This is the recipe I promised to Ali. I thought I'd share it in general because it's super-easy and it's delicious. At least, we think so.
Frozen Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake
Ingredients:
Chocolate cookie-crumb crust (I used to make it with Nabisco chocolate wafer cookies but can't find them anymore; now I buy two pre-made Oreo cookie crusts, take them out of their pans and crumble them up, and add a little melted butter so that they'll stick together and not crumble too much once the cake is cold.)
If you can find those dark chocolate wafer cookies, the crust recipe is:
1 1/4 cups chocolate wafer cookie crumbs (about 24 wafers, crushed)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 8-oz package cream cheese, softened
1 cup finely crushed peppermint candy
1. Spread the chocolate cookie crumb crust in an 8 or 9" springform pan and press onto bottom and slightly up the sides of the pan.
2. Beat the softened cream cheese (leave it out on the counter for about an hour) until fluffy.
3. Slowly beat in the sweetened condensed milk.
4. Whirl the peppermint candy in a food processor or strong blender until most of it is almost powder and a few small to medium pieces remain. Set aside the larger pieces, which always migrate to the top. You don't want big chunks that will crack someone's tooth. The peppermint candy can also be crushed with a rolling pin, which is time-consuming and noisy but can be done. This year I found pre-crushed peppermint hard candy for the first time and only had to whirl it in my Vita-Mix for a few seconds to get the consistency I wanted. Heaven!
5. Stir the cup of peppermint candy into the cheese/milk mix.
6. Beat the 2 cups whipping cream until it forms stiff peaks.
7. Gently fold in the whipped cream.
8. Pour into the springform pan. Sprinkle the top with the larger bits of candy. Freeze for at least 4 hours or overnight.
Here's a photo of what it looks like when done:
