An iconic flavor of the holidays, gingerbread is a bold flavor often seen in the form of cookie men or cookie houses. Today, I have used it in a cheesecake with a gingerbread cookie crust. It’s perfect for Christmas dessert and it will put you in the holiday spirit because it fills the whole house with a great gingerbread smell!
First, start off with making the gingerbread cookie crust. Here are the ingredients you will need for the crust. Keep in mind that the portions are a little weird because this is an recipe from gingerbread cookies cut into fourths. Feel free to quadruple the recipe and use the rest of the dough for making extra gingerbread cookies!
-A little less than 1½ cups all purpose flour
-1/4 teaspoon baking soda
-A little less than half a teaspoon salt
-1 teaspoon ground ginger
-1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
-A little less than half a teaspoon ground cloves
-1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
-1/2 cup softened butter
-1 cup packed brown sugar
-1 egg white
-A little less than half a cup of molasses
Whisk together the flour, cinnamon, ground ginger, ground nutmeg, ground cloves, salt, and baking soda together.
Beat the brown sugar and butter on high speed in an electric mixer until fluffy. Add the egg white and beat until combined. Pour in a little less than 1/2 cup molasses. Then reduce the speed to low and gradually add in the flour mixture. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let sit in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. After an hour has passed, take the dough of the refrigerator and roll until it is ¼ of an inch thick. It should look like one big gingerbread cookie. Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and cook for 6 minutes. Then bake for about 12 minutes until crisp but not dark. Be careful, the cookie bakes quickly and burns easily! Watch it carefully.
Once the cookie is out of the oven, let it cool briefly. Break the cookie into chunks and place into a food processor and pulse until finely ground. Measure out two cups of the ground cookie and combine with ¼ cup granulated sugar, and 4 tablespoons butter in a bowl. Press the mixture into the bottom and ½ the way up the sides of the springform pan. Wrap the outside of a 9-inch springform pan in 2 layers of tin foil. Bake about 10 minutes or until set.
Once the gingerbread crust has set, it is time to start the cheesecake filling. Below are the ingredients needed for the filling:
-1½ cups granulated sugar
-1 teaspoon vanilla extract
-4 large eggs at room temperature
-1/4 cup molasses
-1/4 teaspoon salt
-1 teaspoon ground ginger
-1½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
-1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
-1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
-1/2 tablespoom to 1 tablespoon lemon zest (I like having a bit more lemon flavor in my cheesecake so I zest 1 large lemon)
Begin by beating the 2 pounds of cream cheese in a mixer for about 3 minutes until it is fluffy. Add the 1½ cups sugar and vanilla and beat together. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula as needed. Add the eggs one at a time and combine well after each addition. Beat in the molasses, salt, spices, and lemon zest. Pour the cream cheese filling into the springform pan with the cooled gingerbread crust.
Reduce the oven temperature down to 325 degrees. Bring some hot water to a boil in a pot on the stove. Place the cheesecake in a roasting pan and pour the water into the roasting pan until the water reaches halfway up the sides of the pan. Bake until the cheesecake has set but the center is still wiggly. The baking should take about an hour. Take the springform pan out of the roasting pan and let cool on a rack. After cooled, let refrigerate uncovered overnight.
When ready to serve, run a sharp knife under some hot water and cut the edge of the cheesecake away from the springform pan. Then unhinge the springform pan from the cheesecake. Sprinkle with cinnamon on top for decoration. Enjoy!
