As we’ve combined households, both MBH and I have also combined our Christmas traditions. His family celebrates Christmas morning with traditional (read: HIGHLY ALCOHOLIC) Irish eggnog and the less-Irish bagels & lox. My family, who we’re visiting this year, celebrates Christmas Eve & Day with the 24-hour marathon of “A Christmas Story,” my grandmother’s peanut butter fudge, and an all-day multi-house marathon of present opening.

And although we guard our family recipes with our lives, I thought I’d share one given to us by our friend Bonnie, which has made a guest appearance at every holiday party we’ve attended this season, and makes the perfect present for our amazing neighbors: Creamy Chocolate Cheesecake.
Chocolate Wafer Crust
1 ½ cups chocolate wafer crumbs
1 ½ cups chopped almonds
¼ of margarine/butter melted

Filling
2 8oz packages of softened cream cheese
2/3 cup sugar
3 eggs
12oz chocolate chips melted
1 cup whipping cream
2 T margarine/butter melted
1 t vanilla

Topping
1 cup sour cream
1 ½ t vanilla
1 t sugar
½ oz or ½ sq unsweetened chocolate melted

Heat oven to 325.  Butter a 9 in” spring form pan.  In a large bowl
blend crust ingredients. Press into bottom and up sides of  prepared
pan.  Refrigerate.

In a large bowl beat cream cheese and 2/3 cup of sugar until smooth.
Add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition.   Add melted
chocolate chips and beat well.  Add whipping cream.  Beat well.  Add
margarine/butter and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until smooth.  Pour into
prepared crust.   Bake for 55 – 65 minutes or until edges are set.
(To keep the cheesecake from cracking down the middle when it bakes my
mother told me to place a pan of water on the shelf under the shelf
you bake the cheesecake on and it seems to work)

In a small bowl combine sour cream, 1 ½ teaspoons of vanilla and one
teaspoon of sugar.  Stir until smooth.  Spread over cooled cheesecake.
Drizzle with ½ ounce of melted chocolate in a lace pattern.
Refrigerate for several hours or overnight.