is studded with Oreos and sits atop a thick Oreo cookie crust.
There’s often more tension in my kitchen than the Middle East. The latest conflict to ensue was over the proper thickness of a pork chop. I’m not kidding. Married couples certainly bicker about a lot of strange things, in our house that includes pig meat.
Sad but true, my husband picked a fight with me about pork chops, insisting the thin and flimsy cuts from his childhood were universally preferred over anything measurable with a ruler. His logic was that if Waffle House serves their pork chops thinly sliced then the whole world should follow suit.
It’s hard to argue with the culinary wisdom of Waffle House, but I did it anyway.
If I had anything to say about it, and I most certainly did, our dinner menu wasn’t going to include scrawny, roadside diner pork chops. I insisted upon thick, steakhouse-sized chops. It didn’t matter if they were cut by a butcher or Edward Scissorhands as long as they were porterhouse pork thick.
As opposed to thin chops that can’t even be cut with a Ginzu without bending the damn blade.
Our swine battle raged on, but what should’ve been an easy victory for me ended up a loss on all fronts. My husband made his tissue-paper thin pork chops out of spite then overcooked them to a second death. In fact, the first bite was literally tough enough to brake a bracket on my son’s braces.
If you’re keeping score in this marital spat, I didn’t get what I wanted for dinner, I didn’t get my way, but you can be damn sure I got the last word–which is the ultimate win for most women, including me.
Since dinner was an inedible disaster, I vowed to make up for it with dessert. With a fresh package of Oreos in the pantry and two blocks of cream cheese in the refrigerator the choice was between cookies and cheesecake.
In brief, I chose both.
Easy to make and hard to resist, you can’t go wrong with this cool and creamy recipe. It’s basically two dessert favorites in one delicious indulgence. Featuring a luscious cheesecake filling studded with crushed Oreos, a thick cookie crust and cookie crumb topping, this recipe is perfect for hardcore Oreo lovers. Try this masterful mashup, I guarantee everyone who tries it will be asking for more.
Before sharing the recipe for Oreo Cheesecake Bars, here are a few tips and tricks to help you out:
Ingredient Tips
This recipe calls for regular Oreos, do not substitute Double Stuff because they will throw off of the butter-to-crumb ratio for the crust. When pulsing Oreos in the food processor, use the entire cookie, filling and all.
This recipe calls for with full-fat cream cheese and full-fat sour cream. Substituting reduced fat ingredients may yield different results in taste and appearance and are not recommended.
To avoid lumpy cheesecake batter, be sure cream cheese , eggs and sour cream are at room temperature before beating. Also, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula while the electric mixer is in motion to and beat until batter is smooth and lump free.
Preparation Tips
Always bake cheesecake bars in a shiny metal pan. Glass and stoneware pans are not recommended due uneven and prolonged bake times.
Bake cheesecake bars until edges are set and center has a slight jiggle. The cheesecake will continue to set as it cools. Overbaking will result in dry cheesecake.
In order to keep cheesecake bars from cracking, take care to not overbeat the batter. If you spy a crack after baking, don’t fret, it can be camouflaged with Oreo cookies.
How to Store Oreo Cheesecake Bars
Cover cheesecake bars with plastic wrap then store in the refrigerator up to 5 days.
Cheesecake bars can be frozen in an airtight container up to 3 months. After cheesecake has cooled completely, cut into slices then wrap each slice in plastic wrap and store in a freezer bag. Thaw cheesecake bars overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
I hope you enjoy this recipe for Oreo Cheesecake Bars. Please leave a comment and rating at the bottom of this blog when you try it for yourself. And, while you’re at it, sign up for my weekly Recipe Newsletter so you never miss a tempting recipe.
Finally, if you love Oreo recipes, check out these amazing Oreo Cinnamon Rolls. Filled with black cocoa powder and crushed Oreo cookies then slathered with cream cheese frosting, these soft, fluffy rolls are the bomb for breakfast or brunch.
Oreo Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
Oreo crust
- 22 Oreo cookies
- 5 Tbsp unsalted butter melted
Funfetti cheesecake filling
- 16 ounces full fat cream cheese room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour unbleached
- 1/8 tsp sea salt fine
- 1 tsp vanilla pure
- 1/2 cup full fat sour cream room temperature
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 10 Oreo cookies rough chopped
Topping
- 1 Oreo cookie crushed into fine crumbs
- 3 Oreo cookies rough chopped
Instructions
Oreo crust
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line an 8 x 8 metal baking pan with an oversized sheet of parchment paper, allowing it to hang over the edges. Set aside.
- Pulse Oreo cookies, including filling, in a food processor until fine crumbs form.
- Add melted butter then pulse a few more times until crumbs are evenly moistened.
- Pour crumbs into baking pan then use the bottom of a measuring cup to press crumbs into an even layer.
- Bake crust for 10 minutes.
- Remove baking pan from oven then place on a wire rack to cool while you prepare the cheesecake filling.
Cheesecake Filling
- Beat softened cream cheese and sugar with an electric mixer for 2 minutes until smooth and lump free. Note: Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl with a spatula as needed throughout the entire filling making process.
- Add flour, salt and vanilla then beat until combined.
- Beat in sour cream.
- Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition until incorporated.
- Using a spatula, gently fold in chopped Oreos until evenly distributed.
Assembly
- Pour cheesecake filling onto warm Oreo crust then smooth the top with a spatula to level.
- Sprinkle Oreo crumbs on top of filling
- Bake at 325 degrees for approximately 40 to 45 minutes or until cheesecake edges are set but the center is still slightly jiggly. Cheesecake will continue to set as it cools, avoid overbaking.
- Place the baking pan on a wire rack at room temperature and cool for 1 hour
- Cover the baking pan with plastic wrap then chill in the refrigerator for a minimum of 3 hours (or up to 1 day).
- Top cheesecake squares with rough chopped Oreo cookies then slice and serve. For perfect slices, wipe the knife blade clean between each cut.
- Cover and store cheesecake bars in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.