Holiday Chocolate & Peppermint Cheesecake Bar Recipe

I just received word from the North Pole that I am on the “naughty” list. It seems that the man in red got wind of the fact that I was posting these cheesecake bars. And yes, they are naughty. Creamy cheesecake, swirled chocolate, set over a tender chocolate crust and garnished with peppermint candy canes. Yeah, I think that takes me out of the “healthy food blogger” category for today. But you know what? I’m okay with that. Because these are so darn good, and deserve to be in every holiday dessert line-up.

For the crust, I used Anna’s Chocolate Mint Thin Cookies that I found at the grocery store, but regular chocolate wafers will work perfectly.

Be sure to plan ahead when making these cheesecake bars, because they need to cool for 2 hours and then rest in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours, but preferably overnight. In other words, they are not a “spur of the moment” kind of dessert. But I promise that they are worth the wait.

A Worthy Cause:

As I mentioned in the Chocolate Covered Pretzels with Crushed Candy Canes post, my trusty OXO tools are always at the ready when I get down to some serious baking.

Baking tools aside, I am truly touched by the story of their affiliation with Cookies for Kids’ Cancer. Cookies for Kids’ Cancer is a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising fund for pediatric cancer research, and it was started by two OXO employees, Gretchen and Larry Witt, who lost their little boy, Liam, to pediatric cancer.

Photo courtesy of Cookies for Kids’ Cancer

They spearheaded the bake sale of all bake sales to raise money. There have now been bake sales all over the country for Cookies for Kids’ Cancer. In addition, OXO developed the “Good Cookie” Spatula and, in 2012, the sales of this spatula helped raise more than $250,000 for the organization.

Consider buying a Good Cookie spatula, or head to the Cookies for Kids’ Cancer site to see what you can do to help.  Wouldn’t your friends love to receive some of the Mint-Night Chocolate or Ginger Spice cookies you can buy from the site?

Now, let’s get cooking.

The recipe:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Prepare a 8-inch square baking pan by lining the pan with aluminum foil, leaving 3-4 inches of foil draping over the sides of the pan.

The Crust:

Place the chocolate wafers into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until the wafers form fine crumbs, about 30 seconds. To the crumbs, add butter, brown sugar, flour, and salt. Pulse until the ingredients are fully combined. Using the bottom of a measuring cup or your fingers, press the crumbs into the bottom of the prepared pan.

OXO tools seen here: Stainless Steel Measuring Spoons and Small Spatula

Bake until the crust is beginning to brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Let the crust cool on a cooling rack for about 30 minutes.

The filling:

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until it is very smooth, about 3 minutes. Scrape the beaters and sides of bowl frequently. Gradually beat in granulated sugar until the mixture is combined, about 1 minute. Beat in eggs, one a time, making sure that each is fully incorporated. Beat in sour cream and vanilla extract until fully combined, about 30 seconds. Scrape the cream cheese mixture into the baking pan, over top of the cooled crust. Spread evenly.

Other OXO tools seen here: Stainless Steel Measuring Cups, Medium Spoon Spatula and 4 Piece Mini Measuring Beaker Set

In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the chocolate chips and heavy cream. Melt in the microwave on 50% power, stirring every 20 seconds, until smooth.

Using a teaspoon, spoon the melted chocolate gently onto random places over the surface of the cheesecake. Using a small knife, gently swirl the chocolate into the cream cheese mixture.
Bake until the edges are set but the middle still jiggles slightly when the pan is shaken slightly, 35 to 40 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking.

Place the pan on a cooling rack, sprinkle with half of the crushed candy canes (these will melt on top) and allow the bars to cool for 2 hours. Cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, and up to 24 hours.

Using the overhanging foil, lift the bars from the pan. Sprinkle the remaining crushed candy canes over the top. Gently remove the foil and cut into 16 bars.

Other treats with chocolate and peppermint:

Cookin’ Canuck’s Chocolate Marshmallow Pops Three Ways: Candy Cane, Heath Bar & Coconut
Cookin’ Canuck’s Chocolate & Peppermint Candy Cane Wedding Cookies
Tutti Dolci’s Peppermint Bark
Diethood’s Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha Latte
Peaches & Cream’s Peppermint Mocha Cake

Holiday Chocolate & Candy Cane Cheesecake Bar Recipe

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Nutrition Facts
Serving Size
Amount Per Serving	As Served
Calories 269kcal Calories from fat 175
% Daily Value
Total Fat 19g	29%
Saturated Fat 11g	55%
Transfat 0g
Cholesterol 71mg	24%
Sodium 166mg	7%
Carbohydrate 22g	7%
Dietary Fiber 1g	4%
Sugars 18g
Protein 4g

Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs:

	Calories	2000
Total Fat	Less than	65g
Sat Fat	Less than	25g
Cholesterol	Less than	300mg
Sodium	Less than	2,400mg
Total Carbohydrate		300g
Dietary Fiber		25g

From the kitchen of Cookin Canuck. www.cookincanuck.com

Serves Makes 16 bars     adjust servings

Ingredients

Crust

• 4 oz. chocolate wafers, broken into 1-inch pieces
• 6 tbsp (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 3 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1/8 tsp salt

Filling

• 2 (8 oz. each) packages cream cheese, softened
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 oz. bittersweet chocolate chips (or chopped chocolate)
• 2 tbsp heavy whipping cream
• 8 mini candy canes, crushed

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Prepare a 8-inch square baking pan by lining the pan with aluminum foil, leaving 3-4 inches of foil draping over the sides of the pan.

The Crust:

1. Place the chocolate wafers into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until the wafers form fine crumbs, about 30 seconds. To the crumbs, add butter, brown sugar, flour, and salt. Pulse until the ingredients are fully combined. Using the bottom of a measuring cup or your fingers, press the crumbs into the bottom of the prepared pan.
2. Bake until the crust is beginning to brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Let the crust cool on a cooling rack for about 30 minutes.

The filling:

1. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until it is very smooth, about 3 minutes. Scrape the beaters and sides of bowl frequently. Gradually beat in granulated sugar until the mixture is combined, about 1 minute. Beat in eggs, one a time, making sure that each is fully incorporated. Beat in sour cream and vanilla extract until fully combined, about 30 seconds. Scrape the cream cheese mixture into the baking pan, over top of the cooled crust. Spread evenly.
2. In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the chocolate chips and heavy cream. Melt in the microwave on 50% power, stirring every 20 seconds, until smooth.
3. Using a teaspoon, spoon the melted chocolate gently onto random places over the surface of the cheesecake. Using a small knife, gently swirl the chocolate into the cream cheese mixture.
4. Bake until the edges are set but the middle still jiggles slightly when the pan is shaken slightly, 35 to 40 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking.
5. Place the pan on a cooling rack, sprinkle with half of the crushed candy canes (these will melt on top) and allow the bars to cool for 2 hours. Cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, and up to 24 hours.
6. Using the overhanging foil, lift the bars from the pan. Sprinkle the remaining crushed candy canes over the top. Gently remove the foil and cut into 16 bars.

by From the kitchen of cookincanuck.com

Recipe Notes

Adapted from America's Test Kitchen.

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by OXO. Regardless of sponsorship, OXO tools are simply my favorite to work with in the kitchen.