Anytime we need to bring a little sweet treat to a new place, this is exactly what I make. These oreo cheesecake cupcakes are bite size, and they only require 5 ingredients! Just chocolate sandwich cookies, softened cream cheese, an egg, sugar and vanilla, and you're on your way to mini cheesecake heaven. Please note that this recipe makes 4 mini treats, but you can scale it up easily.
This recipe might feel like it's too good to be true. Just five ingredients and 15 minutes of bake time feels too easy, right? I'm so happy to prove you wrong!
The big time savings in this recipe comes from the fact that instead of crushing Oreos, mixing them with butter and extra sugar to make that traditional cheesecake crust (like we do with my no bake chocolate cheesecake), we're just dropping a whole cookie in the bottom of a cupcake liner.
While we all love the traditional graham cracker crust (like in my basic mini cheesecakes recipe), it's just one step that we can skip here. We're only making mini oreo cheesecake cupcakes, and the whole cookie fits so perfectly in the muffin pan!
I've used an entire cookie for a crust many times before, like with my mini strawberry cheesecakes. A vanilla wafer cookie also fits perfectly in a muffin tin. We also use a whole graham cracker for the crust in my smores cupcakes recipe, too!
How to Make Oreo Cheesecake Cupcakes
This recipe is so simple--just gather all 5 ingredients and leave them out to soften at room temperature. This will take about 30-60 minutes, so you do need to plan ahead for this recipe. Meanwhile, line your muffin pan with liners (do not use wax liners because these oreo cheesecake cupcakes are going in the oven).
It would be fun to make this recipe with all different types of oreos! I'm partial to the golden ones, and I think my kids would love the sprinkles ones, like they do in my oreo brownies.
Garnishing these oreo cheesecake cupcakes is up to you, but I like a dollop of freshly whipped cream and a piece of a cookie on top. If you want to get even more decadent, try my oreo frosting on top.
The Ingredients
- Cream Cheese. We need just 6 ounces from an eight-ounce block of cream cheese. Soften it by leaving out at room temperature for 30-60 minutes. It will soften quicker if you dice it into large chunks. Please use full-fat cream cheese and not low-fat or Neufchâtel. You can use the leftover 2 ounces of cream cheese in my Cheesecake Cups.
- Egg. One large egg that you also leave on the counter to come to room temperature. It is imperative that the egg not be ice-cold from the fridge, because then the cream cheese will become chunky. The ingredients for these oreo cheesecake cupcakes blend together much more smoothly when they are room temperature. You really don't want chunks of cold cream cheese in your final product, trust me. Here's a great article from Food Network about why eggs shouldn't be cold for baking.
- Sugar. Granulated white sugar, just ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons, which is 6 tablespoons total. Keep in mind that this recipe only makes 4 cupcakes, but you can double it to make more! (Twelve tablespoons of sugar is equal to ¾ cup).
- Vanilla Extract. With such few ingredients in this recipe, use a high-quality Bourbon vanilla extract for best results.
- Chocolate Sandwich Cookies. You know the ones I'm referring to--use any flavor your prefer, even the mint ones!
The Instructions
Preheat the oven to 375, and line 4 cups in a small muffin pan with cupcake liners. Drop one cookie in each cup to make the crust for the oreo cheesecake cupcakes.
In a mixing bowl, combine the softened cream cheese, room temperature egg, vanilla, and sugar. At this point, you can also crush 2 extra cookies and mix it into the batter. For these photos, we saved the crushed cookies for the top, but it's totally up to you!
Mix the cream cheese mixture very well, but do not over-mix and beat too much air into the batter. Evenly divide the batter between the four prepared cups.
Bake the oreo cheesecake cupcakes for 15 minutes, just until they're slightly puffy and no longer wet or sticky on the top when touched. Let them cool completely in the pan, and then move to the fridge to chill for at least 4 hours.
To serve, garnish with whipped cream and the additional crushed cookies. Alternatively, you can stir 2 crushed cookies into the cheesecake batter before baking. If you do this, the cheesecake batter won't be as white. Check out my cookies and cream cupcakes to see what I mean.
Recipe Variations
- Filling Flavors - You can change the flavor of these oreo cheesecake cupcakes simply by changing the type of cookie you use. Mint, golden, birthday cake, and even the chocolate-dipped oreos are great here!
- Crust - You can use one type of cookie for the crust and another type for the filling/ topping. It's up to you!
- Topping - I like these with whipped cream on top, but a simple chocolate ganache, dusting of powdered sugar, or frosting are all welcome.
Equipment Needed
- Muffin Pan - I like this one that only has 6 spaces.
- Hand Mixer - It's imperative to make sure there are no lumps in your oreo cheesecake cupcakes batter before baking, because they will not melt or bake out!
- Paper Liners - These make it so easy to get the dessert out of the pan, and they make clean-up so easy. Do not ever bake with wax paper liners because they will melt!
How to Store Oreo Cheesecake Cupcakes
Because this sweet treat is made with dairy products, all leftovers need to be stored in the fridge. They will keep in an air-tight container for up to 5 days. I recommend adding the whipped cream right before serving, as it will melt in the fridge overtime. You can freeze these oreo cheesecake cupcakes for up to 6 months in freezer storage bags. To defrost, let rest in the refrigerator overnight. Again, garnish with whipped cream just before serving.
More Cheesecake Treats:
Oreo Cheesecake Cupcakes
Best oreo cheesecake cupcakes recipe, without sour cream and with an oreo bottom crust!
Ingredients
- 6 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 6 whole Oreos, divided use
- For serving: freshly whipped cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375, and line 4 cups in a muffin pan with paper liners.
- Drop a cookie in each of the 4 liners.
- In a small bowl, beat together the cream cheese, egg, sugar, and vanilla. Beat very well until combined.
- Crush the remaining 2 cookies and stir them into the batter. Alternatively, you can save them for sprinkling on top after baking.
- Divide the batter between the cups and bake for 15 minutes.
- Let cakes cool completely in the pan, and then refrigerate at least 4 hours. Decorate with whipped cream and more cookies before serving.
Notes
You can change the flavor of these oreo cheesecake cupcakes simply by changing the type of cookie you use. Mint, golden, birthday cake, and even the chocolate-dipped oreos are great here!
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 280Total Fat: 20gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 91mgSodium: 221mgCarbohydrates: 22gFiber: 1gSugar: 15gProtein: 5g
Cheryl says
Using Oreo Thins sounds good to me, especially the mint ones!
Vivian says
This sounds delicious. Can you please share a recipe for chocolate ganache for these? Thanks!
Michele says
These were a huge hit with my whole family. We have some that love chocolate and some that don’t, so I doubled the recipe and made 4 ‘vanilla’ with golden Oreos and 4 with traditional chocolate Oreos with the crumbs mixed into the batter. Everyone loved them. Even my son who doesn’t usually like cheesecake (but does love Oreos) loved them. They were very easy to make too. I followed the recipe exactly but I was a little concerned when after mixing for what seemed like forever, I could not get the cream cheese to fully incorporate. I ended up with tiny dots of it, like grains of sand but it didn’t matter in the end because they tasted great and the texture was good. I will definitely be making these again!
Kris says
Same here, couldn't get the soften cream cheese to fully incorporate....
Kris says
So I made these and crushed two Oreos and added them to the cheesecake batter...well the batter turned gray, looks nothing like your picture. I made these for my adult son's birthday treat.... hopefully they taste okay.
Christina Lane says
The recipe does NOT call for the oreos to be stirred into the batter for this exact reason. The cookies are placed on the bottom and the cheesecake mixture is added on top, as seen in the photos, the copy, and in the recipe.