Merry Mint Christmas Cheesecake

Mid-December. Christmas tree up at my house — Lily insisted that since the family Christmas is at my place this year (Mai's house can't accommodate the size of the celebration we've grown into), there had to be a tree. She bought it. James drove it over in his truck. The two of them set it up on a Tuesday evening while I sat in my recliner offering opinions and very little physical help. The tree is eight feet tall. The lights are warm white. The ornaments are a mix from across the family — some from Mai's house (Linh and I went through her boxes Saturday), some from Christine's (yes, Christine came over with a box of old ornaments from when the kids were young, and we sorted them together at her kitchen table for an hour, which was its own kind of healing), some new ones from Lily and James.

The Christine afternoon was something. We have not sat alone in a room together in fifteen years. She made coffee. We talked about the kids. She showed me an ornament Tyler made in second grade — a clothespin angel, with a paper face and yarn hair, that she has kept in a box for twenty-three years. I held it. I gave it back to her. She said, "It's yours now. You're the family Christmas tree house from now on." I said, "We share it." She said, "No, you take it." She put it in a small bag for me. I cried in my truck on the drive home. Christine and I will never be married again, but we have arrived somewhere — twenty-five years after the divorce — that has its own kind of peace.

Made bún riêu (crab noodle soup) Sunday — tomato-based broth, freshwater crab paste pounded with shrimp, fried tofu, water spinach, herbs. The cold-weather Vietnamese soup that Mai makes on Christmas Eve. I made it Sunday because Mai gave me her recipe last week (she has been giving me her recipes more freely the last two months — I notice but I don't comment). The crab paste is the hard part. The pounding. The straining. The patience. Mai's broth was always clearer than mine. I think it's the patience. I have a different kind of patience. I have brisket patience. Mai has soup patience. They are different disciplines.

The tree was up, the ornaments were sorted, and Christine had handed me a clothespin angel I hadn’t seen in twenty-three years — the family Christmas at my house was already carrying more weight than any single meal could hold. But a table full of people who have come a long way toward each other deserves something that looks like a celebration. I wanted a dessert that matched the warm white lights on that eight-foot tree, something cool and festive and a little extravagant, something Lily would photograph and James would eat two slices of. This Merry Mint Christmas Cheesecake was exactly that — bright, generous, and equal to the occasion.

Prep Time: 30 minutes | Cook Time: 0 minutes (plus chilling) | Total Time: 4 hours 30 minutes | Servings: 12

Ingredients

Crust
2 cups chocolate sandwich cookie crumbs (about 22 cookies)
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
Filling
3 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon pure peppermint extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups heavy whipping cream, cold
6–8 drops green food coloring (optional)
Topping
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1/4 cup crushed candy canes or peppermint candies
2 tablespoons mini chocolate chips
Maraschino cherries or red sprinkles, for garnish

Instructions

Make the crust. Combine the chocolate cookie crumbs and melted butter in a medium bowl and stir until the crumbs are evenly moistened. Press the mixture firmly into the bottom and 1 inch up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Refrigerate while you prepare the filling.
Beat the cream cheese base. In a large bowl, beat the softened cream cheese with an electric mixer on medium speed until completely smooth and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the powdered sugar, peppermint extract, and vanilla extract and beat until fully incorporated. Add the green food coloring if using and mix until the color is even.
Whip and fold the cream. In a separate chilled bowl, beat the 2 cups of cold heavy cream to stiff peaks. Gently fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture in three additions, using a wide spatula and taking care not to deflate the cream. The filling should be light and airy.
Fill and chill. Pour the filling into the prepared crust and smooth the top with an offset spatula. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight for best results.
Make the whipped topping. Just before serving, beat the remaining 1 cup of heavy cream with 2 tablespoons powdered sugar to soft peaks. Spread or pipe over the top of the chilled cheesecake.
Garnish and serve. Scatter the crushed candy canes and mini chocolate chips over the whipped cream. Add maraschino cherries or red sprinkles for a festive finish. Run a thin knife around the inside edge of the springform pan before releasing the sides. Slice with a warm, clean knife for neat portions.

Nutrition (per serving)

Merry Mint Christmas Cheesecake — The Christmas Tree House Earns Its Dessert