My original plan for Thanksgiving was to make a peppermint cheesecake, but that plan changed. First, two of the people who were most excited about peppermint cheesecake were spending Thanksgiving in Michigan. Second, cheesecakes are more involved to make and as I took a realistic look at my schedule, it just wan’t going to happen.
I have a deep love for peppermint so I decided to create a simpler peppermint cheesecake bar with a chocolate fudge cake mix crust. This is much easier than making a cheesecake but you still get the creamy peppermint cheesecake flavor.
The trickiest part of this recipe was getting the cake mix. Ron does our shopping and I had put “chocolate cake mix” on the list. He said there were so many types to choose from he grabbed the first thing that said “milk chocolate” on it. When he got home and I was putting away the groceries, I noticed he had bought brownie mix not cake mix! I probably could have made this recipe with a brownie base but that’s not the consistency I wanted. The next day he came home with a chocolate fudge cake mix and that was perfect!
Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake Bars Recipe
Perfect for any Christmas gathering, these Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake Bars are simple to make!
- 1 18.25 oz Chocolate cake mix I used chocolate fudge
- 1 stick butter melted
- 3 eggs
- 2 8 oz packages cream cheese softened
- 2 drops Young Living Peppermint Vitality Essential Oils may substitute 1 tsp peppermint extract
- 1 cup Candy Canes crushed
- 2 cups Milk Chocolate Chips divided
Preheat the oven to 350°F
Grease a 13 x 9" baking pan with non-stick spray. Set aside.
In the large bowl of a stand mixer,mix combine the cake mix, butter, and 1 egg on medium speed for 1-2 minutes.
Press the chocolate dough into the bottom of the prepared pan and bake for 15 minutes.
While that is baking, clean the mixing bowl and paddle so you can make the filling.
Beat together the cream cheese, sugar, 2 eggs, and peppermint essential oil on high speed until smooth.
Fold in 1 cup chocolate chips and 1/2 cup crushed candy canes.
Pour the cream cheese mixture over the partially baked crust.
Bake an additional 24-26 minutes until just barely set in the middle.
Remove from oven and place on a wire rack.
Put the remaining 1 cup of chocolate chips in a microwaveable bowl. Carefully melt the chips by microwaving in 15 second intervals and stirring between each interval. Stop when the chocolate is smooth.
Drizzle the melted chocolate over the top of the cheesecake layer.
Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of crushed candy canes on top.
Once cooled completely cover and store in refrigerator until serving.
I love to cook using my Young Living Vitality Essential Oils. In this recipe I used Peppermint Vitality instead of peppermint extract. The choice is up to you which you use and I have listed both options in the recipe card above.
Other Peppermint Recipes for You to Try
- Candy Cane Cake
- Peppermint Trifle
- Candy Cane S’mores Bars
- Peppermint Bark Popcorn
- Candy Cane Brownie Bites
- Peppermint Chocolate Chip Fudge
- Candy Cane French Silk Pie
- Better Than Christmas Cake
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