Oh Cheesecake...

Just a few days ago it was my best friend Katie's birthday. Cheesecake is her absolute favorite dessert. I wanted to make her a cheesecake, but there is only one problem: she lives far far away (okay, well she lives in Canada). So I had two options: make and send her a cheesecake (which would be cheesecake soup by the time she got it), or make her a cheesecake and send her a picture of the masterpiece. Well I chose neither. Actually, my friend Scott and I decided to do something better, much better. We made a cooking show featuring Katie's birthday cheesecake. And wouldn't you know, she loved it! I am sure she would have loved the cheesecake as well, if she would have been able to taste it.

Here is the cooking show Scott and I put together. We titled it: At Home with the Master Chef (very creative, I know). Watch it and try not to drool over your keyboard. (Oh and try not to be jealous of our commercials.)

If I could choose one dessert to eat every day for the rest of my life, I would choose cheesecake. Rich, creamy, sweet. Oh for the stars, so good.

  

"Hey Scottie, you wanna make some cheesecake?"
"Sure."
"Sweet."

And what's a cheesecake without the crust? And a marbled crust at that. I call it the "Cookies and Cream Cheesecake Crust" (say that 5 times fast).

 

 The batter. Eat it raw, you know you want to.

"GOOP!"

"Nice and creamy..."

Hot out of the oven.

Cool for at least 4 hours. Or you could use my method: stick it in the freezer for 30 minutes to 1 hour. (Procrastination is key.)

 

Happy Birthday Katie love!

 

Oh hey, I am cheesecake and I am delicious.

A little slice of Heaven.

Peanut Butter and Oreo Cheesecake

• 1 package (18 oz) Oreo Chocolate Sandwich Cookies
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 3 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 container (16 oz) sour cream
• 1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
• 3 eggs

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Finely crush 16 of the cookies. Coarsely chop remaining 14 cookies; set aside.
2. Mix finely crushed cookies and butter. Press firmly onto bottom of 9-inch springform pan; set aside.
3. Beat cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl with electric mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add sour cream and peanut butter; mix well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each addition just until blended. Gently stir in chopped cookies. Pour over crust.
4. Bake 50 to 60 minutes or until center is almost set. Run knife or metal spatula around side of pan to loosen cake; cool before removing side of pan. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight or even better--cool in the freezer for 30 minutes to one hour. (Yay for procrastination!) Store leftover cheesecake in refrigerator. Don't forget to top with whipped cream. Oh yes.

*Note: if using a normal size (9-inch) pie pan (not a springform), then this recipe will make 2 cheesecakes. You will have enough oreos to make only one crust, but you can make a marbled crust out of unused oreos and graham cracker crumbs. If using a normal pie pan, bake your cheesecakes for 25 to 30 minutes each.