T’s New Recipe ~ Christmas Cheesecake 2018

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

For the Crust:

1 ½ sleeves chocolate graham crackers

2 tablespoons sugar

6 tablespoons melted butter

Or:

20 Oreo cookies

3 tbsp butter, melted

2-3 candy canes, crushed in the mini food processor- use half of the crushed candy canes now and half of them later to top finished cheesecake.

To make the crust, use a food processor to chop up the graham crackers & sugar or 20 Oreo cookies until they turn to a fine crumb, drizzle in the melted butter and pulse until combined.  Press the crumbs in a 10″ springform pan in an even layer, and a little up the sides of the pan.  Wrap the springform pan in heavy duty foil, then bake the crust for 5 minutes, then remove from oven, set aside.  When the crust is cool, sprinkle a thin layer of the crushed candy canes over the crust.

For the Cheesecake:

4 (8oz) bricks of cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup plain Greek yogurt or sour cream, room temperature

2 tablespoons flour

1 cup sugar

1 cup white chocolate chips, melted and cooled slightly.

1 tsp vanilla extract

4 eggs, room temperature

5-6 Dove Dark Chocolate Peppermint Barks candies- chopped

In a large mixing bowl beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Mix in flour, then add the greek yogurt, white chocolate, and vanilla and beat just until combined, scraping down the sides of bowl when necessary. Add the eggs one at a time, beating in between.  Do not overbeat the mixture! Spread cheesecake batter into the springform pan.  You will bake the cheesecake in a water bath so take a large baking pan and place the cheesecake in the center of the pan.  Then slowly pour in water until it comes almost halfway up the pan.  Bake the cheesecake for 70 to 75 minutes, or until the center of the cheesecake is only slightly jiggly. Turn the oven off, and crack the oven door open slightly, letting the cheesecake rest inside the oven for 1 to 2 hours. Let cool on counter top until almost cooled to room temperature, then make the glaze and carefully spread the glaze over the cheesecake. Sprinkle the rest of the crushed candy canes and the chopped Dove candies on top of the cheesecake to garnish.  Refrigerate for several hours and then serve.

White Chocolate Glaze:

1 ¼ – 1 ½ cups Heavy Cream

1 bag. White Chocolate Chips

In a large bowl mix the cream and the white chocolate chips together.  Microwave the mixture on 80% power for about 1 minute.  Let mixture sit for 1 minute and then stir until all the chips have melted.