Shelly's Recipe

MINT CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE

Category: Cheesecake

18 chocolate sandwich cookies, finely ground
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
5 large eggs
4 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 teaspoons pure peppermint extract
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted

Ganache:
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and generously butter a 9-inch springform pan.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine cookie crumbs, and butter, until combined. Press into bottom of pan. Place pan on a large sheet pan.
Bake for 10 minutes. Remove pan from oven, and reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees F.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, until just combined.

In a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat cream cheese until creamy, about 1 minute. Beat in sugar, vanilla extract, and mint extract, until combined, about 1 minute. Beat in cream and melted chocolate, until combined. Gradually beat in eggs, until just combined.

Pour batter onto crust, and bake for 1 hour and 10-15 minutes, at 325 degrees F, or until cheesecake center barely jiggles when you shake the pan. Cool springform pan on a wire rack, for 1 hour; top with ganache.

To make the ganache, heat the cream and butter in a small saucepan, over medium heat, until butter is melted, and mixture is hot. Remove pan from heat, and stir in chocolate, until melted, and well combined. Spread the ganache evenly over cheesecake. Chill cheesecake in the refrigerator for 8 hours, or until ready to serve.

Yield: 12-14 servings- BIG cheesecake