This frozen peppermint cheesecake is not only delicious, but it’s also easy to make! It’s perfect for the busy holiday season, and great for sharing.
My husband and I just had the “slowing down” talk. One or the other of us brings it up every few months, the need to pare down our list of activities and commitments and spend more time being a family. We try not to overload our schedules, but somehow, every minute of every day seems to fill up with business. And with all of the extra Holiday festivities, December is the busiest month of all.
It usually feels like a marathon of parties, outings, projects, and trips, and we rush, rush, rush around, and then Christmas has come and gone…and we haven’t even stopped to enjoy it or reflect on the meaning of the season. And we deserve to give ourselves more than that!
In an effort to save more time for important things like drinking hot cocoa with my little ones and writing letters to Santa, I’m going to try to keep all of my Holiday treats this month quick and easy.
To kick things off, I have a to-die-for frozen peppermint cheesecake recipe for you that takes mere minutes to throw together. With a dark, chocolatey cookies crust and wintery candy cane filling, it’s the perfect dessert for any December dinner. And the recipe makes two cheesecakes, so you can keep one for yourself and give one away. Check that neighbor gift off your list!
Frozen Peppermint Cheesecake
The perfect holiday dessert, even on the busiest of days! Originally shared by my sweet cousin Wendy in an old family reunion cookbook.
Ingredients
- 1 8-oz brick cream cheese, softened
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 cup crushed peppermint candy canes (about 16 candy canes), plus more for sprinkling on top
- 1 pint heavy cream, whipped to stiff peaks
- 2 store-bought oreo cookie pie crusts
Instructions
- Combine cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, and candy canes (except for the ones to sprinkle on top) in a large bowl and beat until smooth. Gently fold in the whipped cream. Divide the mixture evenly between the two chocolate crusts. Freeze until firm, at least 4 hours.
- Remove from freezer, sprinkle with extra crushed candy canes, and serve immediately.
For more holiday desserts, CLICK HERE and visit my recipe archives.
Oh my, that looks so pretty and delicious!
Thanks, Sharon! They really are delicious, and so unbelievably easy to make!
Hi, I have a question. I want to make a tiered dessert using several different sizes of springform pan. Do you think the stacks would hold up when frozen? I would probably have to stack it right before serving (thinking I wouldn’t have enough room in the freezer to keep it stacked). This looks wonderful!
Hmmmmm. The cheesecake is pretty solid when frozen, but it thaws quickly, so you’d definitely have to stack it just before serving, and then serve it right away. Are you planning on cutting it stacked, or serving it like you would a wedding cake, cutting slices from one tier at a time?
Cutting it one tier at a time. I also want to do some sort of decoration once it’s all put together, but maybe I can do that on each individual frozen layer. I will make it work somehow, because this sounds so delicious and also easy. I always do the Christmas dessert and in the past they have been so labor intensive. I’m determined this is the year of “keeping it simple”, BUT delicious! Thanks for the suggestion! 🙂
do think i could use this recipes in cupcake form? And do you think they would hold up on a table for a Christmas party or melt too quickly?
I definitely think you could do cupcakes. They do soften pretty quickly, so I don’t think they can sit out on a buffet for long.
Do you think adding plain gelatin would help to set it up for a longer time? Or substitute some of the whipping cream with more cream cheese? I really like the idea of the flavors but I am thinking more of a chocolate sandwich cookie with the peppermint cheesecake filling. Crazy!
Hey Scott. I think a chocolate sandwich cookie with peppermint cheesecake filling would be great! I don’t know that this recipe is a good jumping-off point for that though. Maybe just do a really delicious peppermint cream cheese frosting for the middle??
I would like to make only 1 pie. My thoughts are to cut all the ingredients in half, except for the cream cheese, or would you suggest cutting that in half as well? Also, have you added peppermint extract to give it more peppermint flavor? I’m also assuming you have added some food coloring as well? Thank you!!
Hi Victoria! If you decide to make just one cheesecake, I would go ahead and cut all of the ingredients in half, even the cream cheese. However, I think it is actually easier just to make two of them. If you only need one, just give the other one as a holiday gift!
