Mint Chocolate Cheesecake Bars

This is a neat recipe, particularly if you like mint and chocolate together. The cream cheese flavor adds an extra twist. It's a great recipe to make for dessert for a lot of people -- otherwise, be prepared for leftovers.

Ingredients:

- 2.5 cups finely crushed Oreo cookies (you can use any kind of Oreos; generic is fine too)
- 1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted

- 1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
- 1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon peppermint extract

- 1 cup (6 oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 package chocolate mint candies (e.g. Andes), chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a medium bowl, combine cookie crumbs and butter until well-mixed. Press mixture firmly into the bottom of a 13x9 inch pan. Bake 6 minutes, then cool.

In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk, eggs, and peppermint extract until smooth. Pour over cooled cookie base. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Cool completely.

In a heavy saucepan, melt chocolate chips and drizzle over the top of the bars. Sprinkle chopped mint candies over the top. Cut into bars. Refrigerate leftovers, covered.