Say Cheese(cake)!

Are you ready to give the Cheesecake Factory a run for their money?

My birthday boy doesn't like cake. He never has. So, even if he were home for his 24th birthday today, we wouldn't be sticking candles into a cake.

Since he's halfway across the country, I sent him a package with Scotcheroos. Now, if he were home, he might get a giant chocolate chip cookie, like the one he shared with his buddies on his 16th birthday.

Or he might get cheesecake. I made one when Jill, Eric and Kinley were here for Easter. My son-in-law likes cheesecake. And it's always good to keep the son-in-law happy, especially when he transports the granddaughter to the farm for the first time.

This Oreo Cheesecake would be good for everything from keeping sons-in-law happy to celebrating birthdays for non-cake lovers or for honoring your Mom on Mother's Day this weekend. For this creation,  I actually combined a couple of different recipes to make the end result. I've made Oreo Cheesecake before, but added a chocolate ganache after seeing a recipe in the April/May edition of Taste of Home magazine.

I could have sent one to Brent. But I didn't think mailing cheesecake across the country was the way to go.

Oreo Cheesecake

1 pkg. (1 lb. 2 oz.) Oreo chocolate sandwich cookies (or store brand), divided
1/4 cup butter, melted
3 pkgs. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup sour cream
3 eggs

Chocolate Ganache Topping (optional)
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place 30 cookies in food processor. Process 30 to 45 seconds or until finely ground. Add butter; mix well. Press into a large springform pan.

Beat softened cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in the large bowl of an electric mixer until well blended. Add sour cream; mix well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating just until blended after each addition. Chop remaining cookies. Gently stir the cookies into the cream cheese mixture. Pour over crust.

Bake 45 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool.

If desired, add chocolate ganache topping. To make topping, place chocolate chips in a bowl. In a small saucepan (or in microwave), bring cream just to a boil. Pour over chocolate; whisk until smooth. Stir in vanilla. Cool to reach spreading consistency, stirring occasionally. (I put the mixing bowl in a larger bowl with ice surrounding it to speed this process.)

Run a knife around the edge of the springform pan. Remove rim from cheesecake. Spread chocolate mixture over the cheesecake. Refrigerate until set. Refrigerate the cheesecake at least 4 hours or overnight. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.

Cut into wedges. Top with whipping cream to serve, if desired.

You can also make this recipe in a 13- by 9-inch pan. However, in that size pan, use:

4 pkgs. cream cheese, 8 oz. each
1 cup sugar
1 cup sour cream
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla

The crust stays the same. Combine the cheesecake in the same way. If desired, you can add only 1 1/2 cups of the remaining Oreo cookies to the cheesecake mixture and then sprinkle the extra chopped cookies over the top, like I did in the photo above.

Since I was using a ganache on the springform pan version and wanted a flat surface, I just put all the cookies into the cream cheese mixture and didn't sprinkle any on top.