Strawberry Crunch Cheesecake

Directions

• Golden Oreo Crust
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Crush cookies in a plastic bag into small crumb pieces. Combine cookie crumbs with butter and mix until combined.
• Press the cookie crust mixture into a springform pan pressing firmly down and up the sides of the pan.
• Bake the crust for about 10 minutes. Remove and allow to cool completely before adding filling.
• Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees.
• Cheesecake Filling
• Combine the softened cream cheese and the sugar, mix for 2-3 minutes to dissolve the sugar granules.
• Add in the sour cream and vanilla and mix until just combined. Be sure to scrape down the sides of your mixing bowl as needed.
• Add in the eggs one at a time. Be sure not to over mix, but you do want the egg to be completely combined.
• Pour the cheesecake filling into the cooled, prepared crust.
• Bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes (check after one hour, it is okay to be jiggly in the center, as long as the sides seem firm it should set nicely.)
• Turn off the oven and prop the door open. Allow cheesecake to sit in cooling oven for 30 mintues, then move to the counter to cool completely. Our cheesecake is still baking when we turn the oven off, it is important we do not rush our cheesecake by putting it into the refrigerator too early.
• Cookie Crunch Topping
• Crush cookies into pieces that are slightly larger than what we crushed for the crust.
• Stir in the gelatin powder to coat the crumbs, and then mix in the melted butter, mixing until combined well.
• Add a desired amount of strawberry sauce to the top of the cooled cheesecake and coat with the strawberry cookie crunch mix.
• Serve immediately or keep in the refrigerator. Add whipped topping and strawberries only when ready to serve.