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This Frosted Animal Cookie Cheesecake has frosted circus animal cookies in the crust and throughout the cheesecake! It’s thick, creamy and topped with fun pink-colored white chocolate and sprinkles – much like the animal cookies!
I love cookies and cheesecake together. If you do too, you’ll want to try this Best Oreo Cheesecake recipe and this Chocolate Chip Cookie Crust Cheesecake. You’ll be in cookie heaven!
An Easy Birthday Cake Idea
I am a natural born sweets lover. If loving dessert can be in your blood, it’s in mine. This cheesecake kind of reminds me of that because these frosted animal cookies have been a favorite cookie of mine for as long as I can remember. On many occasions I have picked up a bag from the store, only for it to last 48 hours in my house – at the most. It’s dangerous for me to even buy them and that was the case when making this cheesecake.
Often when buying ingredients, I get plenty extra. Of course there are always endless bags of flour, sugar and packages of butter. But when I need things like animal cookies, I also have to buy several bags. I’m not a fan of running to the store over and over again. And I still had to make a couple trips to replenish these cookies as I was testing out this recipe.
Working with these cookies over a few days and not eating all the cookies was SO HARD! I probably snacked on a few more than I should have, but I couldn’t resist! I feel the same way about the cheesecake – so good!
To start, there’s the frosted animal cookie crust. This took several attempts before I was happy with it. Because of all the frosted cookies, you really barely need any butter to hold things together. The icing on the cookies kind of melts together and holds it all in place. I added a touch, just to be safe.
For the filling, there’s more animal crackers. About 3/4 cup go right into the bottom of the crust, then another 1 1/4 cups in the batter. The cookies soften up as the cheesecake bake, but still retain just enough crunch. It gives the cheesecake plenty of frosted animal cookie flavor – and color! I tried one version where I added some sprinkles to the cheesecake batter, but because nonpareil sprinkles bleed so easily, it actually messed up the fun pink and white color.
Homemade Ganache
On top of the cheesecake is a white chocolate ganache that is colored to a light shade of pink, similar to the pink cookies. You could leave it white, but the pink is just so cute! Finish off the cheesecake with some sprinkles and animal cookies and you’re good to go!
I really loved the final version of this cheesecake. Between the crust and all the cookies in the cheesecake, it’s delicious! The cheesecake filling is thick, creamy and full of vanilla flavor. The white chocolate finishes it off beautifully! I love all the flavors and every bite is a little bite of pink and white cookie cheesecake heaven!
Watch How To Make It
Print
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours 5 minutes
- Yield: 12-14 Slices
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
This Frosted Animal Cookie Cheesecake has frosted circus animal cookies in the crust and throughout the cheesecake! It’s thick, creamy, yummy and so fun!
Ingredients
CRUST
- 2 1/4 cups (302g) frosted animal cookie crumbs
- 2 tbsp (28g) salted butter, melted
FILLING
- 24 ounces (678g) cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 cup (207g) sugar
- 3 tbsp (24g) all purpose flour
- 1 cup (230g) sour cream, room temperature
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 cups (208g) chopped frosted animal cookies, divided
WHITE CHOCOLATE GANACHE
- 6 oz (169g) white chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup (60ml) heavy whipping cream
- Pink gel icing color
- Sprinkles
WHIPPED CREAM
- 1/2 cup (120ml) heavy whipping cream, cold
- 4 tbsp (29g) powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 325°F (163°C). Line a 9-inch (23cm) springform pan with parchment paper in the bottom and grease the sides.
2. Combine the crust ingredients in a small bowl. Press the mixture into the bottom of the springform pan.
3. Bake the crust for 10 minutes, then set aside to cool.
4. Cover the outsides of the pan with aluminum foil (I also use a plastic crock pot liner – see method for preventing your water bath from leaking here) so that water from the water bath cannot get in. Set prepared pan aside.
CHEESECAKE FILLING
5. Reduce oven to 300°F (148°C).
6. In a large mixer bowl, mix the cream cheese, sugar and flour until well combined (Use low speed to keep less air from getting into the batter, which can cause cracks). Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
7. Add the sour cream and vanilla extract, mixing on low speed until well combined.
8. Add the eggs one at a time, beating slowly and scraping the sides of the bowl after each addition.
9. Stir in about 1 1/4 cups of chopped animal cookies. Stir just until mixed, so the colors from the sprinkles don’t mix into the batter too much.
10. Pour a small amount of batter into the bottom of the crust in an even layer, then add the remaining 3/4 cup of chopped animal cookies.
11. Pour the remaining cheesecake filling into crust, over the cookies, and spread into an even layer.
12. Place springform pan (covered with aluminum foil) inside another larger pan. Fill the larger pan with enough warm water to go about halfway up the sides of the springform pan. The water should not go above the top edge of the aluminum foil on the springform pan.
13. Bake for 1 hour and 25 minutes.
14. Turn off heat and leave cheesecake in oven with door closed for 30 minutes.
15. Crack oven door and leave the cheesecake in the oven for about 30 minutes.
16.Remove cheesecake from oven and chill until firm, 5-6 hours or overnight.
TO FINISH OFF THE CHEESECAKE
17. When the cheesecake is cool and firm, remove from the springform pan and set on a serving plate.
18. To make the white chocolate ganache. Put the white chocolate chips in a heat proof bowl.
19. Microwave the heavy whipping cream until it just begins to boil, then pour it over the chocolate chips. Allow it to sit for 2-3 minutes, then whisk until smooth. If it doesn’t melt completely, microwave for 10-20 seconds, then whisk until smooth.
