Mint Chocolate Cheesecake

My favorite cheesecake is mint chocolate flavored.  Reminds me of Girl Scout Thin Mints!

Mint Chocolate Cheesecake

Ingredients:
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

Directions:
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


You can make individual cheesecakes with this recipe, if you wish. Here is the recipe:

Mint Chocolate Cheesecake Cups (Recipe by Emily)
Printable Recipe

5 chocolate sandwich cookies, finely ground
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar + 1 tablespoon
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pure peppermint extract (generous)
1 1/2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted
1 large egg

1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and generously butter 4 Texas-sized muffin cups, or 6 regular muffin cups.

In a small mixing bowl, combine cookie crumbs, and butter, until combined. Press into bottom of muffin cups.
Bake for 5 minutes. Remove pan from oven, and reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees F.

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

Pour batter onto crusts, and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until cheesecake is starting to crackle on the outsides.

Cool pan on a wire rack, for 30 minutes; 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. If necessary, place pan back on the heat source, and stir until melted.
Spread the ganache evenly over cheesecakes.
Chill muffin pan in the refrigerator for 3 hours, or until ready to serve. Run a knife around the outsides, and scoop the cheesecakes out onto a serving platter.

Yield: 4-6