Oreo Cheesecake Bars and Alayna's 11th Birthday!

This latest dessert is compliments of Alayna's birthday treat!

When I asked her how she liked them, she said
"They were great, if you like cheesecake!"
And, apparently, she doesn't.

Oh well…
guess the next time she asks for Oreo Bars,
I'll have to figure out a way to make them without cream cheese.

You all know how birthdays are…

Alayna on her 6th birthday in 2010.

You just can't help but wonder where the time has gone!

Alayna on her 11th birthday, last week.

At her soccer game yesterday,
I literally didn't recognize her on the field.

I saw this tall young lady with such long blonde hair…
I was honestly wondering where my daughter was! 

After doing a double-take,
I came to the realization that, yes,
that was my not-so-little girl.
(Warm fuzzy/heart sinking moment!)

And while she makes me so proud to be her mom day after day,
it is still so bittersweet to realize that our babies are growing up before our eyes.

Enough nostalgia,
let's get on to the goodies.

Started with about 30 Oreos in a bag,
being pulverized manually
because my mini-chopper has seen better days. 

And, it's not the end of the world to have the kids put a little elbow grease into it
from time to time.

The crumbs were topped with 1/2 stick of melted butter
and combined.

Then pressed into sprayed 10x14 baking dish.

A pastry cutter was used to press the crumbs into the pan
for a good pressing and if some chunks were broken along the way,
even better.

The crust was baked at 325 F for 10 minutes.

While the crust was baking,
3-8 oz bricks of cream cheese were blended with 1/2 cup sugar, 
1/2 cup sour cream and 1 tsp of vanilla extract.

Three eggs were added and mixed well.

Before the batter was added to the pan,
another dozen crushed oreos were mixed in.

Spread out by the birthday girl, herself.

Topped with a few more crushed oreos
and baked for another 40 minutes.

When it was done, the edges were slightly browned
 and the middle was slightly firm.

The pan was covered with foil and cooled overnight
before cutting.

RECIPE:

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Bake Time: 40 minutes

Servings: 24-30

Ingredients:

1 large package of Oreos - divided (especially if there is going to be any tasting going on)

1/2 stick of melted butter

3-8 oz bricks of cream cheese 

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup sour cream

1 tsp of vanilla extract

3 eggs

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 325 F. 
• Crush about 30 oreos and combined with  melted butter. 
• Press Oreo crumbs into sprayed baking pan. 
• Combine cream cheese, sugar, sour cream, vanilla and eggs. 
• Mix in about a dozen crushed oreos. 
• Pour onto crust. 
• Top with crushed oreos, bake for 40 minutes. 
• Allow to cool before cutting. 

• 

Oreo Balls

Just in time for Halloween, these festive Oreo balls are like a party in your mouth!  

And, they will certainly be welcome after the holiday passes. 

They are quite easy, just 3 required ingredients 

and the most time-consuming part is allowing them to partially freeze between steps.

I first saw these a few years ago in the Kraft Food & Family magazine and
have been enjoying them ever since!

Start with one package of Peanut Butter Oreo cookies,

these things are dangerously good, 

so don't buy to the cookies too far in advance of making the treats! 

I chopped them up using my trusty, mini-chopper…

works great to make nice uniform crumbs. 

Then one 8 oz package of cream cheese was softened in the microwave

and added to the Oreo crumbs. 

Using a fork, the crumbs and cream cheese were thoroughly combined. 

I have found that it is much, MUCH easier to 

form cold, stiff, partially frozen dough into balls.

So, I pop this into the freezer for about 30 minutes…

(in the mean time, you can get dinner started!)

 When the dough was chilled, 

about 36 Oreo balls were formed.  

I generally err on the side of smaller, bite-size balls. 

They can get big fast,

 especially when coating with melted chocolate. 

Pop the dough balls back into the freezer for about 30 minutes 

so that they are easier to manage

and don't melt apart in the chocolate. 

That is also NO fun…spoken from experience. 

Once the dough was ready for coating, 

4 oz of white chocolate was melted in the microwave according to the instructions. 

I generally opt for a smaller, deep bowl

so that not too much chocolate is wasted on the sides. 

Using a toothpick, the Oreo balls are dipped in the melted white chocolate and

swirled for complete coverage.

Set onto wax paper, 

sprinkled with orange sugar and 

topped with a pretzel stick for the stem.  

Four ounces of chocolate covered about 1 dozen Oreo balls. 

So, then melt and dip accordingly until finished.  

I highly recommend melting about 4 oz of chocolate at a time…

it starts to cool and harden fast and 

I don't recommend the texture of chocolate that has been melted too many times. 

RECIPE:                Makes about 3 dozen Oreo Balls

Ingredients:

1 package Peanut Butter Oreo Cookies

8oz Cream cheese - softened

12 oz of white chocolate for baking 

Orange sugar

Pretzel Sticks

Directions:

Crush Oreos in food processor to achieve consistent crumbs. 

Combine with softened cream cheese. 

Freeze for 30 minutes to harden for ease of handling.

Form into Oreo balls, erring on the smaller side. 

Freeze for 30 minutes to harden for ease of handling. 

Melt white chocolate about 4 oz at a time. 

Using a toothpick, dip and swirl the Oreo balls to cover. 

Place on wax paper, sprinkle with Orange sugar and add the pretzel. 

I generally store in the refrigerator or freezer to keep the texture firm.