Cookies and Cream Cheesecake Cupcakes

My oldest turned 17 last week and celebrated her birthday with her family and friends this past weekend. It was up to me to provide the menu. We had the standard fare of hamburgers and hot dogs, along with a few salads, fresh vegetables and a HUGE bowl of fruit salad that was pretty much gone before anything else (don't you just love it when teenagers prefer the good, healthy stuff over junk food)?

For dessert my daughter decided to go a little different route and forgo the typical birthday cake in favor of cupcakes. She was looking through a few of my books and decided to go with Cookies and Cream Cheesecake Cupcakes which can be found in the book: Martha Stewart's Cupcakes.

I've made quite a few recipes out of this book so far and every single one has turned out great. This one was no exception either. In fact, the recipe is so easy that even a baking novice could make this one. The "crust" is an Oreo cookie, that gets dropped in the bottom of a cupcake paper liner. A simple cheesecake mixture with additional chopped Oreos gets poured on top and then baked. You do have to thoroughly chill the cupcakes after baking them in the muffin tins before removing the cakes but all in all, it is a quick recipe.

This dessert was incredibly well received by all the teenagers and adults alike. I've had several of them already ask me for the recipe, which in my eyes is always a sign it was tasty! Give this one a try for your next party, I'm sure it will be a hit as well.

Cookies and Cream Cheesecake Cupcakes

~makes about 30~

(Print this Recipe)

Ingredients:

42 cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookies, such as Oreos, 30 left whole and 12 coarsely chopped

2 pounds (4 packs) cream cheese, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

4 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten

1 cup sour cream

Pinch of salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 275 degrees F. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Place 1 whole cookie in the bottom of each lined cup.

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat cream cheese until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Gradually add sugar, and beat until combined. Beat in vanilla.

Drizzle in eggs, a bit at a time, beating to combine and scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in sour cream and salt. Stir in chopped cookies by hand.

Divide batter evenly  among cookie-filled cups, filling each almost to the top. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until filling is set, about 22 minutes. Transfer tins to wire rack to cool completely. Refrigerate (in tins) at least 4 hours (or up to overnight). Remove from tins just before serving.

Adapted from: Martha Stewart's Cupcakes