Oreo Shamrock Cheesecake Squares

Continuing on with my “green” theme this week, I thought I’d try making some minty shamrock cheesecake bars, with a chocolatey Oreo crust. My idea was to have the cheesecake layer taste sort of like a Shamrock Shake.

It was a great idea and they taste marvelous, except I screwed up on one little thing. I drizzled melted chocolate on top and then waited to cut the bars until the chocolate had hardened. This is not the way to do it if you want neat little squares of cheesecake. The soft cheesecake oozes all over when you try to cut through the hard chocolate. So next time I make these I will either cut them right away before the chocolate hardens, thin the chocolate with some fat free half and half, or just drizzle with chocolate syrup instead of melted chocolate. Or sprinkle with Oreo crumbs. Or maybe both.

I took them to work and they were rather popular with the work crowd. Tim was sad he didn’t get one, so I promised him I’d bring him one from my “secret” stash at home. My supply of cheesecake bars is quickly dwindling … I might have to make them again so I have some to munch on for St Patrick’s Day!

Oreo Shamrock Cheesecake Squares

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 35 minutes
• Total Time: 50 minutes
• Yield: 25 little squares of minty chocolate goodness 1x

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 1/2 cups of crushed Oreo cookies
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 package (8 ounces) light cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 Tablespoons Creme de Menthe liqueur
• 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
• For the top: 2.5 oz. dark chocolate (or, better yet! drizzle with a bit of chocolate syrup)

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
2. Melt the butter and mix it with the Oreo crumbs in a 9×9 inch square pan. Pat them down in an even layer across the bottom of the pan. Set the pan in the oven and bake for about 10 minutes.
3. While the “crust” is baking, mix up the cheesecake filling. In a small mixing bowl, mix the cream cheese, Greek yogurt, sugar, eggs, liqueur, and peppermint extract. I started doing this with a spoon, but soon realized it just wasn’t gonna get nice and smooth that way, so I got out my mixer and beat it until I had a nice smooth green mixture.
4. Take the crust out of the oven and pour the cheesecake filling over it. Set it back in the oven and bake for 30 – 35 minutes or until the cheesecake layer is set and the edges of the pan are a golden brown color.
5. Take the bars out of the oven and let them rest for a while until they’ve cooled. Melt the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl, mix with some fat free half and half to thin, and drizzle it over the top. Cut the bars right away before the chocolate is set into little squares, then let the chocolate set and store in an airtight container in the fridge.

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This recipe was shared at Tasty Thursdays, Full Plate Thursday, Thursday’s Treasures, Foodie Friends Friday, Show & Tell Saturday, Weekend Potluck, Scrumptious Sunday, Clever Chicks Bloghop, Mop it Up Monday, Try a New Recipe Tuesday, St Patrick’s Day Green Recipes and Katherine Martinelli’s St Patrick’s Day Bloghop.