Mini Oreo Cheesecakes

These Mini Oreo Cheesecakes are a super quick and easy cheesecake dessert. They’re made with an Oreo cookie bottom, a creamy Oreo cheesecake filling and are topped with sweetened sour cream and more Oreo cookies.

Servings: 12 Mini Oreo cheesecakes (or 24 mini-muffin sized ones)

Equipment

1 12 ct. muffin pan

12 muffin liners

1 large mixing bowl

1 electric mixer, whisk or flexible spatula for mixing

Ingredients

Mini Oreo Cheesecakes

12 oz. (339 g) cream cheese, room temperature (blocks, not in a tub)

½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar

¼ cup (60 g) sour cream, room temperature

2 large eggs (US), room temperature

1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla extract

½ cup Oreo cookies, crushed (about 4 whole Oreo cookies)

12 whole Oreo cookies

Mini Oreo Cheesecake Topping

½ cup (120 g) sour cream

1 tbsp (13 g) granulated sugar

½ tsp vanilla extract

½ cup Oreo cookies, crushed or coarsely chopped for topping about 4 whole Oreo cookies

 

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a 12 ct. muffin pan with cupcake liners.

2. In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese on low until smooth. On low, beat in the sugar for about 2 minutes. The texture of the cream cheese will become smoother as the sugar works into the cream cheese. Beat in the sour cream and vanilla extract until smooth and well combined.

3. With the mixer on low, beat in each egg until well combined. Scrape the bottom of the bowl if needed. Do not overmix the filling once the eggs are added in. Stir in the crushed Oreo cookies until well combined. I like to do this step by hand.

4. Place a whole Oreo cookie at the bottom of each cupcake liner. Fill each cupcake well with filling.

5. Bake the mini Oreo cheesecake cupcakes for 14 - 16 minutes.

6. Remove the muffin pan to cool on a cooling rack for 1 hour. Loosely cover the pan with plastic wrap and transfer the mini Oreo cheesecakes to the fridge to chill for at least 6 hours.

7. When it’s time to serve the Oreo cheesecake bites, make the sweetened sour cream topping. In a small mixing bowl, stir the sour cream, sugar and vanilla extract together until well combined.

8. Top each of the mini Oreo cheesecakes with a dollop of sweetened sour cream and more crushed Oreo cookies.

Homemade Cake Pops

Ingredients

1 and 2/3 cups all-purpose flour 

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg, at room temperature

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 cup whole milk (or buttermilk)

Frosting

7 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

1 and 3/4 cups confectioners’ sugar

2–3 teaspoons heavy cream or whole milk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Coating

24 ounces candy melts (or white chocolate bars)*

sprinkles

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-inch springform pan.

Make the cake: Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a

medium bowl. Set aside. Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk

attachment, beat the butter and sugar together in a large bowl until creamed, about 2

minutes. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat on high speed until combined. Scrape

down the bottom and sides of the bowl as needed.

Add the dry ingredients and milk to the bowl with the wet ingredients and mix on low

speed until combined. Give the thick batter a quick stir with a spatula to ensure there

are no large lumps at the bottom of the bowl. Pour and spread the batter evenly into the

prepared pan. Bake for 30–36 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes

out clean. If the top begins browning too quickly in the oven, loosely tent with a piece of

aluminum foil.

Allow the cake to cool completely in the pan set on a wire rack.

Make the frosting: With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment,

beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add confectioners’

sugar, heavy cream, and vanilla extract and mix on low speed to combine. Increase to

high speed and beat for 3 full minutes.

Crumble the cooled cake into the bowl on top of the frosting. Make sure there are no

large lumps. Turn the mixer on low speed and beat the frosting and cake crumbles

together until combined.

Scoop 1 Tablespoon (about 20g) of cake/frosting mixture and roll into a ball. Place balls

on a lined baking sheet. Refrigerate for 2 hours, or freeze for 1 hour to set the shape.

Re-roll the chilled cake pop balls to smooth out, if needed. Place the tray back into the

fridge, as you’ll only work with a couple at a time.

