Oreo Cheesecake Bars

Making The Crust

1. Line a 9x13 glass pan with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
2. Place 30 Oreos in a food processor and blend until you have crumbs, then place in a large mixing bowl. Add melted butter to the cookie crumbs and mix until the butter coats the cookie crumbs well.
3. Pour the cookie mixture into the prepared glass pan, spreading evenly in the pan. With a second piece of parchment paper and the back of a ½ cup measuring cup press the cookie crumbs firmly and evenly into the bottom of the pan.
4. Bake the crust for 10 minutes. Allow the pan to cool completely.

Making The Cheesecake Filling

1. Cut the softened cream cheese into cubes and place in a large mixing bowl. With an electric hand mixer or stand mixer whip the cream cheese until smooth, about 2 minutes.
2. Add the sugar and the vanilla extract to the cream cheese mixture. Blend until fully mixed into the cream cheese.
3. Crack the eggs into a small bowl and beat them quickly with a fork, mixing well. Add the eggs to the cream cheese mixture half at a time, mixing them into the cream cheese each time until smooth.
4. Add the sour cream to the cream cheese mixture and gently mix until just combined.
5. Roughly chop about 7 of the Oreo cookies with a large knife on a cutting board. With a silicone spatula gently fold the chopped Oreos into the cheesecake mixture.
6. Pour the cream cheese mixture over the oreo crust and smooth with a spatula.
7. Chop the remaining 7 Oreos into large pieces and sprinkle over the cheesecake mixture evenly. Sprinkle any additional crumbs over the cheesecake.
8. Place the cheesecake bars in the oven. Bake for 35-40 minutes until set in the center. When you touch the top middle gently it should feel a little tacky but not be wet. You can test by holding the pan with hot pads and gently rolling the pan from left to right just a little. The top center of the pan should not look super liquidy but will still jiggle a little.
9. Allow the cheesecake bars to cool on the counter for an hour. Then place in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours or overnight to chill. Slice into 24 even bars and enjoy!