Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

I am excited to say that today I made my first cheesecake ever. And it was delicious! I used a recipe I got from my mom, because I have always loved her chocolate chip cheesecake.

But...cooking from my mom's recipes is not the same as my mom's cooking. She guesstimates more than measures, and sometimes makes substitutions without ever writing them down. I have learned this by now, so when I tasted the cheesecake, it was just a bit off from hers. My dad stopped by and had a piece, and informed me that even though the recipe uses a graham cracker crust, she has always made hers with Oreos. Mystery solved!

Doesn't it look yummy? Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup butter or marg., melted
• (3) 8oz. packages cream cheese, softened
• (1) 14oz. can sweetened condensed milk
• 3 eggs
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup chocolate chips, divided
• 1 tsp. flour

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. In bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, cocoa powder, sugar, and butter; press evenly into bottom of 9-inch springform pan. In large mixer bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually add milk, beating until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well. In small bowl, toss 1/2 cup chocolate chips with flour to coat; stir into cheese mixture. Pour into prepared pan. Sprinkle remaining chocolate chips over top. Bake 1 hour. Turn oven off; allow to cool in oven 1 hour. Remove from oven; cool to room temperature. Refrigerate.