Crushed-Peppermint Cheesecake

Christina Schmidhofer

This peppermint cheesecake features a homemade Oreo cookie crust and crushed peppermint candy topping. It’s hard to imagine a more festive holiday dessert.

How to Make It

Step 1
1

Place cookies in a heavy zip-lock plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin. Pour into a buttered 9-inch round springform pan and pour melted butter over crumbs; mix to coat, then press evenly over bottom and about 1/2 inch up sides of pan. Bake in a 300° oven until crust is slightly darker and looks a bit dry, about 10 minutes (leave oven on).

Step 2
2

Meanwhile, in a bowl, with a mixer on medium speed, beat cream cheese and sugar until well blended. Beat in sour cream. Add eggs one at a time, beating to blend after each addition. Beat in flour, vanilla, peppermint extract, and salt until smooth. Pour cream cheese mixture into pan over baked crust.

Step 3
3

Bake until edges are just golden and center jiggles slightly when pan is gently shaken, about 1 hour. Run a knife around edge of pan rim. Place pan on a wire rack and cool cheesecake completely in pan. Cover and chill until cold, at least 4 hours or up to 2 days. Run a knife around rim again, then release rim. If any liquid has pooled on surface of cheesecake, blot dry gently with a paper towel.

Step 4
4

Decorate top of cake with crushed peppermint candy, pressing it in gently with your hands.

Ingredients

 12 ounces creme-filled chocolate sandwich cookies, such as Oreos, broken into pieces
 3 tablespoons melted butter
 1 1/2 pounds cream cheese, at room temperature
 3/4 cup sugar
 1/3 cup sour cream
 4 eggs
 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
 1 teaspoon vanilla
 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
 1/2 teaspoon salt
 1/3 cup coarsely crushed peppermint candy

Directions

Step 1
1

Place cookies in a heavy zip-lock plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin. Pour into a buttered 9-inch round springform pan and pour melted butter over crumbs; mix to coat, then press evenly over bottom and about 1/2 inch up sides of pan. Bake in a 300° oven until crust is slightly darker and looks a bit dry, about 10 minutes (leave oven on).

Step 2
2

Meanwhile, in a bowl, with a mixer on medium speed, beat cream cheese and sugar until well blended. Beat in sour cream. Add eggs one at a time, beating to blend after each addition. Beat in flour, vanilla, peppermint extract, and salt until smooth. Pour cream cheese mixture into pan over baked crust.

Step 3
3

Bake until edges are just golden and center jiggles slightly when pan is gently shaken, about 1 hour. Run a knife around edge of pan rim. Place pan on a wire rack and cool cheesecake completely in pan. Cover and chill until cold, at least 4 hours or up to 2 days. Run a knife around rim again, then release rim. If any liquid has pooled on surface of cheesecake, blot dry gently with a paper towel.

Step 4
4

Decorate top of cake with crushed peppermint candy, pressing it in gently with your hands.

Crushed-Peppermint Cheesecake

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