Cookies 'n Cream Cheesecake

This cookies and cream cheesecake takes the dessert-bar staple flavor and turns it into a proper baked cheesecake. The crust is chocolate cookie crumbs pressed up the sides of a springform pan. The filling is silky cream cheese smoothed with sweetened condensed milk and three eggs, then loaded with crumbled chocolate wafers so each slice has visible cookie pieces in cross-section.

The finishing touch is a thin sour cream topping spread over the warm cheesecake and baked just enough to set, giving you a clean white blanket against the dark crust.

Pro Tips

• Soften the cream cheese fully before mixing. Cold cream cheese leaves lumps no amount of beating fixes.
• Use sweetened condensed milk, not evaporated. They’re not interchangeable; condensed has the sugar and texture this filling needs.
• The two-stage bake (high heat to set the top, low heat to cook through) prevents cracks better than a steady moderate temperature.
• Don’t overmix once the eggs go in. Extra air whipped in is the main cause of cracked cheesecakes.
• The overnight chill is non-optional. The cheesecake firms up properly only after a long cold rest; cutting too soon gives soft, sloppy slices.

Variations

• Use Oreo cookies (filling and all) for both crust and folded crumbles for the most authentic cookies-and-cream flavor.
• Swap chocolate wafers for chopped peanut butter cups, brownie chunks, or chopped Andes mints.
• Drizzle cooled cheesecake with chocolate ganache or hot fudge for an extra-rich finish.