Oreo Salted Caramel Bites with Homemade Salted Caramel
Description
Serve these mini chocolate chip cheesecakes for your next holiday or special gathering. They are made with a thick Oreo cookie crust and then are topped with homemade salted caramel sauce.
Ingredients
Oreo Cookie Crust:
18 whole Oreos - Double Stuff or regular
1/4 c. unsalted or butter, melted
Cheesecake Filling:
16 oz. full-fat cream cheese, softened to room temperature
3/4 c. granulated sugar
1/4 c. yogurt
2 large eggs
1 t. vanilla extract
1 c. mini or regular semi-sweet chocolate chips, plus more for garnish
homemade salted caramel sauce
Homemade Salted Caramel:
1 c. granulated sugar
6 T. salted butter, cut into 6 pieces
1/2 c.heavy cream
1 t. salt
Directions
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two 12-count cupcake pans with 18 liners.
Crust:
In a food processor or blender, pulse the whole Oreos into a fine crumb.
Stir cookie crumbs and melted butter together in a medium sized bowl. Press a heaping tablespoon of mixture into the bottom of each liner.There should be enough for 16-18 cups.
Bake in batches for 5 minutes; allow to cool slightly while preparing the filling.
Filling:
In a large bowl, using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat cream cheese on medium speed until completely smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add sugar and yogurt; beat on medium speed until combined. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating on low speed after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, as needed. Beat in the vanilla extract and mini chocolate chips.
Spoon batter onto the crusts until almost full. Bake each pan for 20-23 minutes. The centers will still be slightly jiggly, that's alright or centers might rise up quite a bit, but will deflate as the cheesecakes cool.
Remove from oven; allow to cool completely at room temperature for at least 1 hour. Transfer to the refrigerator; allow to chill for at least 2 hours.
Right before serving, top each cheesecake with salted caramel and additional chocolate chips, if desired.
Cover cheesecakes tightly; store in the refrigerator up to 5 days. Store cheesecakes without caramel in the freezer up to 2 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
Homemade Salted Caramel:
Heat granulated sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly with a high heat resistant rubber spatula or a wooden spoon. Sugar will form clumps and eventually melt into a thick brown, amber-colored liquid while continuing to stir. Be careful - Don't Burn It.
When sugar is completely melted, immediately add butter, being careful because the caramel will bubble rapidly when the butter is added.
Stir the butter into the caramel until completely melted, about 2-3 minutes. Very slowly, drizzle in 1/2 c. heavy cream while stirring. Because the heavy cream is colder than the caramel, the mixture will rapidly bubble and splatter when added. Allow mixture to boil for 1 minute. It will rise in the pan as it boils.
Remove from heat; stir in 1 t. salt. Cool down before using.
Make ahead tip:
This caramel can be made advance. Make sure it is covered tightly. Store for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator. Warm caramel up for a few seconds before using in a recipe. This caramel is okay at room temperature for a day if traveling or gifting it.
Makes 16-18.