This is one of my favorite cheesecake flavors and I look forward to making it every year. The cool, crisp peppermint of the candy canes blends extremely well with the cold, creaminess of the cheesecake.
I made it this year for a Christmas party we were planning on going to, but Jeremiah woke up sick this morning so we aren’t going. So I went and ahead and took pictures and then wrapped up the rest and stuck it in the freezer and I plan to get it out for Christmas dessert.
Ingredients
Crust:
6 pepperidge farms double chocolate brownie cookies
1/2 package chocolate wafer cookies
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
Filling:
4 (8oz) packages cream cheese
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste or the seeds from one vanilla bean or 1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract
4 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
dash of salt
Topping:
4 candy canes, crushed
Preparation Instructions
In a food processor combine the cookies and sugar and pulse until fine crumbs form then pour in the butter and pulse until crumbs are just coated. Press into the bottom of a spring-form pan.
Wrap the pan in two layers of foil and place in a large baking dish or roasting pan. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 325º and bring a large pot of water to boil.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment cream together the cream cheese and sugar until fluffy. Add the vanilla of your choice and the peppermint extract. Then, on the lowest speed, add the eggs one at a time scraping the bowl after each addition. Add the sour cream and the salt. Pour mixture into spring-form pan. Place the roasting pan with the spring-form inside, in the oven and pour the boiling water into the roasting pan, being very careful not to get any water inside the foil or the on the cheesecake itself. Close the oven and bake for about an hour or until the top looks set, the center will still be jiggly but the top should be set.
Turn the oven off and sprinkle the crushed candy canes all over the top of the cheesecake and very carefully remove from the water bath. Place the cheesecake back in the oven and close and allow to cool to room temperature in the oven. This takes about 2 hours.
Once cool, place in the refrigerator over night.
Serve topped with whipped cream.
UPDATE: Since I wrote this last year I have discovered that I like to seperate the eggs and add only the yolks to the cream cheese mixture at first and then finish combining ingredients. Once everything else is in, I stiffen the egg whites to stiff peaks and then fold them in to the batter. This results in a very light and airy cheesecake which I love. I left the original instructions, however, because my husband prefers it that way. So you can do what suits your tastes.
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