Peppermint and Vanilla Cream Cheesecake

                        Peppermint and Vanilla Cream Cheesecake

CRUST

25 chocolate graham crackers
1 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
12 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

CHEESECAKE

3  8oz. pkgs cream cheese
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. peppermint extract
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup crushed peppermint candy, plus more for garnish
red food coloring
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup confectioner's sugar

For the crust:
Crush graham crackers into fine crumbs. Mix the crumbs with the sugar, salt and melted butter. Press the crumb mixture evenly into the bottom and all the way up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Chill in freezer for 15 minutes.

For the cheesecake:

Beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the sugar and mix to combine. Beat in the peppermint and vanilla extracts and carefully fold in the crushed peppermint candy. Stir in 2-3 drops red food coloring until filling is a light pink color. Pour filling into the crust; smooth top with a spatula and refrigerate cheesecake until firm-21/2-3 hours.

Mix together the sour cream and confectioner's sugar, and spread mixture evenly over the top of the cheesecake. Chill for one more hour. Serve with extra crushed peppermint on top. Serves 8-12.

Enjoy!!  *I purposely left out the red food coloring and the folded in peppermint candy.