Oreo Cookie Cheesecake

A baker I am not, don't get me wrong I enjoy baking I just don't find myself in the kitchen all that often whipping up sweets. So when I was assigned dessert for my gourmet group (a cooking group among my LA girlfriends that meets every other month) I was up for the challenge and went for a recipe I have been wanting to try for a while now. So here it, let's see what the girls think of it when they get to try the end result tonight!

Oreo Cookie Cheesecake

Crust:

• 8 oz Oreo cookie crumb
• 2 oz sugar
• 4 oz melted butter

Cheese Cake Mix:

• 1.5 lbs. of creme cheese
• 6 oz sugar
• 1/2 oz corn starch
• 4 whole eggs
• 8 oz sour cream
• 1 lemon zest
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract 

For the crust; use a food processor to crumble the Oreos, if you don't have a food processor you can use a blender like me. In a bowl combine the Oreo crumb, sugar, and melted butter. I actually doubled the above recipe for the crust so that there would be a deep Oreo crust. 

Then in a mixing bowl combine the cream cheese, sugar, and corn starch and mix until creamy. Add eggs one by one, scraping the side of the bowl each time you add an egg. Try to make the mix as creamy as possible. Add the sour cream, lemon zest and vanilla extract. Mix all ingredients well.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. I used a 9" springform pan which seemed the right size for the above recipe. Line the springform pan with parchment paper, you can find pre-cut 9" parchment rounds at Sur La Table, then grease the pan. Take the crust mix and put it into the bottom of the mold. Flatten the crust to desired thickness, and add the cheese cake mix.

Put the cake on a sheet pan with a layer of water on the bottom of the sheet pan, about a half an inch to avoid burning. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes, or until the a tooth pick comes out clean.

Once it comes out of the oven, let it cool then chill over night before un-molding. If you have any left over Oreos you can crumble those over the top for a better looking finished product!