Oreo Cheesecake Cookies

Every year I'm invited to the best cookie swap. My cousin's friend hosts and, in order to get invited, you have to be a serious --and creative -- baker.    The first year I made heath oatmeal cookies and while they were good, they were not as unique or delicious as the other cookies there. The following year I stepped up my game and compiled a bunch of recipes and came up with Pistachio Cookies (I'll post that recipe tomorrow). They were a huge hit and I won BEST COOKIE! I was so excited! Last year I did a peanut butter, pretzel, chocolate chip cookie and did not win. This year, I'm determined to win again, so I worked my tushie off and did my compilation thing again. And, voila! We have the best Oreo Cheesecake Cookies ever. Oreo Cheesecake Cookies

• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup flour
• 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips
• 1 cup Oreo cookie crumbs (the finer the crumbs, the better)

1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, beat the butter, and cream cheese until they are smooth. Slowly add the sugar and continue beating until the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla, and then add the flour and mix on low. Mix in the chocolate chips. (Batter will be a little sticky still, but that's ok.)

3. Scoop the dough into 1-inch balls. (I used a medium cookie scoop from Bed Bath & Beyond). Drop the dough balls into a bowl of oreo cookie crumbs and roll to coat. Arrange the dough balls  an inch apart on the prepared baking sheets.

4. Bake the cookies for 10 minutes, until the edges just start to brown and the tops are set. Cool for a minute or two on the sheets, then transfer the cookies to wire racks and cool completely.

They are delish! The swap is tomorrow and I hope I win!