Craving Ellie in my Belly (CEimB) but first some of Martha's Cookies and Cream Cheesecakes!

Let's get the business part of the post out of the way first.  I joined another cooking group.....Craving Ellie in my Belly.  If you're not familiar with Ellie Krieger, she is a renowned registered dietician and the host of The Food Network's "Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger".  The group prepares recipes from her book "The Food You Crave:  Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life".

I love Ellie's show and felt like I needed to be cooking something healthy to try to counteract all of the calories consumed from Tuesdays with Dorie!  I'll be jumping in with this week's recipe, "Jambalaya with Shrimp and Ham" so check back on Thursday!

But before we get all healthy check out these awesome Cookies and Cream Cheesecakes from Martha Stewart's new "Cupcakes" book.  I'm loving this book.  So many great ideas, but this one got me the most excited!

Who doesn't love Oreos???

Mr. B lurves Oreos.  Early in our marriage, it was not uncommon for him to sit down at night with a tall glass of milk and polish of an entire sleeve.  Mr. B does not, however, lurve cheesecake, but I was hoping these might change his mind.

Well, I can't say that I totally converted him, but he did manage to force down about 30 of them!  Not really, but he definitely went back for seconds.  Everyone else who tried them thought they were fabulous.

These are really simple.  The crust is made but dropping an Oreo into the bottom of a paper muffin liner.  How easy is that?  

Here's the rest of the recipe:

Cookies and Cream Cheesecakes

from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes

(I halved the recipe and still got 24 cupcakes)

42 cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookies (Oreo's), 30 left whole and 12 coarsely chopped

2 pounds cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

4 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten

1 cup sour cream

pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.  Line standard muffin tins with paper liners.  Place 1 whole sandwich cookie in the bottom of each lined cup.

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat cream cheese until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.  Gradually add sugar and beat until combined  Beat in vanilla.

Drizzle in eggs, a but at a time beating to combine and scraping down sides of bowl as needed.  Beat in sour cream and salt.  Stir in chopped cookies by hand.

Divide batter evenly among cookie-filled cups, filling each almost to the top.  Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until filling is set, about 22 minutes.  Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely.  Refrigerate (in tins) at least 4 hours (or up to overnight).  Remove from tins just before serving.

I really recommend you pick up this book.  There are so many fun ideas, and really, does Martha ever disappoint?