Week 2: Mint Chocolate Cheesecake

Week 2... a little better than last week, although not without its own hiccups along the way :).  First off, I NEED to buy an actual cheesecake pan.  No more springform pans.  If you do use a springform pan, I suggest wrapping the bottom tightly with aluminum foil.  Otherwise, you will have cheesecake batter leaking out of the bottom which in turn will burn in your oven causing a very smoky house (and make your house smell like burnt pan for the next few days).

Here is the adapted version of George Geary's Minty Chocolate Cheesecake recipe:

1 1/2 cups chocolate sandwich cookies (I used Oreos)
1/4 cup butter, melted
3 packages of cream cheese softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp peppermint extract
3 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips melted and cooled
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 tsp all purpose flour

For the crust, in a medium bowl combine cookie crumbs and butter.  Press into pan and freeze (make sure to grease the sides of pan if using a springform pan).

For the filling, in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar and medium-high speed for 3 minutes.  Next, add eggs one at a time beating thoroughly after each addition.  Mix in 1/4 cup of flour.  Then, mix in the sour cream, vanilla and peppermint.  While the mixer is running, pour in the melted and cooled chocolate in (if you have a hand-held mixer like I do, you may need the assistance of another person).  In a small bowl, combine the chocolate chips and remaining flour.  Toss this into the batter and pour batter over frozen crust.  Bake in a 350 degree pre-heated oven for 45-55 minutes (IMPORTANT -- all ovens are different... my oven has a tendency to run hot, so my cheesecake was done in 37 minutes).  Bake until the top is a light brown and the middle has a slight jiggle.  Cool for two hours, and then refrigerate for 6 hours.

This cheesecake turned out better than my first, although it still had some pretty deep cracks on the top.  According to George Geary, the cracks are caused by not allowing all ingredients to come to room temperature.  Now, I know that he is the expert, but this time around I did allow the cream cheese, sour cream and eggs to come to room temperature.  So, who knows. 

Here is a picture of the final product.  I decided to add crumbled Oreos as a topping/decoration to my cheesecake.