Enjoy this delicious minty chocolate holiday dessert, savoring it by yourself or with your family and friends for Valentine's Day. I've turned one cheesecake recipe into 3 smaller cakes.
This recipe is prefect for Valentine's Day and doesn't overwhelm with too much mint flavor. The mint in the Oreo cookie gives a hint of mint for the entire bar. But if you like more mint, just a little extract to the chocolate ganache.
I love the creaminess of the cheesecake filling, the mint in the crispy Oreo crust and the smooth chocolate ganache. It’s a delicious bite for the Valentine season.
Make the crust out of Oreo mint cookies. Then mix the vanilla cheesecake filling. After the mini cheesecakes are chilled, make the chocolate ganache and spread over the top.
Serve the cheesecakes whole, garnished with Oreo mint cookie crumbles or strawberries…or cut in quarters or halves to share with your besties.
Preheat your oven to 350F degrees.
Prep your three 4” non-stick springform pans:
- Lightly brush the bottom and sides of the pan with soft butter.
- Cut a circle of parchment paper to fit the bottom of each pan and place in the each one.
Prep your water bath:
- In a 2-3” rimmed pan large enough to hold all 3 of the springform pans, heat about 1 inch of water in the pan in the oven at 350F degrees. You’ll want the hot water to be about 1” up on the springform pans.
- Yes, the water bath helps keep the top filling from cracking.
Gather up your Ingredients:
2 C Oreo Mint Cookies, finely ground
1 T Sugar
2 T Butter, melted
Cheesecake Filling:
1 – 8 oz Cream cheese block, room temp
½ C Sugar
1 t Corn starch
2 t Vanilla extract
1 Egg, SMALL, beaten
½ C Heavy cream
Ganache Ingredients:
½ C Heavy cream
1/2 C Chocolate chips, semi-sweet or dark chocolate
1/16 t Mint extract, optional
Time to mix and bake the crust:
- In a food processor, grind up the Oreo mint cookies until very fine.
- Add the sugar and then the melted butter and pulse 2-3 times until completely combined.
- Press into the prepared baking pan.
- Bake at 350F degrees for 8-10 minutes. (I learned to bake them in my large oven. The first time I baked them in my upper oven in which the rigid rack is much closer to upper heating elements. The crusts began to burn before the time was up. Luckily, they were fine.)
- Set aside on a rack to cool until you have the filling to add for further baking.
- When cooled a little, wrap each springform pan in two layers of aluminum foil, to avoid any water seeping into the cheesecakes. Set aside.
Mix and bake the cheesecake filling:
- With an electric mixer, beat the room temperature cream cheese until free of lumps.
- Add and beat in the beaten egg and vanilla extract until combined.
- Sprinkle in the corn starch and beat until combined.
- Beat in the heavy cream, just to combine.
- Pour the cream cheese filling, equal parts into each springform pan.
- Place the foil wrapped pans in the water bath in the oven.
- Bake at 350F degrees for 45 minutes.
- The centers should be just a little jiggly and the edges should be a light golden brown.
- If the tops are too soft on top, bake 5-10 minutes more.
- Take out of the oven and cool on a rack for 2 hours.
- Chill in the refrigerator until cold all through. I like to chill them overnight, then add make and add the ganache the day.
Mix and spread the Ganache:
- In a microwave safe bowl, heat the heavy cream but do not boil. I heat it for 10 second intervals until it’s very warm but not scalded or boiling.
- Add the chocolate chips and let set for a couple of minutes.
- Stir for a couple minutes until it is smooth.
- Pour over the chilled cheesecakes, dividing it evenly between the 3.
- Quickly spread and garnish with broken or halved mint Oreo cookies.
- Chill and serve. Cut each round cheesecake in quarters or halves. They are delicious!
This is an easy recipe, yet it takes a little time, and its deliciousness makes this dessert well worth the extra effort. You’ll appreciate the creaminess of the cheesecake filling, the cool ganache and the crispy Oreo mint crust.
Savor every single bite of this delicious mint Oreo cheesecake dessert with family and friends over Valentine's Day..."Bake your own Memories!”
Comments