Just Desserts...recipe

My mom calls me 'the cheesecake queen' and no, not because I shove cheesecake down my throat, but because I make kick ass cheesecakes. When a holiday or event comes up, my family always wants me to make cheesecake. Sunday afternoon, I decided to try a variation of a classic New York cheesecake (graham cracker crust with four bricks....errr four blocks of cream cheese, topped with two cans of cherry pie filling) and make a cheesecake with an Oreo crumb crust and top it with strawberries.

I decided I'd document this process and share with the blogosphere. My intention was to post this Sunday night, but alas, it was Sunday, the weather was beautiful, and after spending a few hours in the kitchen I wanted to enjoy the weather.

My main recipe is from kraftrecipes.com but I also incorporated a recipe from tasteofhome.com for the topping. The links are below:

http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/philadelphia-new-york-style-sour-104996.aspx
http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Berry-Cheesecake-Dessert

Chocolate Strawberry Cheesecake

Here's what you need:

1-1/2 cups crushed oreo crumbs

1/4 cup butter, melted

1-1/4 cups sugar, divided

4 pkg. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened

2 tsp. vanilla, divided

1 container (16 oz.) sour cream, divided
4 eggs
1 package (3 ounces) strawberry gelatin
1 cup boiling water
3/4 cup cold water
1 quart fresh strawberries, sliced

HEAT oven to 325°F.

MIX crumbs, butter and 2 Tbsp. sugar; press onto bottom of pan.

BEAT cream cheese, 1 cup of the remaining sugar and 1 tsp. vanilla with mixer until well blended. Add 1 cup sour cream; mix well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating on low speed after each just until blended. Pour over crust.

BAKE 40 min. or until center is almost set.



MIX remaining sour cream, sugar and vanilla; carefully spread over cheesecake. Bake 10 min.

MEANWHILE, in a small bowl, dissolve gelatin in boiling water. Stir in cold water. Refrigerate for 45 minutes or until thickened but not set.

 

SLICE strawberries....yummy

CAREFULLY pour a third of the gelatin over sour cream layer. Arrange strawberries over gelatin; pour remaining gelatin over berries. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or until set. 

Cut and serve........the final product 

Even better with cool whip on top.....because everything is better with cool whip. 

Two days later, I only have 3 pieces left! I gave five pieces to my parents but my husband has been going crazy over this shit. It's not my favorite, but it was nice to get rid of those strawberries that were sitting in my fridge for a week.