Mint Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

So I have a confession to make. I didn’t get the stockings done last night. I put the cart before the horse and went stocking stuffer shopping instead. To my credit, Kevin was at a work function, making it the best time to finish up my shopping for him. And I did get his furry stocking top embroidered with his initials. See? Just pretend it’s not an iPhone picture.

Kevin’s going shopping for me tonight, so hopefully I’ll have some time to finish sewing the stockings then. Oh, and thanks for your suggestions and tips on sewing curves! They were really helpful!

Okay, on to today’s topic: Cheesecake. Last Friday night Kevin and I’s Sunday school class (called Honeymooners) got together for our Christmas party. I was assigned to bring a chocolate dessert. After about 30 seconds of consideration, I decided on cheesecakes.

I made two cheesecakes. The first was from Anihoa at a little bite of everything. I won’t share my version of Anihoa’s cheesecake– my photos just didn’t do it justice. You should check it out on her (newly revamped) blog, though, and make it if you are cheesecake inclined. It was equally gorgeous and delicious– like let’s steal the cheesecake and hide in a closet with a fork delicious. Everyone at the party raved about it.

I also made my mom’s chocolate chip cheesecake. She makes it for her restaurant and it’s awesome. I don’t know the recipe by heart (like she does), so I called her while in the grocery to get the recipe. As she related it, I repeated it to Kevin who typed it into his Blackberry. I just had to share what he came up with:

Oreos: 3 cups + one for Kevin
Shortening: 1/4cup melted (wtf is shortening?)
3, 8oz cream cheese (generic is better)
Better means cheap in kevin lingo
1 can of eagle brand (wtf mate?)
3 eggs (remove shells)
2 tsp vanilla (probably liquid)
1 tsp flower (half batter half top)
Temp: 340 for jiggles my wiggles

Yeah. Sometimes I wonder about my husband. I don’t, however, wonder about this cheesecake recipe. Made with mint chocolate chips, it was absolutely to. die. for. I hope you’ll make it this Christmas!

Mint Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

prep: 20 minutes
baking: ~45 minutes at 340 degrees F

Ingredients:

1 package Mint Oreos
1/4 c. shortening, melted
3- 8oz cream cheese packages, softenend
1 can sweetened condensed milk
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp flour
1 12 oz. package Nestle Toll House Dark Chocolate & Mint Chips, divided

Prep:

1. Preheat oven to 340 degrees F.
2. Crush the Oreos in a food processor. You need about 3.5 cups of crumbs for a 10 inch springform pan
3. Combine the shortening and Oreos, then press into a well greased 10″ springform pan, going about one inch up the sides
4. Bake the crust at 340 degrees for 15 minutes
5. While crust is baking, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Slowly add sweetened condensed milk, allowing it to incorporate completely to avoid lumps. Add vanilla and allow to incorporate.
6. Add eggs to mixture, one at at time, beating mixture slowly and allowing each egg to fully incorporate before adding the next. It’s important to not over beat the mixture at this state as any added air can cause the mixture to crack while baking.
7. Combine half the chocolate chips and the teaspoon of flour. Add this to the cheesecake mixture, carefully folding in with a spatula. Coating the chocolate chips in flour will prevent them from sinking in the cheesecake as it bakes.
8. The best way to bake a cheesecake is in a water bath. This keeps the oven moist and helps to prevent your cheesecake from cracking. To do this, loosely wrap the springform pan in foil. Place this in a high sided baking dish (or even a cookie sheet with sides).
9. Pour the cheesecake mixture into the crust, leveling it with a spatula. Sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips on top.
10. Place in oven, then add about one inch of hot water to the large baking dish. Bake about 45 minutes. The center will not  be completely set when you take the cheesecake out.
11. Run knife around outside edges of cheesecake, freeing it from springform. Allow to cool about three hours before refrigerating.

Both of these cheesecake recipes are wonderful! They’re rich, creamy, and sinfully chocolatey, perfect for a Christmas get-together.

I hope your Christmas projects are faring better than my stockings! What’s your favorite Christmas dessert? Do you have a go-to crowd pleaser for holiday parties?

PS. I just discovered you can change text color in the WordPress editor. Holy moly.