STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE WITH AN OREO COOKIE CRUST!!

Luscious, creamy New York style cheesecake with a crumbly Oreo cookie crust and topped with fresh strawberries drizzled with a strawberry glaze.

Cheesecake is my son-in-law’s favorite dessert. For his birthday my daughter asked me to help her bake a fantastic cheesecake. We brainstormed ideas and decided since gorgeous, sweet California strawberries are now at the market, to make strawberry cheesecake. However, we didn’t want just an ordinary strawberry cheesecake, we wanted it to look spectacular. So we paired it with an Oreo cookie crust, left the berries whole, arranged them artfully on top of the cake, then drizzle the berries with a fresh strawberry glaze.

To make an extraordinary cheesecake, we baked it at a lower temperature in a water bath. It took a little longer to bake that way, but the result was fantastic, super smooth and cream. It didn’t crack, get too brown on top, or dried out on the edges. It was beautiful!

And yes, I did move my coffee table in to my entry way because the light was better for taking pictures.

The cheesecake was a hit. My daughter couldn’t wait to show it to her husband when he got home from work, and my son-in-law was even more pleased.

If you haven’t baked a cheesecake before, give it a try. It isn’t difficult and you get spectacular results. Just be sure and start with cream cheese that is at room temperature. It will be soft and creamy, blend easily with the other ingredients, and you won’t over mix it.

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Strawberry Cheesecake with an Oreo Cookie Crust

Yield: 12 - 16 servings

Ingredients

Crust:
• 2 cups Oreo cookies with cream center removed, finely ground (2 sleeves)
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons sugar
Cheesecake:
• 4 8-oz. packages cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 2/3 cups sugar
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 large eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup sour cream
Strawberry Glaze:
• 1 cup frozen strawberries, thawed
• 1 pint fresh small strawberries, washed and hulled
• 3 tablespoon water
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• red food coloring, optional

Directions

1. Position oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325º F. Put a tea kettle or large pot of water on the stove to boil for the water bath.
2. Mix together the crust ingredients and press into 9” springform pan. You can press the crust just into the bottom, or up the sides of the pan too - baker's choice. Set crust aside.
3. In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, flour, and salt until smooth. If using a mixer, mix on low speed. Add the whole eggs and the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well (but still at low speed) after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and sour cream.
4. Place the springfrom pan in a larger roasting pan. Fill the roasting pan with the boiling water until it reaches halfway up the sides of the cake pan. If your cheesecake pan is not leakproof, cover bottom securely with foil before adding water.
5. Bake until the cheesecake is firm and slightly golden on top, 70 to 80 minutes.
6. Remove the cheesecake from the water bath and cool to room temperature. Cover the cheesecake with plastic wrap and refrigerate until very cold, at least 3 hours or overnight.
7. Strawberry Glaze: Puree frozen strawberries in a small food processor or with an immersion blender. Press blended strawberries through a fine mesh strainer in to a small saucepan. Add water.
8. In a small bowl, mix together sugar and cornstarch. Stir into the puree in saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Continue cooking and stirring until thickened and clear. Add food coloring, if desired. Cool to room temperature.
9. Arrange strawberries in a single layer around the cooled cheesecake. Drizzle cooled glazed evenly over strawberries on cheesecake. Store, covered, in refrigerator.