Peppermint Bark Cheesecake

Peppermint Bark Cheesecake

Peppermint bark cheesecake is my absolute favorite winter and holiday dessert. I’m a huge cheesecake fan to begin with, so when I found this recipe, it was amazing. I’ve since tweaked it a bit, but it is really a fun thing to make.

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Christmas Tradition

There are a couple of reasons why this is such a fun dessert to make. One, it just tastes amazing. Two, it is my own tradition for Christmas time. Something I’ve been doing the last few years and really taking it seriously is traditions.

Not just doing or enjoying the ones from the past, but creating new ones with my husband as well. This is something we’ve been making and taking to our family gathering during the holidays for two or three years now. It is just the thing we make. Three, my husband always helps me make it.

I don’t know about anyone else, but I absolutely love it when my husband gets involved in my hobbies, like cooking and wants to help me with a project. This is one of those where he really has always been involved in making it, and then helped me write this recipe. Huge memory and that makes it that much more amazing for me.

Here is the peppermint bark cheesecake recipe!  

Peppermint Bark Cheesecake Crust

22 Oreos (not double stuffed) There are 36 Oreo cookies in a 14.3 ounce package, and that gives you a few to snack on too, if you’re anything like me.

3 tablespoons of melted butter

Peppermint Bark Cheesecake Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Wrap the outside of a 9-inch springform pan in foil (to prevent water seeping in during the baking process). I used a pie pan in this case, and it made things a bit more difficult. Definitely recommend the springform pan.

Mash the Oreos up until finely crumbled. I used a Ziplock bag and a rolling pin, but a food processor would work much better for achieving the right consistency. Mix the butter into the Oreo crumbs to bind them together.

Transfer the mixture into the springform pan.

Compress the crumbs into the pan with a cup (I used a measuring cup) until it is evenly distributed around the pan. You want the crust to be compressed tightly into the pan, otherwise it will fall apart easily.

Bake for 10 minutes (blind bake is the technical term) and then set aside. Blind baking is sometimes referred to as pre-baking is where a pie crust or pastry is baked without the filling. This is typically used with cheesecakes or pies made with pudding or cream. It prevents the crust from becoming too soggy or not cooking all the way through.

Peppermint Bark Cheesecake Filling

3 8oz containers of cream cheese (24 ounces total), softened. I leave it out for about 30 minutes prior to when I’m ready to use it.

1 cup sugar

4 ounces of white chocolate, melted (½ cup) this can be melted over a double-boiler or in the microwave. If melting in the microwave, turn the power down to 50% and microwave in short increments (20 seconds, max) and stir after each time, until completely melted. Otherwise it will just burn, and who wants burnt chocolate?

1 ½ tablespoons flour

1 ½ tablespoons heavy cream

¼ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons peppermint extract

3 eggs

1 bar (3.5 ounces) peppermint bark. I roughly mashed this up into fine pieces using a Ziplock bag and a meat mallet. A food processor works too though.

Directions

In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat the cream cheese until it is smooth. Add sugar (slowly), followed by the remaining ingredients. Mix well, and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed. Cream cheese is thick, so it is very likely you will need to scrape the bowl a time or two as you go.

Add the filling to the springform pan with the Oreo crust in it.

Transfer the pan into a larger pan (I used a square roasting pan) and fill the pan with water, enough that it reaches about halfway up the springform pan. This is called a water bath, and it will prevent the cheesecake from splitting open in the middle. Plus it looks nicer.

Preheat the oven (or reduce the temperature if it is still on from baking the crust) to 325 degrees.

Place the pan(s) in the center of the oven, and bake uncovered for 60 minutes.

Once the 60 minutes has passed, turn the oven off entirely and leave the cheesecake in for an additional 45 minutes. Do not open the oven door during this time because it allows heat to escape and change the cooking time.

Remove the cheesecake from the water bath and allow it to cool to room temperature on the counter for 60 minutes before placing in the refrigerator.

Make sure it has chilled for a minimum of 4 hours before adding the mousse on top. I left it overnight. If you are traveling with this dish (in my case, I was driving it about an hour and a half away) put the mousse in a separate container until arriving at your destination.

Mousse

1 cup Cool Whip, not frozen My husband asked me if we could use the heavy cream we had in place of Cool Whip, since the recipe calls for that as well. This could be done, but I wouldn’t recommend it. My concern would be that it would change the texture and the mousse wouldn’t set up the same way and be really firm, if substituting the heavy cream.

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

2 ounces white chocolate (refer to the filling directions on how to melt chocolate)

1 ½ tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

½ bar of peppermint bark

Chocolate shavings (for decoration)

Directions

Mix all of the ingredients together in the stand mixer.

Spread over the cheesecake and serve! If traveling, I would skip this step until arriving at your destination, and put the mousse in a separate container. This will save a mess, in my opinion.

Store covered in the refrigerator.

Notes

You can make your own peppermint bark, if you should choose. I’ve never done it, and instead just use a bar of chocolate. I’ve seen recipes about making your own peppermint bark, and it is definitely on my list of things to try. However, I think this recipe is time consuming enough without going the extra step of making peppermint bark. Just my opinion, but you can certainly try making it yourself.

Discussion

Have you tried this peppermint bark cheesecake recipe? Let me know your thoughts in the comments! Check out my other dessert recipes!

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