20. Color the ganache with a little pink gel coloring, if desired.
21. Pour the ganache onto the cheesecake and spread into an even layer.
22. To make the whipped cream, add the heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar and vanilla extract to a large mixer bowl. Whip on high speed until stiff peaks form.
23. Pipe dollops of the whipped cream on top of the white chocolate ganache.
24. Top the cheesecake with frosted animal cookies and some sprinkles, if desired. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Cheesecake is best for 3-4 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Slice
- Calories: 529
- Sugar: 42.2 g
- Sodium: 327.6 mg
- Fat: 30.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 56.4 g
- Protein: 9.1 g
- Cholesterol: 106.4 mg
Categories
Enjoy!
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Has anyone noticed that in the How to comments it says 3/4 cup animal cookies go into the crust, but in the recipe it says 2 1/4? Did I read it wrong or misinterpret? I’m guessing the 2 1/4 cup amount is correct….
So the part about 3/4 of a cup actually refers to the amount that goes into the filling, not in the crust. There’s two full cups of chopped animal crackers in the filling, and they’re divided into two parts. I hope that helps!
Actually that’s still confusing. In your comment you said 3/4 cup goes into the filling, then in your next sentence you said there’s two full cups in the filling.
Please read through the recipe. It’s all there. The crust uses 2 1/4 cups of animal cookie crumbs, which is the amount the original commenter was initially referring to. But then she mentioned the 3/4 cup mentioned in the instructions for the filling. She was kind of mixing things up. If you look at the ingredients, there’s 2 1/4 cups of animal cookie crumbs in the crust. For the filling, there’s 2 cups of chopped animal cookies. In step 9, 1 1/4 cups of the chopped animal cookies (of the 2 cups for the filling) is stirred into the batter. Then in step 2, the other 3/4 cup is added. It’s all there if you read through it. I hope that helps!
How big should chopped Cookie piece be for the filling?
It’s kind of hard to describe, I guess. If you watch the video, you can see how big the pieces are when I add them.
Do you put the whipped cream on all at once and does it last for 3-4 days? Making it for a friends birthday and don’t want drippy whipped cream. Thanks!
The powdered sugar in the whipped cream makes it stable. It won’t wilt, so you can add it whenever you like.
I have another question! How far ahead can I make the ganache? I’m bringing this to a color-themed girl’s night (my color is pink!), but the cake won’t be cold enough to put together before I go, I’ll have to assemble it there. Can I bring the topping separately?
You could easily make the ganache a couple days ahead of time. You can certainly add it later, but you will likely need to warm it up just a touch so that it’s spreadable.
Hi! Can someone tell me if this recipe is super sickly sweet? Obviously cheesecake needs to have some sweetness. And these are iced cookies, so obviously it’s gonna be sweet. But i don’t like a mouth-puckering, cloyingly sweet cheesecake.
That is going to be very subjective. I certainly don’t think it’s too sweet. But for someone who may not be used to eating sweet desserts, it may seem very sweet. It highly depends on the person.
Fair enough. I rolled the dice and made it, it’s in the oven now. I was pleasantly surprised by the batter, it wasn’t too sweet. So I’m anticipating/hoping for a good sweetness balance!
I hope you enjoy it!
I don’t have a pot to use for the water bath. How should I adjust the cooking time!
You could try putting a large pan of water on the rack under the cheesecake. It’s not quite as good as a water bath, but it’s better than no water bath. I’m not sure of the exact time without a water bath. You’ll want to make sure the cheesecake is fully baked without over baking it. You may only need to bake it for a little more than an hour.
I didn’t have one either. Then I discovered by accident that the bottom portion of my broiler pan has an indentation that perfectly fits a 9” springform. The springform doesn’t slide around and the pan holds just enough water. I’ve been baking for years, and I finally have a water bath pan!
Can you make these into mini cheesecakes like in a muffin pan and if so how would I go about doing that. Thanks
Yes, you can. You can cut the recipe in half to make 12. I’d look at the instructions for my mini cheesecakes. It’ll be similar.
Can I use half/half instead of heavy whipping cream? All the stores are out!
Half and half won’t whip properly for the whipped cream. You could try it in the ganache, but it will likely make it thinner. I’m so sorry you’re having trouble finding it!
Usually I don’t put my spring form pan in water. I just use the pan on the bottom rack with the water. I followed the recipe fully but water ended up in my springform pan. Will it still be ok??
Yes, it should still be fine.
Made this and absolutely loved it! My fiancé saw it on Pinterest and wanted me to make it so bad!
Glad you both enjoyed it!
Best cheesecake I’ve ever had. Xoxo
So glad you enjoyed it!
Best recipe ever. So far the only one where i didnt have to modify it.
I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Would not adding sour cream make a huge difference to the recipe? I think I’ve made this in the past without the sour cream, so just wanted to see what you thought…
If you don’t want to use sour cream, you could replace it with yogurt or heavy cream. I wouldn’t leave it out entirely, but you could try it.
Curiosity here… my BF loves cheesecake buuuuuut he’s also a big fitness guy. Makes sense right?! LOL would subbing out fat free cream cheese and light sour cream alter the outcome of the recipe?
So generally the lower fat cream cheeses are softer, so your cheesecake ends up with a softer texture.
This was such a hit. I made this for my family and we are obsessed with this, highly recommend making this 😍
This was the first cheesecake I ever made, and with your recipe it came out perfect! It was extremely yummy! Thank you for the great recipe!
So glad you enjoyed it!