Peppermint Cheesecake
I can't believe that I have been blogging for so long and have not yet posted one cheesecake!! I do have a red velvet cheesecake cake, but no true cheesecake. Well considered this problem officially fixed today! Here is my first official cheesecake post, and it is a great one. My work had a work Christmas party a few weeks ago which included ugly sweaters, white elephant gifts, all that fun stuff. Obviously my first question is - what's to eat? It was potluck time, it was requested that everyone bring an appetizer or a dessert. This year it was time; Cheesecake time.
I had stumbled across a cheesecake a few weeks earlier that for whatever reason had just caught my eye. On a whim I decided to just go for it. I went to the store and picked up cream cheese, ricotta, Oreos and candy canes and I am so glad I did. This cheesecake was so simple and turned out delicious. Creamy and light and silky smooth. A winner all around.
The original recipe included a graham cracker crust and was topped with fresh strawberries. Since it's December that wasn't quite right. I wasn't sure what I was going to do, but as I was walking through the aisles at the grocery store my eyes caught on a package of peppermint Oreos and I knew what I was going to create - an Oreo peppermint cheesecake. I swapped out the graham crackers for peppermint Oreos, and added a hint of peppermint extract to the filling and voila! The perfect Christmas cheesecake was born!
Peppermint Cheesecake
Cheesecake Adapted from Lil cookie
Crust adapted from Crazy for Crust
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 25 mint creme Oreos
- 5 tablespoons (2 1/2 ounces) butter, melted
For the filling:
- 2 8-ounce packages (450 grams) cream cheese
- 1 16-ounce (450 grams) whole milk ricotta cheese
- 1 cup (200 grams) sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 cup (35 grams) all-purpose flour
- 5 large eggs
For coating:
- 1 8-ounce container sour cream
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
Directions
For the crust: preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9 inch springform pan with aluminum foil (alternatively, you can use a 9 inch, tall sided cake pan with removable bottom).
In a food processor with a steel blade, process the Oreos until crushed into small bits. Add melted butter and process until combined and the mixture is damp and cohesive.
Press the moist crumbs to the bottom and the sides of the pan and bake for about 10 minutes. (I found it easiest to do this with a metal measuring cup.) Cool for a few minutes at room temperature. Turn the oven temperature down to 325 degrees.
Meanwhile, make the cheese filling: Wipe the bowl of the food processor clean. Add the cream cheese, ricotta, sugar, peppermint extract, vanilla and salt and process until well combined. Add the eggs one by one, processing between additions until well incorporated. Add the flour and pulse a few times until the flour is incorporated into the filling.
Pour the cheese filling into the baked crust. Place cheesecake in the now 325 degree oven and bake for 60-70 minutes or until the cake is golden, a bit swollen and slightly vibrating in the center. Remove from the oven, turn the oven off, and let the cheesecake cool for about 10 minutes at room temperature.
While the cheesecake is baking prepare the coating: in a small bowl, mix sour cream, sugar and vanilla to a uniform mixture. Once the cheesecake has cooled about 10 minutes, pour the sour cream coating on top of the cake and return to the still-hot (but turned off) oven for 5-6 minutes.
Remove from oven and cool completely at room temperature before refrigerating it for at least 7-8 hours (preferably overnight).