Oreo Cheesecake Cookies

I'm a sucker for Oreos. As a kid, I'd eat at least a row in one sitting, and I'm not sorry about it. 🤭 I never keep them in my house unless I'm making these cookies because I will eat them all! When I saw this recipe for cookies that included Oreos, I knew I had to make them.

I have made these Oreo Cheesecake Cookies so many different ways, and it's so easy to do so! I like to change up the cake mix flavor (originally the recipe called for white), coordinate Oreo flavors, use fun chips, and sometimes add extras (see the end of this post for a list).

Today I decided to embrace chocolate. Chocolate creme Oreos, chocolate cake mix, chocolate, chocolate, chocolate. [Side note: do you ever write a word and stare at it, knowing it's spelled right but it looks like it's spelled wrong? That just happened. 🤭] I have never tried this one before, and it was time!

I personally enjoy the prep for these cookies because it doesn't involve trying not to spill flour all over whatever kitchen surface I'm using. It uses a box of cake mix. Ya cut open the bag and carefully dump it into a large bowl. How hard is that? Answer: it's not. 😁

But before you begin, you'll need some core ingredients. Choose whatever cake, chip, and Oreo flavors you'd like!

● 1 box cake mix

● 1 large egg

● 1 stick (8 oz) softened unsalted butter

● 4 oz cream cheese, softened

● 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

● 16 Oreo cookies, crushed

● 1 cup chocolate chips

*My butter is always frozen, so I soften it in the microwave. If you're planning this in advance, you can always leave your butter out to soften on your counter.

Now, the fun begins.

Grab a large bowl and dump in the cake mix. Add the egg, softened butter, cream cheese, and vanilla. Mix together. I use my electric beater, but you can use a KitchenAid if you have one too (which I do...I'm just partial to my beater - easier to clean I think!). Once everything is mixed, add your Oreos and chocolate chips. I put my Oreos to a gallon zip lock bag eight at a time and crush them with my hands. I also usually eyeball the chocolate chips even though I said a cup, so you can do it however you want. Mix all together with a spatula or metal spoon.

Once the ingredients are mixed, set the dough in the fridge for 30-60 minutes. Preheat your oven to 350°. Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper and start scooping your cookies. I have done this a few ways: literally using my hands and rolling the dough into balls, and using my medium sized Pampered Chef cookie scoop. Let me tell you: the scoop is a revelation.  It is so easy, and the cookies come out the perfect size! The recipe I used says to make 24 balls, but honestly, make as many as you freaking want! I can get 30 sometimes. Make them big, make them small, whatever you want!

*This particular batch made three dozen, and I used the cookie scoop.

Once you evenly space out your cookie balls, put them in the oven for 9 minutes. Once the timer goes off, take the baking sheet out, and press down gently on each cookie top with the back of a spoon to flatten it a bit (and then lick off all the chocolate!). Set on a cooling rack until cool, and enjoy!

FYI, some other variations I have done are:

* Peanut butter (PB Oreos, Reese's chips, an eyeball amount of PB in the cookie mix, Reese's sauce drizzled on top)

* Mint (mint Oreos, green food coloring, a dash of mint extract) 

* Funfetti (birthday cake Oreos, funfetti cake mix)

* Lemon (lemon Oreos, lemon cake mix, sprinkling of lemon zest)

* Red velvet (red velvet cake mix, red velvet Oreos/regular Oreos)

If you try anything different, let me know so I can try!! 😁

 - Allison