Monster Cookie Cheesecake Recipe

1. *This cheesecake needs to be made the day before eating it so it has enough time to cool.*
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
3. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, sugars, and peanut butter until smooth. Beat in the eggs. Stir in the corn syrup and vanilla. Mix in baking soda and oats until well blended. Stir in the M&Ms and chocolate chips. Reserve two cups of cookie dough and set aside for the crust. With the remaining dough, use an ice cream scoop to make 12 cookies and place them on a cookie sheet.
4. Bake the cookies for 10 minutes at 350 degrees.
5. Lightly spray a 10″ springform pan with cooking spray. Press the reserved cookie dough into the bottom and about 1/2″ up the sides of the pan.
6. Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the softened cream cheese or 1-2 minutes until it is smooth and creamy.
7. Add the sugar, flour, vanilla and sour cream. Beat for an additional 1 minute. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating between each addition just until blended.
8. Gently fold in the mini chocolate chips and M&M’s.
9. Pour the cheesecake batter onto the cookie crust and smooth the top.
10. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 10 minutes. The center of the cheesecake should still be “jiggly”, but look set. Try not to open the oven door during baking, as this can cause a change in temperature and potentially cause cracks.
11. Remove the cheesecake from the oven and run a knife along the edge of the cheesecake to loosen it from the pan. This will also help prevent cracks as it cools.
12. Allow the cheesecake to cool to room temperature, the cover it with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator to cool completely.
13. After the cheesecake has refrigerated for at least 3-4 hours, prepare the ganache.
14. Heat ½ cup whipping cream in the microwave for 30 seconds or until it is very hot, but not boiling.
15. Place the semi-sweet chocolate chips in a bowl. Pour the hot whipping cream over the chocolate chips and stir it constantly for 1-2 minutes until the chocolate has completely cooled and is smooth and shiny.
16. Remove the outside ring of the springform pan from the cheesecake.
17. Spoon the ganache on top of the cheesecake and spread it out to the sides.
18. Chop about 7-8 of the baked monster cookies into chunks. Sprinkle the cookie chunks on top of the ganache.
19. Cover the cheesecake and refrigerate overnight or until serving.

*When you fold in the mini M&M’s, you want to stir the least amount possible since the colored coating on the M&M’s will start to come off. The swirled color look was kind of pretty. If you want to prevent this, pour ⅓ of the cheesecake batter in the pan, then sprinkle M&M’s on top, and repeat the layers. This way the M&M’s will be spread throughout the cake, and you won’t have to stir them in. br]*Because this cheesecake has a topping, it doesn’t matter too much if cracks develop. I’ve given a few hints above to prevent cracks. Another option is to use a water bath. Sally from Sally’s Baking Addiction has some great tips for baking cheesecake [here . *Do not use mini chocolate chips for the ganache. They do not melt smoothly. *If you want a “dripping chocolate” look for the cheesecake, spoon the chocolate to the edge and use the spoon to just barely push the chocolate over. It will drip down in a mouth-watering way!