White Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake

This cheesecake was inspired by the Cheesecake Factory's Peppermint Bark cheesecake, which is only available around the holidays. I couldn't find a recipe that was exactly what I wanted, but I found one that came pretty close and just made some minor changes to it. I don't think it as good as the Chubby Hubby Cheesecake that I made for Thanksgiving, but it was still very enjoyable. The red and green candy canes gave it a very festive touch. It also was the first cheesecake I made in my new springform pan that I got for Christmas! I ended up having to double the crust because there was no way a single recipe was going to cover the whole bottom of the pan!



White Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake
Adapted from RecipeZaar

Ingredients:
2 cups chocolate graham cracker crumbs
1 stick butter, melted
4 tablespoons sugar
3 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened (I used reduced fat)
3 eggs
4 oz. white baking chocolate
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons peppermint extract
Crushed candy canes for garnish (I used 1/2 a box, so 4 or 5 candy canes)

Directions:
1. Mix graham cracker crumbs, 4 tablespoons sugar and melted butter together to make crust. Press mixture into bottom of 10-inch springform pan. Bake crust at 325F for 10 minutes. Cool.

2. Mix cream cheese and 3/4 cup sugar until just blended. Add peppermint extract and eggs, one at a time, mixing after each until blended.

3. Melt white chocolate in microwave or double boiler and stir into cream cheese mixture.

4. Pour mixture over cooled crust. Bake 45-50 minutes at 325F or until center is almost set. Cool completely, then refrigerate for (at least) 4 hours.

5. When ready to serve, spread a thin layer of whipped topping or whipped cream on top of cheesecake (if desired) and sprinkle with crushed candy canes. You can sprinkle with red and green sugar, too, if you like.