Bailey's Irish Cream Cheesecake

I've said it before... and I'll say it again: I'm obsessed with all things Irish. From the color green, to Guinness to shamrocks to irish car bombs (the shot, not the real thing) to Ireland, itself... I love any and everything associated with Ireland.

So, it makes sense that my favorite holiday is St. Patrick's Day.

This year, I hosted my 2nd Annual St. Patrick's Day Party. And amongst the Guinness, Harp, and Irish Car Bombs (I think we did 6-7 car bombs during the course of the party. I think 10 was the max that I made at once), I had some Irish-y themed baked goods as well. This cheesecake is one of those items.

I made this cheesecake last year, as well. But, this year, I made a few changes to it. I love Baileys, don't get me wrong... but I wanted something a little less IN YOUR FACE Baileys, this year. If you like Baileys, you'll love this cheesecake. And like all cheesecakes, this one is super easy. (Although, we bakers should make a pact right now... we should stop insisting to people how easy cheesecakes are to make... we wouldn't want to take away the wow factor when we present our yummy treats, right?)

Bailey's Irish Cream Cheesecake
Original Recipe Here

First of all, I made this recipe with your regular graham cracker crust. But, I think next year... I might switch it up again and use a vanilla wafer crust or possibly a shortbread crust.

Also, I think this cheesecake would be just as delicious without the addition of the chocolate chips. They look pretty in and on top of the cake, but it's almost overkill for me. The cheesecake is so rich on it's own, it doesn't need too much embellishing (then again, I'm a SUCKER for a plain cheesecake).

Ingredients

Crust:
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
6 tbsp of melted butter
pinch of salt

Filling:
2 1/4 lbs of cream cheese, softened (I used some 1/3 less fat packages)
1 2/3 cups sugar
5 eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup Baileys Irish Cream
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp vanilla
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Crust Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix all crust ingredients together and press into the bottom of a 10 inch springform pan.

Bake for 7-10 minutes and then allow to cool before you pour in cheesecake filling.

Filling Directions:

Beat cream cheese with electric mixer until smooth. Beat sugar in gradually, make sure to keep the sides of the bowl scraped down during this whole process. Add eggs in one at a time and beat until incorporated.

Beat in Baileys, heavy cream, and vanilla.

Sprinkle half of the chocolate chips onto the cooled crust (before you pour the cheesecake filling in). Then gently pour in the filling and sprinkle the rest on top of the cheesecake.

Place a pan of water on the bottom rack of your oven and then place your cheesecake on the rack above it and bake at 325 for 1 hour and 20 minutes or until puffed, springy in center and golden-y brown.

Cool cake completely. And in a perfect world, refrigerate for at least a day before serving.