Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Chocolate Grasshopper Cheesecake

I found this recipe a few weeks ago in one of those little booklets sitting by the register at the grocery store, and I couldn't get it out of my head. I love chocolate and mint. I love cheesecake. How could this go wrong? Well, it didn't, except for the canyon-sized cracks in the top, which could have been prevented by sticking a pan of water in the oven. Oops, forgot.

I had to take a picture quick this morning before it disappeared. All that was left was this sad little sliver, missing it's whipped cream and Andes mint garnish that Betty Crocker so painstakingly added to their cheesecake in the photo.

Anyway, this cheesecake is GOOD. CRAZY good.



Chocolate Grasshopper Cheesecake
From Betty Crocker's Fall Baking mag

Crust:
15-20 fudge mint cookies, crushed (about a cup)

2 T butter, melted


Filling:
4 oz semisweet baking chocolate

3 8-oz packages of cream cheese, softened

1 c sugar

4 eggs

1 tsp peppermint extract

4-6 drops green food coloring


Place a small baking pan filled with 1-2 cups of water into the bottom oven rack. Heat oven to 300. Wrap foil around bottom and side of an ungreased 8 or 9-inch springform pan. In a medium bowl, mix crust ingredients with a fork until crumbly. Press in bottom and 1 inch up side of pan. Bake for 12 minutes. Let cool.


Microwave chocolate on high for 2 minutes, stirring halfway through, or until melted. Set aside. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth and creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until smooth after each addition. Stir in peppermint and food coloring. Pour filling over crust.

Drop melted chocolate by tablespoons into the filling, allowing the chocolate to sink a bit. Run a knife around the filling to swirl the chocolate a bit.
Bake for 55-60 minutes or until the middle of the cheesecake jiggles only slightly when bumped. Turn oven off and open the door slightly. Leave pan in the oven until it's cool enough to remove without hot pads. Allow to cool on counter top for an hour. Refrigerate for 3 hours.

Remove sides of pan and serve. Garnish with whipped cream and Andes mints if you're feeling extra fussy.


Nat's Notes:
1. It's even better if you leave it in the fridge overnight.

3 comments:

Dave & Chels said...

I, too, LOVE mint. And cream cheese makes anything taste better. If you are trying to watch what you eat, looking at that recipe isn't the best thing. (3 packages of cream cheese??? I guest that's what makes it a cheesecake, right?)
Oh yeah...if you got 9-10 copies of an e-mail I sent you, it was unintentional. My computer was going crazy.

The Rogers said...

mmmm that looks good. I love Mint and chocolate too. Thanks for the recipe :)

Suzanne said...

Natalie - this is not the only reason we miss you, but it's a good reason all the same!!!