Peppermint Bark Cheesecake

Ingredients

• 30  starlight mints divided
• 4 oz baker's chocolate white melted
• 3 Tbsp butter melted
• 32 oz philadelphia cream cheese softened
• 4  eggs 
• 0.3 tsp peppermint extract 
• 4 oz baker's semi-sweet chocolate divided
• 1 cup sugar 
• 1.5 cups vanilla creme-filled chocolate sandwich cookies crushed finely
• 2 cups cool whip whipped topping thawed

Equipment

• bowl
• frying pan
• oven
• knife
• blender
• springform pan

Directions

1. Heat oven to 325F.
2. Mix cookie crumbs and butter until blended; press onto bottom of 9-inch springform pan.
3. Bake 10 min.
4. Meanwhile, crush 25 mints. Beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl with mixer until blended.
5. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each just until blended.
6. Add white chocolate, crushed mints and extract; mix just until blended. Chop half the semi-sweet chocolate; stir into batter.
7. Pour over crust.
8. Bake 55 min. to 1 hour or until center is almost set. Run knife around rim of pan to loosen cake; cool before removing rim. Refrigerate 4 hours. Meanwhile, crush remaining mints; chop remaining semi-sweet chocolate.
9. Spread cheesecake with 1 cup COOL WHIP just before serving. Drop remaining COOL WHIP in dollops around edge of cheesecake.
10. Sprinkle remaining crushed mints and chopped chocolate over center of cheesecake.