Pinterest Made Me Do It #2

Happy hump day! Today's post is the second post of my Pinterest Made Me Do It series. This one is so exciting because it's perfect for the holiday season...a chocolate chip peppermint bark cheesecake! Oh my!

I made this decadent dessert for when we had Amanda and Nick over. Also - Amanda has finally launched her food blog and you should totally go check it out. One of the recipes featured in her blog is an artichoke dip that she brought over and it was to die for! You can't go wrong with any of her recipes :) https://shesaidfood.com


Now let's get into the cheesecake. This was my first time making a cheesecake so I was slightly (ok VERY) intimidated. First things first is the spring form pan. Luckily my mom had one she doesn't use so she gave me hers....THANKS MOM! :)

Here are the ingredients...

Oreo Crust:
24 Oreos
5 Tablespoons unsalted melted butter

Cheesecake Filling:

4 - 8oz cream cheese softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons peppermint extract
3 eggs
peppermint bark chopped into small pieces
1 cup chocolate chips

White Chocolate Ganache:
5.5 oz high quality white chocolate finely chopped (I used Ghirardelli)
1/2 cup heavy cream

Garnish:
Whipped cream
Crushed candy canes
Dark chocolate shavings

To make the crust:
1. Grease the spring form pan
2. Combine finely crushed Oreo's and melted butter. Then press evenly into the spring form pan and set in fridge while making the filling.

To make the filling:
1. Preheat oven to 350
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Once smooth beat in sour cream, flour, salt, and the extracts
3. Add in eggs one at a time on low speed until mixed
4. Add chopped peppermint bark and chocolate chips with 1 tablespoon flour
5. Once mixture in combined pour into spring form pan
6. Place the spring form pan on a roasting pan with 1 inch of water in the roasting pan
7. Reduce oven temp to 325 and bake for 70-90 minutes (Mine took closer to 90)
8. Once cheesecake is cooked, turn off oven and let set in oven for 30 more minutes
9. Cool cheesecake on a rack and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight

To make the ganache:
1. Bring heavy cream to just a boil and pour over white chocolate.
2. Stir until melted and smooth. Let cool then pour over cheesecake
3. Once the ganache is set, garnish with whipped cream, crushed candy canes, and chocolate shavings

This cheesecake was amazing and not as intimidating as I originally thought (Thank God!). I love peppermint bark during the holiday season so this hit the spot for sure.

Hope you enjoyed my Pinterest Made Me Do It #2! :)

What I'm Loving Friday #8

Happy Friday! I haven't shared a "What I'm Loving' post in a few weeks which means it's way overdue. I do have some fun things to share this week so let's get right into it shall we?

                                                             1.) Old Navy Pajamas

I went Christmas shopping with my mom last weekend (and may have picked up these pj's for myself!). They are SO COMFY. I love the gray and white pattern. Benson made fun of me because it's a lot of gray and looks like you're wearing a onsie but guess what....I love them! 

2.) Because of a Case Cellphone Case

This is one of my Christmas presents! And I maaaaay have already opened it and put it on my phone...oopsies. Anyways, this case is gorgeous and for a good cause! 10% of sales go to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America AND it's on sale right now! I wish I had waited to get it. I paid $24.99 for mine but right now you can get it for $18.74. I've already gotten a lot of compliments on it. 

3.) Christmas Decorating

This is the first year Benson and I have gotten a tree! Our last 2 Christmas' we were in a smaller apartment and really didn't have room. This year we were able to go and get one and I could not be more happy! P.S. Colored lights are the way to go ;)

4.) Krispy Kreme Donuts

YOU GUYS. I have not had Krispy Kreme donuts in seriously like 12 years? This week at work we were surprised with a dozen glorious glazed donuts from the RIT Hospitality department for giving students a tour. We received these on Monday and they were gone by Thursday. #noshame. I remember when we use to have Krispy Kreme and if the light was on you could go in and get a free glazed donut. Those were the days! My favorite donut from Krispy Kreme was the glazed donut with chocolate frosting and rainbow sprinkles. If you live by a Krispy Kreme, know that I am jealous. 

5.) Plans over the weekend

We have some fun plans coming up this weekend! Tonight I will be baking a dessert for our get together with Amanda & Nick at our place tomorrow and it will be featured in my next "Pinterest Made Me Do It" post! Fingers crossed it comes out well. I say I'm making to tonight so it can set but really I'm also thinking that I want to make it tonight because then if it turns out bad I have tomorrow during the day to come up with a plan B! Then on Sunday we are taking a little family trip to Skineateles. Should be fun! 

Check back here next week for my next Pinterest post and more! Have a good weekend everyone :)