I was recently asked if I would like to start bringing in treats for birthdays in my office. The company does not give any money for birthday celebrations, but an email is sent out before each birthday asking for donations. I think I was asked for a few reasons. First – everyone in my office knows that I love to cook and bake. There are often leftovers when I bake because there are only 2 of us at home, and my co-workers are usually the recipients of these left overs. Second – donations have become scarce lately, and while $10 won’t buy a store-bought cake, I can easily make one for under $10. And third – you can only have so much Costco cake before everyone refuses to eat the same cake again!!!
I gladly agreed – knowing this would be the perfect excuse to make so many of the recipes I have saved. I can’t justify making cakes at home all of the time with only my husband and I!! And at least this way, my ingredients are paid for.
My first birthday treat was actually last month, but I am just not getting around to posting it. (And with 5 birthdays in September – including my own!! – I will have a lot more to post!!) My husband goes crazy when Girl Scout cookie season comes around. He doesn’t just buy boxes of the cookies, but cases!! Well, the Samoas never last long, but this year, we still had Thin Mints hiding away in the pantry. I decided to use some up in mini cheesecakes before they started to get stale.
I started off by putting a thin mint in the bottom of a cupcake liner in a cupcake pan. Then I made a basic cheesecake, adding in a few drops of mint extract. After the cheesecakes baked, I topped some with a chocolate ganache and others with chocolate curls. My first intention was to not serve them in the cupcake liners, but the cheesecake recipe I used was too soft to take each of the cheesecakes out of the liner. So they weren’t as pretty as I had imagined them, but it worked.
**On a side note – why is it that I try to make everything pretty even though I know I am serving them to a room full of men who really don’t care what it looks like?? My husband gets on me all of the time when I feel like something isn’t “pretty” enough to take into work. But it still matters to me!!
I wish I would have left the mint extract out of the cheesecake – I think it made them too minty. They went over really well, but if I were to make them again (which would have to wait until next year because I used the rest of the cookies) I would leave the mint out. The cookie alone is minty enough. This would be easy to make into a full cheesecake. Just crush the cookies and use them instead of graham crackers for the crust. That’s the good thing about cheesecakes, though – the possibilities are endless!!
Mini Mint Cheesecakes
Base – one Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookie (or use Heidi’s recipe at 101 Cookbooks and make your own!)
Put one cookie in the bottom of each cupcake liner. Prepare mint cheesecake filling.
Cheesecake Filling
adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours
4 8-oz. boxes of cream cheese
1 1/3 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon mint extract
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/3 cups sour cream or heavy cream, or a combination of the two
Working with a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese at medium speed until soft and creamy, about 4 minutes. With the mixer running, add the sugar and salt and continue to beat for another 4 minutes or so, until the cream cheese is light. Beat in the vanill and mint. Add the eggs one by one, beating for a full minute after each addition – you want a well- aerated batter. Reduce the mixer speed to low and mix in the sour cream and/or heavy cream.
Pour the mixture in each of the prepared cupcake liners. Bake in a 350 F oven until they are not jiggly in the middle. (Aaahhh!! It’s been too long since I made these, and I forgot how long I baked them for! )
Prepare chocolate ganache for the topping, or top with chocolate curls once the cheesecakes are cool.
Chocolate Ganache Glaze – recipe here.
A woman after my own heart! I heartily agree without about there being no need to cook the same thing twice!! Why waste time on something you’ve already tried? Fortunately, DH is as culinarily adventurous as I am! Can’t wait to try those little cheesecakes!
Generally I love the combination of mint and chocolate, so when I saw what you did, my ears immediately perked up (or my eyes rather). I think they look, and I bet they taste, FAN-tastic. As soon as I have some people to cook for, I’m trying them.
These look delicious too! I might have to make some more cheesecake this week end!
http://www.chocolateshavings.ca
Oh, they look adorable, Deborah…I love chocolate with mint, and the addition of cheesecake to the mix sounds heavenly! You office friends are lucky indeed! 🙂
I love mint and chocolate, and these cute baby cheesecakes look amazingly good! Well done.
Love mint, especially those girl scout cookies. They look awesome.
Deborah you are right, this is a great way to make all your saved recipes.
Can I come work in your office? Those are INCREDIBLE!
I’m also a big fan of sharing baked goods. Everybody’s happy plus it saves the DH and I from ourselves.
cheers!
Butta Buns
You are so right. This is a recipe to die for! Great stuff!
Ah hello! Yum! They look and sound fantastic.
Ah hello! Yum! They look and sound fantastic.
Mint and chocolate cheesecake sounds interesting. The little cupcake sized cheesecakes look like they would be perfectly portioned. I don’t make sweets too often because I know that I will have to finish them all by myself. When I do make sweets, I try to cut the size of the recipe down.
Oh my…I love minis and I love cheesecake…perfect.
What a creative way of baking! I would have loved working in your office that day!
Mint and chocolate – a lovely combination. I love Aftre Eights just for that reason. These cupcakes really sound spectacular. The next party i certainly will be trying these out!
Oh, I dearly love Thin Mints! This is a very creative way to use them!
They look very pretty 🙂
I think the idea of individual cheesecake is neat! Can’t wait to see the rest of the birthday you’ll be making this month!
ah these little cheesecakes are such a tease ! How about sending birthday treats online :))
Oh my!! These look wonderful! Thin mints are my all time favorite, I also buy them by the case. I can’t wait to try for myself!!
They look terrific! Co-workers ask me if I am sick when I don’t bring my extras to work! I love After-Eight chocolates, mint&chocolate, so I am sure I would love these too.
What a great use for those leftover Girl Guide cookies.(If there are any of course)!!!Come to think of it they won’t be knocking on my door this year because I live in a condo. OH NO!!!!
Okay…when is the next go around for girl scout cookies? These are the bomb! I can’t wait to try them….:)
deborah, those cute cheesecakes are to die for 🙂 I love minty flavours in chocolate.
OMG, Deborah, you are a GENIUS!! My most-adored thin mints as the crust??!?!?! I love it! Only problem is now I have to wait until March to make these! 🙂
thanks for the recipe. I have been thinking what shall I make for my friend’s boy. He loves sweet. I want something cute and want make something new too:)
Oooh, they’re absolutely adorable! Can I ask you a question about mint flavouring – I’ve avoided using it because I don’t want to buy a bottle of extract and find out it tastes bizarre :/ How ‘minty’ do you find your flavouring to be, and is there a great deal of difference across brands?
way to take something yummy and make it super cute!
Yum what a great idea! I love that you used thin mint cookies for the base/crust of a cheesecake. And how awesome that you have a great excuse to bake things often now!! 🙂
These look lovely – I’m thinking that I’ll serve them with coffee AFTER dessert and thereby cram two desserts into the meal!
PS. you must get golden syrup – it is the ultimate comfort food!
Lovely blog
🙂 did you know how cheese was invented? It wasnt necessity, it was an accident, read this