Sweet temptations

 Minty Chocolate Cheesecake

This cheesecake reminds me of Christmas — chocolate and mint! Two great flavors to savor next to a warm fire.

Preheat oven to 350°F . 9-inch cheesecake pan, ungreased, or springform pan with 3-inch sides, greased

Crust

11⁄2 cups chocolate sandwich cookie crumbs

1⁄4 cup unsalted butter, melted 50 mL

Filling

3 packages (each 8 oz) cream cheese, softened

3⁄4 cup granulated sugar

3 eggs

1⁄4 cup all-purpose flour

1⁄2 cup sour cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

1⁄4 tsp peppermint extract

3 oz semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

2 tsp all-purpose flour

1. Crust: In a bowl, combine cookie crumbs and butter.
Press into bottom of cheesecake pan and freeze.

2. Filling: In a mixer bowl fitted with paddle attachment,
beat cream cheese and sugar on medium-high speed
until very smooth, for 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Mix in the 1⁄4 cup (50 mL) flour. Mix in sour cream, vanilla and peppermint extract. With the mixer running, pour in melted chocolate in a steady stream. In a small bowl, combine chocolate chips and the 2 tsp flour. Fold into batter by hand.

3. Pour over frozen crust, smoothing out to sides of pan. Bake in preheated oven until top is light brown and center has a slight jiggle to it, 45 to 55 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack for 2 hours. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 6 hours before serving.

Recipe credit: Courtesy of The Cheesecake Bible Second Edition by George Geary 2018 ©www.robertrose.ca Reprinted with publisher permission. Available where books are sold. Image credit: Colin Erricson.