Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake Bars
Planning a holiday party? These Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake Bars are such a festive offering! Creamy chocolate cheesecake is nestled in a crunchy cookie crust, and spiked with cool peppermint. So perfect for this time of year!
This is a sponsored post, written by me, and created in partnership with Philadelphia Cream Cheese. All opinions expressed herein are straight from my heart.
When the temperatures really start to plunge and the weather gets blustery and cold, there’s nothing I love more than to warm up with a mug of hot cocoa. Even better if it’s spiked with a bit of cool peppermint! I just love the combination of rich chocolate and bracing mint. It puts me right in the holiday spirit!
And when it comes to desserts, you really can’t do much better than cheesecake. Am I right? It’s so rich and creamy and satisfying.
I’ve been tinkering around with my cheesecake recipe for months now. At this point, I really think I have the formula perfected. It yields such a creamy result. It’s dense and rich, but, at the same time, melt-on-your-tongue light. I always use Philadelphia Cream Cheese—it’s made with real milk and cream, has no added preservatives, and the quality just shines through.
When you infuse it with deep, rich cocoa and melted bittersweet chocolate, you end up with the most incredible dessert. And that hit of cool mint! You just want to keep going back for another bite.
Be sure to put this recipe on your holiday menu this year! Your guests will adore it. Rich, creamy chocolate cheesecake bars, with a hint of festive peppermint and a crunchy cookie base—these are just perfect for a party!
Thanks to Philadelphia Cream Cheese for allowing me to partner with them to come up with some fun and delicious recipes! I had a blast. Do you have any favorite holiday recipes using Philadelphia Cream Cheese? I’d love to hear your favorites in comments below. For additional inspiration, click here.
This post contains affiliate sales links.
Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
- 24 chocolate sandwich cookies
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter,, melted
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (43 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/8 teaspoon (0.13 teaspoon) kosher salt
- 24 ounces (680.39 g) Philadelphia Cream Cheese, (3 bricks)
- 4 large eggs
- 2 egg yolks
- 1/2 cup (119 ml) heavy cream
- 4 ounces (113.4 g) bittersweet chocolate,, melted
- 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
- Starlight mints, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Generously mist a 9-inch square baking pan (3 inches high) with nonstick spray, and line with a sheet of parchment paper, allowing the excess paper to drape over the sides of the pan.
- Place the chocolate sandwich cookies in the bowl of a food processor, and chop finely.
- Stir in the melted butter, and press the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan.
- Place the sugar, cocoa, and salt in a large mixing bowl, and whisk to combine.
- Add the Philadelphia Cream Cheese, mixing on medium-low speed until combined.
- Add the eggs and yolks, one at a time, stopping to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula after each addition.
- Stir in the cream, melted chocolate, and peppermint extract, and transfer the batter to the prepared pan.
- Rap the unbaked cheesecake sharply on the counter a few times to eliminate any large air bubbles.
- Place it in a larger baking dish, and pour very hot water into the larger dish until it comes up about 1 inch around the cheesecake pan.
- Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees F, then lower the oven temperature to 250 degrees F and bake for another 65 minutes, or until set around the edges but still slightly jiggly toward the center.
- Turn off the oven, and prop the door ajar with a wooden spoon. Allow the cheesecake to cool slowly in the oven for at least an hour. Refrigerate 2 hours to overnight before removing from the pan and cutting into bars.
- Garnish cheesecake bars with starlight mints just before serving.
Yum, these look fantastic! And I love love love chocolate and peppermint together 🙂
Oh my God, girl! These look absolutely amazing and in such a perfect shape. I don’t know how you made them look so perfect. They seem like a nice cheat snack to have after the dinner hihihi :). I can just imagine how these chocolate peppermint cheesecake bars must taste with hot chocolate! Aaaaaaaa mniam!
Thank you so much!! They cut really cleanly, I love that. You just have to wipe the knife blade clean after each cut and you’re golden. So happy you like these! Thank you so much for the awesome feedback!
Allie this is PERFECTION! Chocolate and mint is one of my favorite Christmas combos, and cheesecake is my all time favorite dessert. It looks just SO creamy!
It’s super creamy and I love that! Thank you so much sweetie! Hope you have a wonderful weekend xo
These look SO tasty. I’m bringing a vanilla cheesecake to a holiday party this weekend! It’s such a fun way to celebrate. I totally agree that Philadelphia is the only brand for cheesecake. I’ve tried a few different brands, and nothing compares.
Oh awesome! I hope you have a blast at the party. Thank you so much Lindsey!
It definitely looks like you have perfected your cheesecake recipe, Allie! This looks so decadent, creamy and seriously dreamy! LOVE the flavors! I am not planning a Christmas party, but I think I might plan a party of one now! Just me and this cheesecake! 🙂 Cheers!
That was how it was for me, lol! No party necessary. The cheesecake IS the party haha! Thank you so much Cheyanne; have a great weekend dear!
This looks so creamy and decadent. Holiday perfection!
Thank you so much Jocelyn! Safe travels, boo!