Quick and easy peppermint chocolate chip cheesecake bars featuring a buttery crust, silky cheesecake filling dotted with mini chocolate chips and a rich chocolate ganache with crushed candy cane on top! A scrumptious treat dressed up for your holiday table!
When asked what she wants to bake, Tiffany’s answer is always chocolate. (she’s my girl after all).
We’ve made muffins, we’ve made quick bread, we even made cookies but this time we both wanted something a little more “next level”. Tiffany and probably lots of other people think cheesecake is advanced skills level but it is not. It’s probably one of the easiest desserts to make once you know the basic cheesecake rules.
What are my tips and tricks for a foolproof cheesecake? Glad you asked!
- It’s very important to have the ingredients at room temperature. Leave the eggs and cream cheese on the countertop for about 1-2 hours depending on how warm is in your kitchen. If you’re in a hurry you or you forgot to take your ingredients out, place the eggs in a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes. Do not boil or microwave them! Just let the eggs warm up in the water. For the cream cheese, you can microwave it for about 30 seconds. Remember to remove the wrapper before doing so!
- A light beating is all it’s needed. If you over-mix the cheesecake filling you’ll most likely end up with cracks. That’s why is important to have the ingredients at room temperature. If your cream cheese and eggs are cold, you’ll over-beat the filling incorporating too much air into it.
- If you’re making cheesecake bars (like I’m most of the time) there’s no need for a water bath. Just make sure you do not open the oven door for the first 3o minutes or your oven temperature will drop and the results will be less desirable.
- Do not overbake the cheesecake! It can be tricky, especially if you’re new to baking cheesecake, but the rule of thumb is “if the center is just set, the cheesecake is done” Don’t bake it until the cheesecake is fully set and a toothpick comes out clean (similar to baking a cake). The cheesecake will fully set as it cools down.
- And speaking of cool down, have patience. Do not remove the cheesecake from the oven and place it immediately in the fridge. It will crack, it will collapse and leaving you wishing you had not wasted the ingredients and your time.
Now that we covered the basics, let’s talk a little bit about these peppermint chocolate chip cheesecake bars.
The buttery chocolate chip crust is actually one of the Martha White baking mixes I bought from the local Kroger. You can read about my shopping trip here.
Combine the baking mix with some melted butter and your cheesecake crust is done! How easy was that?!
I love the convenience of Martha White baking mixes! They have been the leader in Southern baking mixes for years and have saved my cornbread countless times! (yeah, that’s why there’s no cornbread recipe on the blog)
I also use their cornbread mix to bread my chicken. So much better than plain breadcrumbs!
Tiffany loves the mixes even more! Knowing that she needs just one more ingredient to make a sweet treat makes her think she is such a big girl!
For the filling, I used cream cheese, sugar, eggs, peppermint extract and mini chocolate chips. I should have probably used more chocolate chips or a mix of semi-sweet chocolate chips and mini chocolate chips. Lesson learned!
To dress up these chocolate chip cheesecake bars, you’ll need a little more cheesecake and cream to make the ganache and crushed candy cane. Don’t you think they are so pretty and festive?
And who can resist anything peppermint chocolate this time fo the year? Not me!
Craving more? Sign up for a trEATs affair email newsletter and get all the recipes sent right to your inbox!
Be sure to follow me on social media, so you never miss an update!
Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram | Bloglovin’
You may also like:
Yields 12-16 bars
Quick and easy peppermint chocolate chip cheesecake bars featuring a buttery crust, silky cheesecake filling dotted with mini chocolate chips and a rich chocolate ganache with crushed candy cane on top! A scrumptious treat dressed up for your holiday table!
15 minPrep Time
35 minCook Time
Save RecipeIngredients
- 1 package Martha White® Chocolate Chip Muffin Mix
- 1/4 cup melted butter
- 2 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, room temperature
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
- 2 oz baking chocolate, chopped
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- crushed candy cane
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 325F. Line an 8 square baking pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a medium size baking bowl combine the chocolate chip muffin mix with the melted butter. With your fingers press the mixture on the bottom of the prepared baking pan.
- In the mixing bow of your stand mixer add the cream cheese and the sugar. With the paddle attachment on, beat on low speed until creamy.
- Beat in the peppermint extract and the eggs just until combined.
- With a spatula, fold in the chocolate chips
- Pour the cheesecake filling over the chocolate chip crust.
- Bake in the heated oven for 35 minutes.
- Turn the oven off and open the door ajar. Leave the cheesecake in the oven for at least 1 hour.
- Chill in the fridge for a couple of hours. before cutting into bars.
- Once the cheesecake is cut int bars, make the ganache.
- In a small bowl add the chopped chocolate and cream. Microwave for 30 to 60 seconds until the chocolate starts to melt. Stir until smooth and silky.
- Spoon a little ganache on top of each cheesecake bars. Finish with crushed candy cane.
- Serve!
If you enjoyed these peppermint chocolate chip cheesecake bars, you may also like
Chocolate ganache cheesecake bars
Candy cane chocolate cheesecake bars
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of J.M. Smucker’s®. The opinions and text are all mine.
Comments