Mint Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

I was thinking of something to make for Saint Patrick's Day and the first thing I thought of was something minty. So naturally my next thought was chocolate and cheesecake. There are various recipes out there for this but I just did my basic recipe and added green coloring and mint extract. My boys thought I had made a dessert using the mint chocolate chip ice cream and they were temporarily very happy. I was happy that they thought it looked like mint chocolate chip ice cream as that was my goal. They weren't very happy in the end because they don't care for cheesecake. Maybe that's why I make it so often...more for me!

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Posted by: Jen

Ingredients:
already made chocolate crust

2 packages (8-oz each) cream cheese, softened

1/2 c sugar

2 eggs

1/2 tsp mint extract

few drops green food coloring

1 c chocolate chips

for the ganache

1/2 c cream

1 c chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat together the softened cream cheese and the sugar. Your cheesecake will cook better if the cream cheese is completely softened. Beat until it is smooth. Add the eggs and mix them in well.

Add food coloring and mint extract. (make sure it is mint and not peppermint. Of course you could do the same thing at Christmas with peppermint extract and pink food coloring) Blend in well until it is all green.

Stir in the chocolate chips and pour into already made chocolate crust.

Bake in oven for 35-40 minutes or until the center is slightly jiggly. If you miss that point, then take it out when you see it start to get a little golden on the edges. Don't worry if it cracks. We are going to cover it with chocolate ganache anyway.

Completely cool the cheesecake on a wire rack. This may take an hour or so. Meanwhile make your ganache.

For the Chocolate ganache, add the cream to a small pan and heat over medium heat. Stir occasionally because you don't want the milk to stick or burn on the bottom. When it reaches a simmer, remove from heat and add the chocolate chips.

Stir in the chocolate chips until it is completely smooth. If desired, you could add a tablespoon of butter to help have that glossy look, but it isn't necessary.

Let it cool a little bit and spread over the cheesecake evenly to the edges. Put cheesecake in refrigerator overnight or for at least 2 hours. You may not use all of the ganache. Put the rest in a container and store in the fridge for later. This is the best base for the best ever hot cocoa.

I personally think that cheesecake is best served the following day. I like it more firm. My husband disagrees. He likes to eat it the same day it's baked. If you serve it within a couple hours of it being baked it has a more mousse like consistency.

Brownie bottom mint chocolate chip cheesecake

For another variation use a brownie mix as the bottom layer. Check out the Brownie bottom cheesecake recipe for directions. Use 3 pkgs cream cheese, 2/3 c sugar, and 3 eggs, but keep everything else the same. After the brownie is baked, then bake the cheesecake for about an hour or until slightly jiggly in the middle. When cooled then either cover the entire thing in ganache, or just the top. I would have done it this way, but alas I only had 2 eggs in my refrigerator so I did the faster version.