#3817 - Oreo Cheesecake Bites

(by Shirley McNevich)

36 regular Oreo cookies
1/2 cup butter
4 - 8oz. Philadelphia cream cheese (softened)
1 cup white sugar
1 cup Breakstone's sour cream
2 tsp. vanilla
4 eggs
4oz. Baker's semi-sweet baking chocolate

Finely crush 24 of the Oreo cookies (you can use a food processor, or place the cookies in a Ziploc bag and crush them with a rolling pin). Melt 1/4 cup of the butter. In a bowl add finely crushed Oreo cookies and melted butter--stir to mix. Press the mixture into the bottom of a foil-lined 9 x 13 cake pan. In a mixer add cream cheese--beat. Add white sugar--beat. Add sour cream and vanilla--beat. Add eggs--beat. Remove bowl from mixer. Finely crush the remaining 12 Oreo cookies and add the finely crushed cookies to the batter--stir to mix. Pour the batter evenly over the cookie crust. Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool to room temperature. In a microwave safe bowl add the baking chocolate and 1/4 cup butter--microwave on high in 30 second increments, stirring in between, until mixture is melted and smooth. Cool the melted chocolate for a few minutes, then spread it evenly over the cooled cheesecake. Refrigerate overnight. The next day use the foil to remove the whole thing from the cake pan and place the whole thing on a cutting board. Cut the cheese cake into fudge-shaped squares and peel off/discard the foil. Keep squares refrigerated.