Friday, December 26, 2008

my kitchen: mini-Oreo cheesecakes



Merry Christmukkah to everyone- hope you are having a great holiday with your loved ones where ever you are reading from. In Taipei, there is definitely a lot of decorations and trees and lights, but I think it's still harder to "celebrate" Christmas since most people don't really get the day off and if everyone has to go to work like any other day, then it's not really a holiday.

But to go along with my little tree and lights, Costco Christmas cards and holiday plans, I decided to try and bake some Mini-Oreo Cheesecakes for the first time!



I found a few recipes on the web, picked the most basic one (cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, lemon, eggs, Oreos) and tried it out! I grew up eating my mom's mini cheesecakes w/ Nilla Wafers as the crust, but instead of trying to figure out where I could find those in Taipei, I just used Oreos.



First off, why doesn't JASON's Supermarket at 101 or the supermarket at Shin Kong Mitsukoshi not have Philly's Cream Cheese? Boo!



Second, don't forget to put a little "water bath" under your cheesecake so it will come out nice and smooth and not crack!

The first attempt, I swirled the oreos inside the cream cheese, didn't have the cream cheese soften completely, and forgot about the water bath and it doesn't look as pretty. The second attempt, I left it, added lemon, a bit more sugar, and put the water bath and it definitely does taste moister and look better!


lumpier, but still tasty!


Just twist off the Oreos and use as the base for your cheesecake cupcakes- it's not as wide as the base, but still works!


surprise at the bottom


If anyone wants the recipe, I can post in detail... now I gotta run to the gym to burn off some the calories from yesterday's party!

ADDED 12/2010: A little late, but here is the recipe! :)

MINI OREO CHEESECAKES

12 Oreo cookies
2 (8 ounce) packages Philadelphia cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2/3 cup white sugar

DIRECTIONS
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2.Line muffin tins with 12 paper baking cups. Place a half of an Oreo in each one.
3.In a medium mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. If cream cheese is not softened, then microwave a little bit before mixing. Add eggs, lemon juice, and sugar. Beat until smooth and thoroughly combined.
4.Fill each baking cup 2/3 full with cream cheese mixture.
5.Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes. If you can, put a water bath underneath so that the tops don't brown.
6. Cool cupcakes at room temperature and then in fridge overnight or a few hours. Break up Oreos in pieces to use to decorate on top.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Most Wellcome's I go to now have Philly cream cheese...as does Costco and City Super (bottom of SOGO). Do you know where I can find molasses, graham crackers, and Reese's peanut butter cups? Or kidney beans (for Mexican burritos)? And do tell if you find the Nilla wafers. And please post the recipe - thanks!

Bao said...

I bought my philly cream cheese at Welcome supermarket on Ren-Ai and Guan-Fu.

Anonymous said...

joanh: Those mini-Oreo cheesecakes look delicious! Yes, please post the recipe. Thanks! :)

Anonymous said...

Here is a new burger place you can try. I tried it, it is decent, not oily, but still not able to comparable to US burger restaurants. Expensive though, about $270NT per person.

http://www.nplus1993la.tw/index.php

Anonymous said...

What a fabulous blog! I love Taiwan but too bad I moved to chicago from HK 4 years ago.

I was wondering, what type of camera do you use or do you recommend for easy upload onto blogs?? (I get REALLY lazy about uploading because it takes so long for me, so if you have any tips, please let me know!! Thanks so much and KEEP blogging!!)

Anonymous said...

Please post the lovely recipe! Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Mini versions of any dessert are always fun, especially for the holidays. Great job!

EatTravelEat said...

I have been reading your blog but it has been my first time posting here...anyway those cheesecakes look really good! I like the fact that since you put the oreo on the bottom it will show the oreo crust when it is flipped backwards. It's a nice way to serve it too; if the top looks bad, you could then flip it to the other side, and the person eating would be amazed that the oreo cookie is inside the cheesecake, but still shows the logo!

joanh said...

happy new year everyone! thanks for reading. I will get some new year posts going soon!

lin: thanks for the tip! i knew about costco, but i had one bad block of cream cheese adn just needed another one. i was looking for graham crackers too.. city super doesn't have them?

bao: thanks!

my: i will!

virginia: thanks! have you tried california grill?

michelle: i use a canon powershot sd870 IS.. i really like the canons- you gotta turn on the digital macro and play around with the lighting.. but it's super easy to upload and post. hope you keep reading

anonymous: ok!

tt: thanks!

eattraveleat: thanks! i thought about serving them face up too when i was photographing them, but they are easier to eat w/ the oreo cookie down. i served them in the cupcake wrapper.

Anonymous said...

holy cow, i almost just drooled at the Philadelphia cream cheese. I used to eat bars of that stuff straight.

Anonymous said...

Hi, Joanh!
It's been so long since I asked you about some pictures. =D
Those cheesecakes look great!
You will post the recipe, right?
I'll try it then! =)

By the way, I think you can try a japanese restaurant. I haven't tried it, but some of my friends recommend it.
It is 昭和屋 at 台北市永康街14巷4號.

Anonymous said...

another recommendation from my friend. =)
Gabee 咖啡店.
it is at 台北市民生東路三段113巷21號 (近中山國中捷運站)

Anonymous said...

I found this strange, but Oreos in Taiwan taste a bit different...the cookie is a lot more light and airy. Same with their Lays chips.

Just a 7-11 observation from me!

Anonymous said...

hi! can i get the recipe for this? please email me at jyc067 at gmail dot com! thank you~~ -jenny

Anonymous said...

hye..im nadia.from malaysia..
can you email me your mini oreo cheesecakes recipe. =)
thanks

honeybie66@yahoo.com

joanh said...

hi all! here is the recipe.. sorry it took so long to post:

MINI OREO CHEESECAKES

12 Oreo cookies
2 (8 ounce) packages Philadelphia cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2/3 cup white sugar

DIRECTIONS
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2.Line muffin tins with 12 paper baking cups. Place a half of an Oreo in each one.
3.In a medium mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. If cream cheese is not softened, then microwave a little bit before mixing. Add eggs, lemon juice, and sugar. Beat until smooth and thoroughly combined.
4.Fill each baking cup 2/3 full with cream cheese mixture.
5.Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes. If you can, put a water bath underneath so that the tops don't brown.
6. Cool cupcakes at room temperature and then in fridge overnight or a few hours. Break up Oreos in pieces to use to decorate on top.

:)