As far as the peppermint extract goes, I haven’t tried adding any, but I’ve found the filling to be plenty pepperminty without it. And no food coloring added! I made sure I used candy canes with lots of red stripes, and when finely crushed, they were a very lovely and deep pink color.
Happy Holidays!
Hi Lulu!
How long would you be able to keep these pies in the freezer? I will bring one of the pies to a dinner party on Wednesday, and the other on Saturday…I want to make sure it will still be ok a few days later!
Thanks and Happy Holidays!
Hey Lynda! I think you’d be totally OK make them on Wednesday and keeping one in the freezer until Saturday. As I mentioned in a previous comment, they do freeze pretty solid, so you should be fine! Happy Holidays!
Can u just use cool whip instead of whipping the heavy cream?
Hi! Although I haven’t tried it, you probably could use cool whip in place of whipped cream. I have another frozen pie recipe that uses cool whip and it always turns out. Good luck!
How many ounces for the sweetened condensed milk?
Hi Vanessa! I’m not home to check, but I believe it’s a 14-oz can.
OK, thanks! Just wanted to make sure because the 140z can was the only one I could find and I wasn’t sure!
Just wonderful! I posted this wonderful recipe over on my Christmas blog. https://luluthebaker.com/2013/12/recipe-redux-frozen-peppermint-cheesecake.html
I’m so there!! Yum!
What a lovely Christmassy dessert for a hot, Australian Christmas lunch! Yum! I have to make this one! Merry Christmas to you all!
Why must I serve it immediately after adding the crushed peppermint topping?
Hi Annette. It’s purely aesthetic. The candy cane will start to bleed, that’s all. It won’t look as pretty after a while, but it will taste exactly the same.
Thank you for this recipe. It’s SO good and they turn out very pretty. Very easy…a keeper!
Yay! They really are perfect–easy, beautiful, and delicious! Happy Holidays!
I made this 2 years ago. I’d googled recipes to use up the extra candy canes and went with this one. My now ten year old son has begged me to make it again. He’s asked in the summer. He’s asked for his birthday. Seriously, he’s asked at least a dozen times in 2 years. I’m so glad I’ve found this recipe again. He’s going to be so happy! Thank you!
How fun! I’m glad you guys are big fans. I’m forever grateful to my cousin for sharing the recipe with me. It is a winner!
I think that this would be sooo cute for Valentines day, and putting it in a heart shaped spring form pan. I am not sure where my MIL found my set, but its a thought to make it thicker like a more traditional cheesecake, and maybe not melt as quick. Either way the presentation in the heart would be cute I think.
Hi Michelle! If you give it a try, please let me know how it works!
The recipe calls for 2 oreo pie crusts, so does that mean it makes enough for 2 pies?
Yep! In the instructions, it says to divide the filling mixture evenly between the two crusts. It’s a great dessert–enjoy!
Do you need to cover with plastic wrap before freezing?
I always use store-bought pie crusts, and they come with that plastic cover, which I do use. If you do cover them with plastic wrap before freezing, try to lay it loosely on the surface so that it doesn’t squish the filling too much.
Yummy, yummy! I made this for Christmas dinner this year and it was delicious. I loved that it only took about 15 minutes to make even though my 5 year old was helping and I was able to make it 3 days in advance. I divided my filling in half before adding the candy canes so I could make one pie with candy canes and the other pie a different flavor. I chose to try stirring in some baileys for the second pie and I garnished with chocolate shavings. Both flavor turned out great. I only wish my candy cane pie was as pink as yours.
Hi Amy! You can always had a drop or two or food coloring! I just used candy canes with lots of red in them.
Did you use a good processor to crush the candy canes? I’m afraid of not crushing them enough manually.
Did you use a food processor to crush the candy canes? I’m afraid of not crushing them enough manually.
Hi Alan. I think I did use a food processor to get them crushed really, really fine. It does beat up your food processor bowl, however. If you don’t want to do that, you can most definitely try to do it manually. Just be really thorough. Happy Holidays!
My family have been making this dessert for as long as I can remember. In fact my mom would use left over filing and make small dollops to freeze. Then we would put them on top of our hot chocolate. Soooo yummy!