Mini Oreo Cheesecakes

March 6, 2012 was OREO's 100th Birthday!!! I actually made these for that day but forgot to post until now. Oops!



Did you know that when Oreos were first launched in New York in 1912 there were 2 flavors: Original and Lemon Cream. They are made by Kraft Foods (USA) and the Christie Brand (Canada). Over the past 100 years they have experimented with many other flavors including Strawberry Milkshake (Canada), Green Tea (China/Japan), Blueberry Ice Cream (Indonesia/Malaysia), Cool Mint, Banana Split (2008), Sugar Free, Reduced Fat and Cakesters (2007) just to name a few.

Personally, I prefer the chocolate cookies sans filling or the Vanilla Oreo variety. Since I don't like the filling, I twist mine open and scrape out the filling and save it for use in another recipe. When melted, it makes a great drizzle for brownies!

According to Kraft, women are more likely to twist open their Oreos than men! Check out the Oreo Timeline for more interesting facts!



To celebrate, I made mini Oreo Cheesecakes from Martha Stewart's "Cupcakes" book. Instead of crushed cookie crumbs, these feature a whole Oreo cookie placed in the bottom of each cupcake liner, topped with cream cheese filling and baked.

Mini Oreo Cheesecakes
Makes 30

42 Oreo sandwich cookies, 30 left whole and 12 coarsely chopped
3 1/2 (8oz each) packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
1 cup sour cream
pinch salt

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Line 30 standard muffin tins with paper liners. Place 1 whole Oreo cookie in the bottom of each lined muffin cup.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese on medium-high speed until smooth, scraping down sides of the bowl as needed. Gradually add the sugar, and beat until combined. Beat in the vanilla.

3. Drizzle in eggs, a little at a time, beating to combine and scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add in sour cream and salt, beat to combine. Using a large spatula, fold in the chopped Oreo cookies. Divide batter evenly among the cookie-filled muffin cups, fill each cup almost to the top.

4. Bake, rotating muffin tins halfway through, until the filling is set, about 22 to 28 minutes. Transfer the muffins tins to a wire rack to cool completely. Refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight. Remove from tins just before serving.