Grasshopper Cheesecake

This was a first for me; I had never made cheesecake before, so I decided it was about time to try something different.  Now, this recipe gave me a little hiccup, but if you like my fix for it, you can use it too!  It tasted really good, and expect more cheesecake in the future!!!!

Crust

30 fudge mint cookies, crushed (about 1 3/4 cups or 1 package)
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

Filling

4 oz semisweet baking chocolate
3 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
4 eggs

1/3 cup green crème de menthe liqueur* (if you don't have creme de menthe or cant find it, use Bailey's Irish Cream coffee creamer and peppermint extract with green food coloring!)

Topping and Garnish, if desired

    Sweetened whipped cream
    Crème de menthe thin rectangular candies for garnish, unwrapped, cut in half diagonally (Andes mints)

    1 Heat oven to 300°F. Wrap foil around bottom and side of ungreased 9-inch springform pan. In large bowl, mix crust ingredients with fork until crumbly. Press in bottom and 1 inch up side of pan. Bake 12 minutes. Cool 30 minutes. You can also use a pie plate; it works nearly as well.  Directions stay the same, you just don't have to remove it from the pan.

    2 In small microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate on High 45 to 60 seconds, stirring once halfway through microwaving, until melted. If necessary, continue to microwave on High in 15-second increments, stirring until smooth. Set aside.

    3 In large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar with electric mixer on medium speed, scraping bowl frequently, until smooth and creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until smooth after each addition. Stir in liqueur. Pour filling evenly over crust.

    4 Drop 8 to 10 tablespoonfuls melted chocolate randomly onto filling, allowing chocolate to sink into filling. With table knife or small spatula, cut through chocolate and filling to swirl for marbled design.

    5 Bake 1 hour 10 minutes to 1 hour 20 minutes or until set 2 inches from edge of pan. Remove from oven; run knife around side of cheesecake to loosen. Return to oven; turn oven off and open door slightly. Cool cheesecake in oven 1 hour. Remove from oven to cooling rack; cool at room temperature 1 hour. Refrigerate 3 hours.

    6 To serve, remove side of pan. Spread the cream over the top of the cheesecake and then add with a star tipped piping bag for additional decoration. Garnish with candies.