Mother in the Mountains

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Archives for December 2019

Peppermint Mocha Cheesecake Recipe

     motherinthemountains      1 Comment

For the last four years I’ve had to avoid peppermint because, #breastfeedingproblems. You know what I mean. But this winter I have been celebrating everything peppermint! Hence this peppermint mocha cheesecake recipe. Peppermint and chocolate are just meant to be together, put them in a cheesecake and it’s magic. The perfect kind of magic for the holiday season!

Crust

The process is pretty simple, especially if you have a stand mixer but a hand mixer will work just fine. Prep your crust first by mixing melted butter and chocolate graham crackers. Then while it refrigerates make the cheesecake mix.

Ingredients and Process

The ingredient list is pretty straight forward: eggs, cream cheese, sour cream, cocoa, peppermint extract, sugar, and instant coffee. Mix cream cheese well, add the rest of the ingredient and mix very well. Pour into prepared crust and bake!

peppermint mocha cheesecake mix being poured into pan

Bake and Decorate

After baking, cool the peppermint mocha cheesecake in the oven for an hour and then in the fridge for four hours up to eight hours. Then take a few minutes to decorate the entire top for the most magical, show stopping dessert for the main star of the dessert table.

finished peppermint mocha cheesecake

Hope you enjoy and let me know what you think!

Peppermint Mocha Cheesecake

Peppermint Mocha Cheesecake

Yield: 8
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Additional Time: 4 hours
Total Time: 5 hours

What would happen if a Peppermint Mocha and a Cheesecake had a baby? Pure magic, that’s
what. This cheesecake perfectly balances the flavors of coffee, peppermint, and chocolate into
a delicious and elegant dessert.

Ingredients

  • Crust:
  • 3/4 Cup crushed chocolate graham crackers
  • 1/3 Cup melted butter
  • Filling:
  • 1 1/4 Cup granulated sugar
  • 3 Eight ounce bricks cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1 Cup sour cream
  • 1/3 Cup cocoa powder
  • 2 Teaspoons of vanilla extract
  • 2 Teaspoons of peppermint extract
  • 3 Tablespoons of instant coffee
  • 3 eggs, beaten
  • 1/2 Dark chocolate bar, grated

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  2. Spray springform pan and add liner to bottom of pan.
  3. In medium bowl, mix crushed graham crackers and melted butter.
  4. When graham crackers are wet through, press gently into bottom of springform pan. Refrigerate while you make the filling.
  5. For filling: In electric mixer add cream cheese and beat until smooth (no lumps left). Add in sugar while mixer is running on low and cream thoroughly.
  6. Add in cocoa powder, sour cream, vanilla extract, eggs, and peppermint extract and mix.
  7. Sprinkle in the instant coffee. Mix until smooth
    (cheesecakes should have no lumps).
  8. Gently pour mixture into prepared crust.
  9. Carefully place cheesecake in oven, bake 38-40 minutes. Cheesecake should still be slightly jiggly in the middle.
  10. To prevent falling and cracking, turn oven off and let cool in the oven for one hour.
  11. Remove cheesecake refrigerate for 4 hours. Once cool, garnish cheesecake with grated chocolate, crushed peppermint, and whipped cream.
© motherinthemountains
Cuisine: Dessert / Category: Desserts

xo

Faith

Winter Bucket List for 2019/2020

     motherinthemountains      1 Comment

I am so excited to share this winter bucket list! With less than a week until Christmas (and Hanukkah starting in a few days) I’m sure everyone has done lots of holiday traditions and activities. Unfortunately, for those of us that live in the snowier states winter will continue on for at least another two months. The dark and short (but thankfully getting longer!) days are cold and boring.

I personally really struggle with the winter blues. February is generally the toughest month for me. It’s a good thing it’s such a short month. March typically signals the end of the cold and wet. Getting through January and February can be a chore so I wanted to share what helps make my winter a little more bearable.

Winter Activities!

This winter bucket list is short enough that you can make it a goal to check off all the activities by the end of the winter! Pick a day of the week that you’ll schedule the bucket list activity for and then watch the cold days fly by. I did my best to pick non-holiday themed activities, that way you can start now but continue on into the New Year.

Some of my favorite winter activities are the ones that actually don’t require going outside. Curling up with hot chocolate, tea, or cider and a good book is definitely one of my favorite cold day activities. However, it is important to get outside sometimes too and planning a weekend activity with the family will keep the winter from feeling too gloomy.

I hope this winter bucket list makes the colder months more fun!

Here’s a good soup recipe for the soup cook off

Plus a good cookie recipe for the treat making day

Have a wonderful winter

xo

Faith

Chocolate Peppermint Cookies Recipe

     motherinthemountains

This is the second December in a row we’ve made these chocolate peppermint cookies so now I’m going to say it’s a tradition. Chocolate and peppermint are the perfect flavors for the holiday season. I also like that they’re soft and a little gooey – while I love a good thin mint there’s something about a soft cookie I can’t resist.

Another thing I like about this cookie recipe is that it is easy to use an alternate to processed sugar. I also use white wheat flour which is less processed than white flour and the recipe still results in a soft and smooth batter. It’s nice to have a cookie that feels slightly less sugary and more wholesome than most other treats at this time of year.

Quick and Easy Process

chocolate peppermint cookie dough

These chocolate peppermint cookies only require a handful of ingredient and are easy to make. First, cream together the liquid ingredients and then add in the dry ones. It is usually a good idea to sift or mix together the dry ingredients first. But when I’m short on time I toss the dry ingredients on top and mix it extremely well before putting it in the freezer.

I like to use a mini ice cream scoop to make the perfect size. I actually thought I disliked making cookies until I got one and then I realized I just didn’t like balling the dough! A cookie scoop makes the process much quicker.

The reason freezing (and refrigerating) is required is so that the cookies don’t spread too much. Baking with liquid sweeteners has an added risk of runny desserts but a quick freeze usually does the trick. I also don’t flatten out the top at all before baking and they still turn out nice and smooth.

Once they’re baked, add crushed peppermint and then try not to eat them all in one sitting. The easy printable version is below.

chocolate peppermint cookies on a plate

Chocolate Peppermint Cookies

Yield: 2 dozen
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • 2/3 cup maple syrup or honey
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/4 tsp natural peppermint extract
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla
  • 1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1/3 cup cocoa powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1 candy cane (finely crushed)
  • 1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degree.s
  2. Mix together maple syrup (or honey) with butter until creamy.
  3. Add extracts and egg and mix well.
  4. Spoon flour and cocoa into measuring cups to measure and then sift together all dry ingredients into the bowl. (Or just throw it all on top like me) Mix together very well.
  5. Add semisweet chocolate chips and stir with a spatula.
  6. Freeze for 10 minutes and then scoop onto non-greased cookie sheet. Refrigerate for another 5-10 minutes before placing in oven. Meanwhile put a candy cane in a plastic bag and crush it.
  7. Bake 8-10 minutes until the edges are no longer shiny but the center is.
  8. Sprinkle crushed candy cane over the cookies and allow to cool.

Notes

Adapted from Chewy Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

© motherinthemountains
Cuisine: Dessert / Category: Recipes

If you love this delicious cookie recipe, check out the recipes below:

Cutout Sugar Cookie Recipe

Let me know what you think in the comments below!

xo

Faith

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