Ingredients:
- 36 Oreo cookies, divided
- 1/2 cup butter (or margarine), divided
- 4 (8-oz) packages cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 4 eggs
- 4 squares semi-sweet chocolate (such as Baker's)
Instructions:
1. Heat oven to 325°F. Line
13x9-inch baking pan with foil, with ends extending over sides. Finely
crush 24 cookies. Melt 1/4 cup butter; mix with crumbs. Press onto
bottom of prepared pan.
2. Beat cream cheese and sugar
with mixer until blended. Add sour cream and vanilla; mix well. Add
eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each just until blended. Chop remaining
cookies. Gently stir into batter; pour over crust.
3. Babke 45 min. or until center
is almost set. Cool. Meanwhile, microwave chocolate and remaining
butter in microwaveable bowl on HIGH 1 min.; stir until smooth. Cool
slightly; spread over top of cheesecake. Refrigerate 4 hours. Use foil
handles to lift cheesecake from pan before cutting to serve.
Cook's Note:
How
to make mess-free cookie crumbs: Crushing cookies into crumbs can be a
messy task. To keep the mess to a minimum, place the whole cookies in a
resealable plastic bag. Flatten bag to remove excess air, then seal bag.
Crush the cookies into crumbs by rolling a rolling pin across the bag
until the crumbs are as fine as you need.
How
to neatly cut dessert bars: When cutting creamy-textured desserts, such
as cheesecake, carefully wipe off the knife blade between cuts with a
clean damp towel. This prevents the creamy filling from building up on
the blade, ensuring clean cuts that leave the edges intact.