Oreo Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies

I'm on an oreo roll~

Recently I've just been so addicted to all the junk food in my house. Every time I walk past that table with snacks, I'll pop something into my mouth. Every time I pass the freezer I'll open it and table a chunk of frozen mozzarella. Every time I see a packet of oreos, I'll finish it off. To make matters worse, my brother made some delicious soft butter cookies, which were so amazing because of the french butter. You can probably guess, I finished that too. Well, I finished whatever was leftover from what he brought to school. And that isn't very little. Unfortunately, he refuses to let me see the recipe (WHY T_T).

Since those cookies are gone and I'm still craving sweet sweet treats like the maddest person in the world, I had to make something. And since I had a whole packet of oreos at home, I had to make something with oreos. And also because pink seems like the most appealing colour to me at the moment (for food at least), I figured strawberries are the way to go.


Okay, I'll admit that this entire recipe came out of the leftover stuff I had in the fridge and lying around the house. Well, other than the oreos, because I always have a fresh pack of those ^^ The strawberries are from the little bit I had left, hence the lack of real strawberry bits in my cookie (feel free to add them though!). The cream cheese... that's from the package I've been pinching off everyday.

But hey, don't leftovers make the greatest food? I actually feel good when I make stuff from leftovers because then I feel like I just saved some ingredients from the horrible fate of rotting. Don't you feel like that too when you make stuff like compost cookies or leftover turkey sandwiches?

Away from the leftovers and back to the cookies. There's no eggs! And why is that so important? No, I'm not going to start advocating chicken rights. It's important because if you decide to start eating the cookie dough without baking, it's completely safe! Not that I don't eat raw cookie dough with eggs in them (cookie dough is totally worth the risk of samonella), but for those of you who do care, it's a plus =)

But why would you eat this dough raw? Okay, now I'm drifting from the point but who cares? Because it's really that good. It's like how you would drink the cheesecake batter (or is that just me?) or pinch of bits of bread dough before baking (again, is that just me? someone please tell me ><). Raw cookie dough also has that magical sticky texture that we all crave so much sometimes. It's such a great contrast to the texture of the baked cookies.

That reminds me, the actual cookies, and not that dough, because that's what this recipe is. They're so tender and creamy, kind of a cross between a cheesecake and a cookie. The oreo crust creates a contrasting crunch to the creamy insides, making them oh so perfect. Sticky cookie dough is good, but so are cookies that are crunchy and creamy at the same time. Lastly, the strawberries take off a bit of the richness so that you can eat more than 2 without feeling too full. Of course, with cookies like these, you're going to want to eat more you're not going to be able to stop at one.

Adapted from Table for Two's Oreo Cheesecake Cookies
Ingredients:
100g butter, softened
70g castor sugar

100g strawberry cream cheese spread, softened (recipe below, or you can use storebought)
1 tsp vanilla essence 

135g bread flour

1/2 cup chopped strawberries, optional

1 cup of crushed oreos (about 10 oreos)

Method:
1. Cream butter and sugar till light, pale and fluffy.

2. Beat in strawberry cream cheese spread and vanilla essence tell smooth.

3. Gently fold in the bread flour in 3 additions until just combined. Fold in strawberries if using.

4. Using a small ice cream scoop or cookie scoop, scoop out balls and chill for about 30 minutes.

5. Roll the cookie dough in crushed oreos to coat them completely.

6. Place about 2 inches apart on a baking sheet and bake at 190 degrees Celsius for 12 to 15 minutes. The edges should start getting brown, but no more than that.

7. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Strawberry cream cheese spread
(makes about 200g of spread)
Ingredients:
65g strawberries, pureed
125g cream cheese, softened

30g flour

Method:
1. Whisk strawberry puree and cream cheese together till smooth.

2. Whisk in the flour.

3. Chill till ready to use.

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I'm submitting this to Foodie Friends Friday, hsoted by From Calculus to Cupcakes