Melt the chocolate or candy melts in a 2-cup liquid measuring cup (best for dunking!) in

the microwave in 20-second increments, stirring after each increment, until melted and

smooth. You can also use a double boiler on the stove, if you prefer.

Coat the cake balls: Remove just 2 or 3 cake balls from the refrigerator at a time. Dip

the end of a lollipop stick about 1/2 inch into the coating, then insert the coated end into

the center of the cake ball. Only push it about halfway through the cake ball. Dip the

cake ball into the coating until it is completely covered. Make sure the coating covers

the base of the cake ball where it meets the lollipop stick. Very gently tap the stick

against the edge of the measuring cup to allow excess coating to drip off. Decorate the

top with sprinkles and place upright into a styrofoam block or box (as explained in the

blog post). Repeat with remaining cake balls, working with just a few out of the

refrigerator at a time. The cake balls must be very cold when dipping!

Coating will set within an hour. Store cake pops in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.



Make Ahead Instructions: Make the cake 1 day ahead of time. Cover and keep

at room temperature. You can store the undipped cake balls in the refrigerator for up to

2 days or freeze them for up to 6 weeks. Allow to thaw in the refrigerator, then continue

with step 9. You can also freeze the finished cake pops for up to 6 weeks once the

coating has fully set. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.


Coating: You can use candy coating/candy melts, or chopped white chocolate. I

typically use Ghirardelli brand white chocolate melting wafers. Semi-sweet, bittersweet,

or milk chocolate baking bars work, too. Coarsely chop the chocolate and place it in a

microwave-safe bowl or glass liquid measuring cup, along with 1/2 teaspoon vegetable

oil to help thin it out. Microwave in 20-second increments, stirring after each 20

seconds, until melted and smooth. Keep warm over a double boiler.

Spatchcock Chicken

Ingredients

Ingredients for Spatchcock Chicken Recipe:
4 1/4 lb whole chicken *
1/2 tsp salt (we used sea salt)
1/8 tsp black pepper

Ingredients for Flavored Butter:
4 Tbsp unsalted butter softened
1 Tbsp olive oil plus more to drizzle
1 Tbsp parsley finely chopped
2 garlic cloves minced
1/2 tsp lemon zest
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp salt plus more for vegetables
1/8 tsp black pepper

Ingredients for 1-Pan Chicken Dinner:
2 lbs medium red potatoes scrubbed and quartered
3 medium carrots peeled and quartered
8 oz Brussels sprouts trimmed and halved

Instructions

(Preheat oven to 425˚F after step 4). Place chicken breast-side down with the wings/ neck facing towards you. To remove the spine, use kitchen shears to cut through the ribs right next to the spine along both sides. Open rib cage and use a heavy knife to score down the sternum. This will help pop out the breast bone and flatten chicken. Season inside the chicken with 1/2 tsp salt and a pinch of black pepper.

Flip the chicken over breast side up and set on parchment-lined, rimmed baking half sheet. Using the palm of your hand, push firmly over the breast bone forcing the chicken to lay completely flat. Use your thumbs to separate the skin from the meat over breast, thigh and drumstick areas.

In a small mixing bowl, combine the flavored butter ingredients. Mash with fork for a couple of minutes until lemon juice is mostly incorporated into butter.

Spread 2/3 of mixture under the chicken skin and and dot/spread remaining butter all over chicken.

Place prepared vegetables all around the chicken and drizzle everything with olive oil. Sprinkle chicken and vegetables generously with salt and some black pepper to taste.

Bake uncovered at 425˚F for 45 min or until instant read thermometer reads 160˚F when inserted into thickest part of chicken breast**. Remove form oven and rest uncovered 10 minutes on a cutting board before serving.

Recipe Notes
*Allow the raw chicken to sit at room temp for 30 min before using for even baking.
**Don't over-bake or the breast will be dry. Keep in mind internal temp will rise another 5-10 degrees after it comes out of oven.