Creamy, a little tangy, and cheesecake-style rather than rich: a 32-ounce tub of plain Greek yogurt stands in for cream cheese, and Biscoff cookies pressed in overnight soften into the crust.
Prep takes about 3 minutes. You give up the firm bite of a baked slice, and the cookies get cakier each day, so eat it within 2 days.
What You Need
The large-tub version needs two ingredients, plus a few optional extras if you like it sweeter:
- One 32-ounce container of plain Greek yogurt. Chobani works, or use your preferred brand. Thickness matters because the yogurt takes the place of cream cheese.
- 6–12 Biscoff cookies. They soften as the tub chills and turn into the crust.
- Powdered sugar, 2–3 tablespoons (optional). Plain yogurt is tart, and this is the easiest way to sweeten it.
- Vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon (optional). It rounds out the flavor and pushes it closer to classic cheesecake.
- Maple syrup or honey (optional). Use either one in place of the powdered sugar.
How to Make It
- Open the tub. For a sweeter, more cheesecake-like base, stir in powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth, either right in the tub or in a smaller amount in a separate container.
- Press whole Biscoff cookies straight down into the yogurt in a row, until only the tips show. Covering the white space matters more than neatness. For more cookie in every scoop, scoop out some yogurt, press in a layer of cookies, spoon the yogurt back, then add a second layer on top.
- Cover and refrigerate overnight, or until the yogurt is chilled and set and the cookies have softened.
- Scoop down through the cookies and serve.
In a large tub, a single layer of cookies may not reach the bottom, so use the two-layer method there.
Why It Tastes Like Cheesecake Without the Bake
This isn’t a conventional baked cheesecake, and it doesn’t try to be.
Thick Greek yogurt stands in for the cream cheese, so the filling comes out light, creamy and a little tangy instead of dense and rich. Lightly sweetened, it reads as cheesecake-style rather than a copy of the classic.
The cookies do the job an oven would otherwise do. Press the Biscoff into the yogurt, and the fridge softens the cookies into a cookie crust, which gives you the texture and flavor of cheesecake with no baking.
Expect to give up the firm, rich bite of a baked slice. In return you get about 3 minutes of prep and roughly 240 calories per serving across 6 servings.
Single-Serving Cups
Peel back the foil on a 5.3-ounce Chobani plain yogurt cup, but leave it attached to the rim.
Break 3 Biscoff cookies in half, then press the jagged edge of each piece into the yogurt until only the tips stick up. Six halves fit snugly in one cup, and pressing them in by the broken edge keeps them upright.
Cover the cup well and chill it for at least 4 hours. Overnight is better, so make it after dinner and eat it the next day.
Each single serving comes to 259 calories and 15.1 grams of protein. The cup is the serving dish, so cleanup is one spoon.
Storage and How the Texture Changes
Cover it and keep it in the fridge for up to 4 days, though 2 days gives the better texture. Don’t freeze it.
The cookies keep absorbing moisture the whole time it sits, so they go from soft-with-a-little-bite toward fully cakey. If you want some structure left in them, eat it sooner rather than later.
A little liquid may pool on top after a day or so, which is normal for yogurt.
Pour it off or stir it back in. If you leave the foil on as an extra barrier, add a lid or plastic wrap over it too.
Yield runs from 1 to 6 servings depending on the version you make.
Swapping Cookies and Yogurt Flavors
Other cookies can replace Biscoff, though the original holds an edge for flavor and how it softens in the yogurt.
Oreos, graham crackers, shortbread, Nilla wafers, and even Belvita breakfast cookies all soak up moisture well and give you a similar texture.
Biscoff Chocolate Cookies and their sandwich cookie variations stay closer to the original if you want that caramelized, spiced cookie flavor without starting over.
Vanilla or cheesecake-flavored Greek yogurt can stand in for plain. One author found those flavors better than plain, taking the dessert closer to actual cheesecake without extra work.
Any thick Greek yogurt works, but the flavored options add sweetness and depth that plain yogurt leaves to the cookies and toppings alone.
Tiramisu-Style Variation
For a tiramisu-style version, stir about 3 tablespoons of strong coffee or espresso and a splash of vanilla extract into the yogurt before the cookies go in.
Keep the coffee strong. With so little liquid, a weak brew barely registers, while a strong one gives the yogurt a coffee-sweet edge without taking over.
Press in the Biscoff cookies as usual and chill the dessert until it sets. Once it’s firm, dust the top with cocoa powder.
The texture stays creamy and cheesecake-like, and the coffee and cocoa push the flavor toward tiramisu. It’s tiramisu-inspired rather than the real thing, but it takes no extra equipment or steps.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does viral Biscoff cheesecake taste like real cheesecake?
It comes close, but it isn’t a copy of the baked kind. Thick Greek yogurt makes the filling lighter, creamier and a little tangy instead of dense and rich, and the softened cookies give it a cheesecake-style texture.
Stirring in powdered sugar and vanilla, or starting with vanilla or cheesecake-flavored yogurt, moves it closer to the classic.
How many calories are in viral Biscoff cheesecake?
The large-tub version comes to about 240 calories per serving when split into 6 servings.
A single-serving cup made with a 5.3-ounce yogurt and 3 Biscoff cookies runs 259 calories and 15.1 grams of protein. Added sugar or extra cookies will raise those numbers.
Can I use a different cookie instead of Biscoff?
Yes.
Oreos, graham crackers, shortbread, Nilla wafers and Belvita breakfast cookies all soak up moisture and soften in a similar way. Biscoff still gives the best flavor and the best softening, so expect a slightly different taste with the swaps.
Is viral Biscoff cheesecake a dessert or a snack?
Both.
It’s light enough to eat as a snack and sweet enough to serve as dessert. The single-serving cup works well for either, since it chills in its own container and needs only a spoon.
