Peace, Love, and Cheesecake

            Coffee and I go way back. When I started middle school, my mom would drop me off at the mall with a friend, and I would make a beeline to the coffee shop on the second floor. I would order a blended mocha, stop by See’s candy to get a chocolate lollipop, and feel like the coolest eleven year old ever, walking around the mall with my coffee and candy. Since then, I have collected many fond memories that include coffee. Like, the time me and three friends took a road trip with my mom and ended up at an antique shop…I was so bored that I drank cup after cup of coffee from a vending machine at the shop, until I was so caffeinated that you could hear me laughing from across the store. It was a long drive back to Vegas that night…Or, all those Saturday mornings as a student teacher when I would make a huge pot of black coffee and drink the entire thing while I meticulously wrote my lesson plans and graded papers. Or, memories with my friend Brittany, who loves coffee as much as I do, and would dodge traffic to cross Maryland Parkway with me during college, just to get to the Starbucks. These days, coffee and I meet on Friday nights and weekends like old friends. I hardly ever make it to Starbucks, but when I do, I always order the same thing…grande non-fat caramel macchiato. This cheesecake, which is ridiculously easy, tastes just as rich and caramel-y. (Though, sadly, it is not non-fat).  Make sure you invite friends over to share this one…and brew a big pot of coffee to go with it.

Caramel Macchiato Cheesecake

Ingredients:

18 Oreo cookies

¼ cup melted butter

¼ cup chocolate chips

¼ cup instant coffee

½ cup plus 3 tbsp. caramel ice-cream topping

½ cup whipping cream

1 pkt. Unflavored gelatin

24 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 ¼ cups sugar

Steps:

1.     Grease 8 inch springform pan.

2.     Process cookies until fine. Add butter and mix. Press into bottom of pan. Freeze pan.

3.     Place chips and coffee granules in medium bowl. Pour ½ cup boiling water over and stir. Let stand 1 minute. Add ½ cup caramel topping and whisk to blend. Let stand 10 minutes.

4.     Meanwhile, sprinkle gelatin over ¼ cup cold water in a small saucepan. Let stand 1 minute. Stir over low heat until gelatin dissolves. Whisk into coffee mixture.

5.     In a mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Reduce speed to low and beat in coffee mixture. Pour into crust and refrigerate at least 6 hours until firm.

6.     Beat cream and 2 tbsp. caramel topping until soft peaks form. Add a dollop to each slice, or spread over entire cheesecake, and add extra caramel drizzle.