Oreo Cheesecake (Without the Water Bath)
If you’re a fan of my cheesecake brownies or Oreo cake, you’re going to love this Oreo cheesecake! It’s creamy, chocolatey, and perfectly decadent. I use Oreos in both the crust and the batter, and although it’s optional, I highly recommend adding the chocolate ganache and homemade whipped cream topping. This actually isn’t a new recipe, but I am making a few slight changes to the original. We’re using a thinner ganache layer to really let the classic cheesecake flavor shine, and we’re baking it at a lower temperature. I’m also using more Oreos in the crust to help encourage it to go even higher up the sides of the pan (this helps prevent cracks!). Speaking of the crust, I originally recommended pulverizing the cookies whole; however, the oil in the cream filling would often seep out through the springform pan and make a mess in the oven. To remedy this, I now recommend discarding the cream before pulverizing the cookies into crumbs (we’ll leave the cookies whole in the batter though!). Oh, and there’s also finally a video to go with this recipe now–keep scrolling to watch 😊
What You Need
For best results and an Oreo cheesecake that’s not likely to crack, I recommend using all room-temperature ingredients:
Cream cheese. I only recommend using the brick-style, full-fat cream cheese. Tub-style cream cheese will not set up properly!Sour cream. Don’t skip the sour cream! I’ve mentioned this before in my no-bake cheesecake recipe — sour cream is what makes a cheesecake really taste like a cheesecake. This key ingredient gives your dessert that critical depth of flavor.Eggs. Lightly beat your eggs before adding them to your cheesecake. Once they’re in the batter, be gentle; overbeating your cheesecake, and particularly the eggs, can cause problems. Oreos. The star of the show! You can use regular or “double stuf” Oreos. We’ll be removing the cream centers for the crust, but you can leave them in when you add the cookies to the batter.
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post! SAM’S TIP: Make sure to press your crust high up the side of the springform pan; ideally it should be higher than the cheesecake batter. This will help keep your Oreo cheesecake from cracking (the cheesecake shrinks as it cools, and if the crust is high enough, it will shrink with the cheesecake and prevent cracks). I discovered this tip when making my lemon cheesecake and it’s a total game-changer!
How to Make Oreo Cheesecake
SAM’S TIP: While it’s important to ensure the ingredients are thoroughly combined and batter is smooth, don’t over-beat the batter at any point when preparing it. Over-beating can make your Oreo cheesecake rise too much in the oven and can ultimately negatively affect the texture. SAM’S TIP: If your Oreo cheesecake comes out of the oven and some of the batter is cooked to the side of the springform pan, immediately use a sharp knife to gently loosen the cheesecake from the pan so it can shrink naturally as it cools. Not loosening could cause tension and cause the cheesecake to crack. Stay tuned for a NEW cheesecake recipe coming next week 💙 Enjoy! Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook