Carly in the Kitchen: Mint Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

I don't like to brag... but Ric Orlando once deemed me "the cheesecake queen" as he scooped handfuls of my cheesecake in to his Food Network Show Chopped winning palatte.  This was following quite a few glasses of wine and a pretty serious dance off... but none the less, my cheesecake recipe kicks major ass.

I adapted my Grandmother's vanilla cheesecake recipe a bit for the hubby's birthday, since he is a major fan of Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream.  My sister-in-law thinks I should sell this somewhere.  My husband thinks I should make it every weekend.  My scale says I should rip up this recipe and start doing crunches... you decide:

I went overboard with the decorations... but the taste was perfect.

Recipe after the jump...

CRUST:
2 cups of Oreo cookies, crushed
3/4 stick of butter, melted

• Melt the butter, mix in the oreos.  Layer the bottom of a spring-form pan with the mixture, patting it down well to even out.

FILLING:
2 - 8 ounce packages of cream cheese
3 eggs
1 cup of sugar
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 & 1/4 teaspoon of peppermint extract
3/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract
10 drops of green food color
(the food coloring is optional... but there's something about green that really lets people know there's mint inside.  Like a shamrock shake.  They barely taste minty, but somehow it's so different than a regular vanilla shake).

• Combine all ingredients with a hand mixer.  I added the peppermint, vanilla, and green food coloring after all the others were mixed well so I could taste the flavoring additions as I added a little at a time, deciding whether or not to add more.  This is the final amount I came up with.  Pour the batter (which will not be very thick) over the crust.
• Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes.  Then turn off your oven and open the oven door 1/4 of the way.  Let the cheesecake sit in the oven for another hour or longer.  There will be substantial cracks and canyons on the surface of your cake - it's ok - the ganache will fill them in beautifully.

TOPPING:
After the cake has COMPLETELY cooled (refrigerated overnight, if possible) top it with this chocolate ganache and whatever other garnishes you'd like.  I used Redi-Whip, Oreos, and Girl Scout Thin Mints... it looked like a hot mess in my opinion.  Way too much going on.   It still tasted phenomenal though, so who cares?!

• Oh yeah, the ganache... bring 2 cups of heavy cream to a boil (careful - it goes from no boil to boiling over really really quick).  Pour the boiling cream over 2 and a half cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips and mix until smooth.  Pour the warm mixture directly on top of the cooled cheesecake.  Refrigerate and serve...  then try not to eat the leftovers with your hands a fork, directly from the pan (if there are any leftovers).  Your bikini will thank you.