Key Lime Cheesecake with Oreo Crust

I can't recall if it was my ex-fiance or my mother-in-law, but I developed a love for key lime desserts as an adult. I gobbled up the flavored yogurts and store-bought dessert mixes, but last year, I decided I wanted something more. So, I looked up a cheesecake recipe. Simple enough. Except that key limes are incredibly hard to find here, apparently. I eventually ended up buying a pre-packaged bag of about 30 key limes at Market of Choice. Then I had to go buy a citrus juicer. Which, by the way, juicing a lime half about as big as half a golf ball SUCKS.

Well, my husband saw that The Cheesecake Factory now offers a chocolate key lime cheesecake, and requested I make one (we don't have a local CF). So I dusted off this recipe, and made a few changes. (Recipe will be available in a .pdf format at the end.)

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I started by changing the crust from graham cracker to Oreo. You can buy pre-crushed Oreos, but that takes the fun out for me. So I put the de-cremed cookies into my little food processor. This came out to be a little over 1/3 C (15 Oreo sandwiches minus the creme).

I then added 5 T melted stick butter (unsalted), and mixed it in. This was followed by the mixture being pressed into the bottom of a 9” spring form pan, and baked for 5 minutes at 350*. (Note: Spraying the pan is optional.)

While the crust was in the oven, I put the cream cheese, vanilla, and sugar into a bowl, and used my electric mixer until it was combined and smooth.

After I pulled the crust out of the oven, I added the eggs and key lime juice to the cream cheese mixture.

When it was well-beaten, I poured it into my pan, and popped it in the oven.

(Note: Sadly, in our litigious society where common sense is not so common, I have to tell you to not eat the uncooked filling like I did. Raw eggs and disease and blah blah blah. Unless you’re like me, and have never once gotten sick from licking the bowl/spoon/spatula/beaters while baking. Then carry on. But if you eat the filling and get sick, it’s not on me.)

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I've learned tonight that the kitchen timer on my microwave can't always be counted on. As a result, my cheesecake was in a few minutes longer than it needed to be. I'm sure it's fine, but I won't know for sure until I serve it up after my husband and I have our anniversary dinner tomorrow night. But you don't really want it this dark:

***********************To Be Continued*********************

Key Lime Cheesecake with Oreo Crust Recipe