Upgrade Your Mini Cheesecakes With An Iconic Cookie Base

While it's not too challenging to mix crushed cookies with butter for mini cheesecakes, it is a little more finicky than creating a larger base because you have to fill each muffin tin cavity separately. However, if you're looking for a quick and easy mini cheesecake base, there's a solution that requires buying just one additional ingredient. Swap out the cookie crust base with an Oreo cookie ​for a way to add flavor and crunch to your mini cheesecakes with little effort.​ All you need to do is place a cookie at the bottom of each muffin tin cavity. Then, pour your cheesecake mixture on top. If your go-to cheesecake recipe requires a water bath or other fussy steps, consider trying our no-bake Oreo cheesecake recipe instead.

This tip is not only simple, it's also easy to customize for whatever type of cheesecake you want to make. For example, fruity flavors like lemon or strawberry would pair beautifully with Golden Oreos, which feature a vanilla flavor. If you really want to dial up the chocolate in your cheesecake, go for a classic Oreo base. And this isn't considering the special and limited edition flavors. You could also easily layer in some peanut butter, mint, carrot cake, apple pie, or dark chocolate flavors to name a few. There are virtually endless potential cheesecake filling and Oreo base combinations.

While Golden Oreos or classic Oreos are probably the easiest to pair with any type of cheesecake since vanilla and chocolate go well with a wide variety of flavors, there's also room for customization to suit particular dietary requirements. For example, if you're trying to make a healthier cheesecake, in addition to using popular dairy swaps like cottage cheese or yogurt in place of some of the cream cheese in your filling, you might want to opt for Oreo Thins for the base. They have the same flavor — just with a bit less cookie, cream, and calories. This is also a great option if you prefer a thinner cheesecake base. To craft a celiac-friendly dessert, grab a package of gluten-free Oreos. There are several varieties specifically designated gluten-free, including original Oreos, Golden Oreos, Mint Creme Oreos, and even Double Stuf. 

Using Oreo cookies as the base also means you don't need to worry about baking your cookie crust, so they work well with both regular and no-bake cheesecake recipes. Finally, if you want to create mini cheesecakes but don't have a muffin pan, don't worry! You can use an ice cube tray to make effortless mini cheesecakes instead. With this approach, you likely will need to slice the Oreos a bit to get a good fit, but there are plenty of treats that make great use of any leftovers. We've gathered 25 Oreo recipe hacks to get you started.