i did it.

Some things are just intimidating: agency bosses, 18-wheelers, aerobics instructors. And truthfully, I’d always considered the cheesecake to be this elusive, diva of a dessert that I would never attempt. It’s probably because I don’t really care for them because Heaven knows I would have whipped one up before now if I were going to eat it myself. But thanks to my sweet MIL, I am the proud owner of a set of springform pans. And what do you make with springform pans? Cheesecake. And I did.

Elf Cheesecake (photo from Tasty Kitchen, too)

FOR THE CRUST:
24 whole Oreo Chocolate Sandwich Cookies
½ cups Melted Butter

FOR THE FILLING:
½ cups Hot Fudge Topping
¼ cups Jiffy Creamy Peanut Butter
4 whole Butterfingers, Chopped
6 whole Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, Chopped
24 ounces, weight Cream Cheese, Room Temperature
1 cup Granulated Sugar
1 cup Sour Cream
2 teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
3 whole Farm Fresh Eggs, Slightly Beaten

Instructions

For the crust: Crush the cookies in a food processor. Add the melted butter and mix well. Press onto the bottom and partially up the sides of a 10″ Springform pan which has been covered (on the outside) with aluminum foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 6-8 minutes.

For the filling:
Microwave the hot fudge topping until just soft enough to mix, but not hot. Mix in the peanut butter and stir until smooth; set aside. This will be for your peanut butter fudge ripple effect.

Chop up your candy in preparation

In a food processor, beat cream cheese, sugar, sour cream and vanilla until smooth. Add eggs and process an additional 5-7 seconds.

Pour half the batter over the cooked crust.

Drizzle half of your peanut butter/fudge sauce over the cheesecake batter and use a knife to gently ripple it into the batter.

Sprinkle half of the chopped candy over the top.

Pour the rest of your cheesecake batter into the pan. Repeat the ripple and candy layers with the remainder of each.

Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes, or until the center is just set.

Cool on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes; then carefully run a knife which has been dipped into boiling water around the edge of your cheesecake pan to loosen the softened candy from the sides. Do not remove the sides yet. This will make life much easier when you go to serve this later.

Cool another 30 minutes, then put in the refrigerator overnight.

My tips:

I'd always heard that cheesecakes crack all the time. To cool mine, when the cake was done (the inside will be a little jiggly), I turned the oven off and cracked the oven door to let the cake cool slowly for 30 minutes. Then I took the cake out and let it cool on the wire rack for another 30 minutes before I put it in the fridge. Say no to crack!