It took me two tries to get this recipe right. I ended up adding about 15 minutes to the baking time from what the original recipe suggested (only 45 minutes). Without that extra time, I ended with a cheesecake that completely fell apart because it wasn’t done in the middle!

The real genius of this cake is the cinnamon in the crust…combined with the mint, it’s amazing! I do think you could easily leave out the sour cream layer, which seemed a little out-of-place on this particular cheesecake, but it wasn’t bad, so I’ll include it for the sour cream lovers out there! For an even mintier taste, substitute peppermint extract for the vanilla in some or all of the layers.

Crust

• 2 cups mint Oreo cookie crumbs
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Cheesecake

• 32 oz. cream cheese
• 1 1/4 cups white sugar
• 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups mint Oreo cookie pieces (a rough chop of the cookies works well)

Sour Cream Topping

• 16 ounces sour cream
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Chocolate Ganache

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine mint Oreo crumbs, melted butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a medium bowl; firmly press mixture evenly onto bottom and 1 inch up sides of a 10-inch springform pan. Bake at 350 for 5 minutes; set aside.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Gradually mix in 1 1/4 cups sugar, 1/3 cup whipping cream, flour, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Pour 1/3 of batter into prepared pan. Top with mint Oreo pieces; pour in remaining batter.

Bake at 350 for 1 hour. Remove cake from oven. Combine sour cream, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1 teaspoon vanilla; spread evenly on cheesecake. Continue baking for 7 minutes. Turn oven off and leave cheesecake in oven 30 minutes. Remove cheesecake, and let cool completely on a wire rack.

Combine 1 cup whipping cream and chocolate chips in a saucepan; stir over low heat until chocolate melts, and then stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla. Pour mixture over cheesecake while still warm. Refrigerate until serving time, at least 8 hours for refrigerator, or overnight. Remove from refrigerator about 1/2 hour to 1 hour before serving, remove ring from springform pan, decorate to choice.