S'More Cheesecake (gluten free)

    So, it's no secret by now that I have a thing for s'mores! Let's just get over it, and enjoy another s'more inspired recipe! 
    It may be a secret though that I have always been leery of baked cheesecakes. Generally (not always) they are more dry than I want them to be....it's cream cheese for goodness sake, why is it dry?!? So, I just haven't really had a desire to make one....until now! 
    I had a notion to make a s'more cheesecake, and Googled it--wow, there are a lot of people out there who are as nutty as I am (hazaa!)!  So, I took bits and pieces from the things I saw and read, and made one of my own! 

S'More Cheesecake

Ingredients


For the Crust:

• 2 1/2 cups gluten free graham cracker crumbs, or another gluten free cookie, crushed (I used a box of g.f. animals cookies, and made up the rest of the amount in g.f. chocolate chips cookies that my son wouldn't eat!). I pulsed them into crumbs in our coffee bean grinder!  *You can also just use regular graham crumbs, for a non-gluten free version
• 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 3/4 cups butter, melted
• 2 cups mini marshmallows
• 1/2 cups warmed hot fudge ice cream topping

For the Cheesecake

• 16 oz cream cheese (2, 8 oz blocks), room temperature
• 1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1 cups mini marshmallows
• 1/2-1 cup mini marshmallows (yes, in addition to the mallows mentioned above)

To Garnish:

• 1/4 cup - 1/2 cup Hot Fudge Sauce

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 325° F. Lightly grease a 10 inch springform pan. Cut a strip of parchment to fit around the inside of the pan (just the sides, don't worry about the bottom). Set aside.
2. In a large bowl combine crumbs, granulated sugar and melted butter. Press evenly in and up the sides of the prepared pan.
3. Sprinkle 2 cups of mini marshmallows evenly over crust and then drizzle warmed hot fudge sauce over marshmallows. Set aside.
4. In bowl of stand mixer (or with an electric hand mixer) combine cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk, mixing on low speed until smooth. Add in eggs, one at a time and vanilla. Don't over-mix.
5. Stir in chocolate chips and mini marshmallows. Pour over crust.
6. Bake for 45 minutes until centre is almost set. Remove from oven and sprinkle remaining marshmallows over top. Place back in oven for 5 minutes until marshmallows are puffed and slightly golden. 
7. Cool cheesecake for 30 minutes on wire rack. Cover and refrigerate overnight, or cover and put into the freezer for an hour if you need the cheesecake that day. After the hour in the freezer, put the cheesecake into the fridge. 
8. Drizzle with some more hot fudge topping when you are ready to serve the cheesecake. 

The cheesecake ready to go in the oven, then baked, cooled and ready to be cut & eaten!

   
​    Well, this cheesecake is just too yummy to describe! The crust turned out so nice, and the cheesecake was moist (thank-you sweetened condensed milk), the chocolate was rich, and the mallows on top were a campfire dream (....I'm I the only one who dreams in campfire s'mores?). The mallows in the cheesecake mix just vanish (they sometimes do that), but they added a really nice lightness to the cheesecake. 

Yum, look at that crust! And the cheesecake itself is nice and creamy, with a perfect layer of chocolate in the bottom.

​Happy weekend!