Peppermint Twist Cheesecake Food

PEPPERMINT CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°. Place a greased 9-in. springform pan on a double thickness of heavy-duty foil (about 18 in. square). Securely wrap foil around pan. , In a small bowl, combine cookie crumbs and butter. Press onto the bottom and 1 in. up the sides of prepared pan. Place pan on a baking sheet. Bake until set, 12-14 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. , In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in the sour cream, flour and extracts. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined. Fold in chips. Pour into crust. (Pan will be full.) Place springform pan in a large baking pan; add 1 in. of hot water to larger pan., Bake at 325° until center is just set and top appears dull, 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 hours. Remove springform pan from water bath. Cool on a wire rack 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer. Refrigerate overnight. Remove sides of pan., For topping, in a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Stir one-fourth whipped topping into mixture; fold in remaining whipped topping. Spread or pipe onto cheesecake. Garnish with miniature candy canes if desired.

PEPPERMINT CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• Place cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla extract in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until smooth. Mix in the eggs 1 at a time until well-incorporated. Fold crushed peppermint candies into filling with a spoon, reserving 2 tablespoons for decorating the top. Pour filling into the prepared crust.
• Bake in the preheated oven until cheesecake is set, about 40 minutes. Allow to cool at room temperature, about 1 hour.
• Refrigerate cheesecake until completely chilled, 4 hours to overnight. Sprinkle reserved peppermint candies on top.

PEPPERMINT TWIST CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• FOR CRUST:
• Wrap outside of 9-inch-diameter springform pan with aluminum foil. Finely grind cookies with sugar in processor. Add butter, process to blend. Press mixture onto bottom and up sides of prepared pan. Refrigerate crust while preparing filling.
• FOR FILLING:
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Beat cream cheese in large bowl until smooth. Add sugar and beat until well blended. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition. Beat in half and half, then vanilla and peppermint extracts. Stir in crushed peppermint candies. Pour filling into crust.
• Bake cheesecake until filling is set in center and edges are puffed, about 50 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool 10 minutes. Maintain oven temperature.
• FOR TOPPING:
• Stir sour cream, sugar and extracts in small bowl to blend. Pour mixture over hot cheesecake , covering completely. Return cheesecake to oven and bake until top begins to set, about 8 minutes. Transfer to rack; cool completely. Cover and refrigerate overnight. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep refrigerated.)
• Using small knife, cut around sides of pan to loosen cake. Remove pan sides. Garnish cake with peppermint candies.

CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°. Place a greased 9-in. springform pan on a double thickness of heavy-duty foil (about 18 in. square). Wrap foil securely around pan. In a small bowl, mix cookie crumbs and sugar; stir in butter. Press onto bottom of prepared pan. In a microwave, melt chocolate chips; stir until smooth and cool slightly. Repeat with white baking chips., In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in sour cream, flour and extract. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until blended. Remove 2 cups batter to a small bowl; stir in cooled chocolate chips until blended. Pour over crust. Stir peppermint chips and cooled white chips into remaining batter; gently spoon over chocolate layer. Place springform pan in a larger baking pan; add 1 in. of hot water to larger pan., Bake until center is just set and top appears dull, 75-85 minutes. Remove springform pan from water bath. Cool cheesecake on a wire rack 10 minutes. Loosen sides from pan with a knife; remove foil. Cool 1 hour longer. Refrigerate overnight, covering when completely cooled. , Remove rim from pan. For ganache, place chocolate in a small bowl. In a small saucepan, bring cream just to a boil. Pour over chocolate; stir with a whisk until smooth. Let stand 3 minutes. Spread over cheesecake. If desired, garnish with whipped cream and additional peppermint crunch baking chips or kisses.

PEPPERMINT CHIP CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine cookie crumbs and butter. Press onto the bottom and 1 in. up the sides of a greased 9-in. springform pan., In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar and cornstarch until smooth. Add eggs and egg yolk; beat on low speed just until combined. Stir in the cream, extracts and, if desired, food coloring. Fold in chocolate chips. Pour into crust. Place pan on a baking sheet., Bake at 325° until center is almost set, 50-60 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer. Refrigerate overnight, covering when completely cooled. Top with additional crushed cookies if desired. Refrigerate leftovers.

PEPPERMINT BARK CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Bark: Butter baking sheet (to secure parchment) line baking sheet with parchment paper, smoothing out any wrinkles. Microwave dark chocolate with 1 teaspoon vegetable oil for 1 and a half minutes, stir, add peppermint extract. Spoon mixture onto prepared baking sheet, spreading as THINLY as possible. Cool in refrigerator, while doing next melting step. You do not want the dark chocolate to get too hard or the two chocolate layers will not bond. Microwave white chocolate with 1 teaspoon vegetable oil for 1 and a half minutes, add peppermint extract. Spread white chocolate over dark chocolate. Before white chocolate cools press in peppermint candies. Refrigerate two hours. Dump out onto towel. Store in air tight container up to one week.
• Crust: preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare 10 inch springform pan for water bath by putting tin foil on outside of pan. In a medium bowl, combine cookies and melted butter. Press mixture into bottom and 1 inch up sides of a 10 inch spring form pan.
• Filling: Boil some water for water bath. Chop Peppermint Bark. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar at medium speed with a mixer until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in peppermint extract, vanilla extract, sour cream and 3/4 of the Peppermint Bark. Reserve the other fourth of bark for garnish. Spoon batter into cooled crust. Put spring form pan into rimmed baking dish, add boiling water to outside of springform pan. Lol! But you never know.
• Bake about one hour, edges should be firm. Turn oven off, and leave cheesecake in oven with door closed for 1 hour. Remove from oven, and cool completely on a wire rack. Cover and chill overnight before serving. Garnish with whipped cream and Peppermint Bark, if desired.
• Note if you reduce size, reduce the baking time. If reduced to 4 servings, try 20 to 30 minutes.

PEPPERMINT WHITE MOCHA CHEESECAKES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Place vanilla wafers in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Transfer to a large bowl and stir in the melted butter until well combined.
• Divide the mixture between the wells of the pan and press down into an even layer. Bake for 5 minutes and let cool. Lower oven temperature to 325 degrees.
• Beat together the cream cheese, sugar and flour until smooth and creamy. Stir in the vanilla and then add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
• Remove about 1/2 cup of the filling and transfer to a small bowl. Add the peppermint extract and red food coloring and mix until well combined.
• Gently fold the red batter into the regular batter once or twice until streaked throughout. Use a small ice cream scoop or spoon to divide the cheesecake batter evenly between each well.
• Bake in a 325 degree F oven for 13-15 minutes until centers are just set. Remove from the oven and let cool completely. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours and up to overnight.
• Melt the white chocolate in the microwave for 30 second intervals, stirring after each, until melted and smooth. Alternatively melt in a double boiler. Transfer to a squeeze bottle or piping bag fitted with a small tip and pipe out handles in a "C" shape onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Freeze for about 5 minutes to harden.
• Remove the cheesecakes from the pan and peel away the liners. Insert a white chocolate handle into each and then garnish with a dollop of whipped topping, mini marshmallows and crushed up candy canes before serving.