Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake with Chocolate Ganache

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Now that we are past Thanksgiving, I am gearing up for December holidays! It’s such a busy month for us, between my son’s birthday, Christmas parties, taking a vacation, and then of course, Christmas, that I need to get a solid plan on things before it’s the last minute! When I heard M&M's® had a new flavor, M&M's® White Peppermint, I knew it would be perfect for holiday baking. I have been crazy about making cheesecakes lately, so I really wanted to try my hand at a Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake with Chocolate Ganache, and I am so glad I did, because it came out awesome!

I headed to Walmart to pick up the M&M's® White Peppermint candies (click for coupon), and picked up some other stuff along the way.

I added some Pillsbury™ Funfetti® cake mix to my cart – I was hoping to find the holiday kind because it has festive green and red candies, but the regular would work just fine. This M&M's® Holiday Snowflake Cookies recipe is on my must make list this holiday season.   I also picked up some M&M's® Holiday Milk Chocolate candies, and M&M's® Holiday Peanut candies. I always use these when I am baking, so when I see a good price, like in Walmart’s holiday aisle, I stock up on them. I also picked up some Great Value Milk, because who doesn’t love a tall glass of milk with creamy chocolate cheesecake?!

I grabbed all my other ingredients and headed home to get baking! Speaking of baking, we have some favorite recipes from influencers competing to win a kitchen makeover. By voting on your favorite photo, you are entered in a drawing to win one of eight KitchenAid® mixers. Check it out at the bottom of this post!
This Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake with Chocolate Ganache was actually really easy to make. I know what you are thinking, cheesecake is hard to make, but stop- it is totally easy! I love making it because it has really become a no-fail type of recipe for me. You could even make this cheesecake regular, not chocolate, if you wanted, by just leaving out the melted chocolate from the cheesecake mixture. Either way, once you get those M&M's® White Peppermint candies on the top, you are done and everyone will be impressed with your holiday baking. One tip, make this cheesecake the day before you need it. Keeping it in the fridge to setup overnight is really ideal, and you don’t want to skimp on that.

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Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake with Chocolate Ganache

Prep Time

5 mins

Cook Time

1 hr

Total Time

1 hr 5 mins

 

Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake with Chocolate Ganache is the perfect holiday treat!

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake with Chocolate Ganache

Servings: 10 servings

Ingredients

Ingredients for Crust

• 2 cups crushed chocolate graham crackers
• ⅓ cup butter

Ingredients for Filling

• 3 -8 ounce packages cream cheese 24 ounces total, softened
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
• 7 ounces condensed milk half a full size can
• 6 ounces dark chocolate chips melted
• ⅓ cup M&M's® White Peppermint roughly chopped

Ingredients for Ganache

• 6 ounces dark chocolate chips
• 4 TBS heavy whipping cream
• ½ cup M&M's® White Peppermint chopped

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Place a baking dish with about an inch of water in the bottom of the oven**

2. In a medium bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs and butter, mix well to moisten. Press into the bottom of a 10 inch spring form pan.

3. Using a stand mixer or electric mixer, add cream cheese and sugar to the bowl, mix on a high speed to combine. Add eggs, one at a time until combined. Add vanilla and peppermint extract; mix. Add condensed milk and melted chocolate chips; combine until just mixed. Remove bowl, add ⅓ cup chopped M&M's® White Peppermint; fold to combine. Pour filling on top of graham cracker crust and evenly smooth out the top. Place into oven and cook for 50-60 minutes, or until just set.

4. Remove from oven and allow to cook on the counter for 1 hour. Place into fridge and leave for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.

5. The next day, using a double boiler, add chocolate chips and heavy whipping cream; mix while melting, until melted and combined. Use a spatula to spread ganache over the top and sides of the cake. Sprinkle ½ cup M&M's® White Peppermint over the top.

6. Slice and serve. Store in refrigerator.

Recipe Notes

**This water dish will help humidify the oven - leave at the bottom while the cheesecake bakes.

Since we love Milk so much over here at Domestic Superhero, I also wanted to let y’all know about the Great American Milk Drive. Did you know that hungry children and families are missing out on lots of essential nutrients because milk isn’t typically donated to food banks? It’s in very high demand, and kids really need it to grow strong bones. Milk is naturally-nutrient-rich; with 9 essential nutrients, including 8 grams of high-quality protein per serving.  If you want to help, you can visit this website, and make a small donation. You can also help by purchasing 2 bags of M&M’s® at Walmart (9.4 oz bags or larger) and up to a gallon of milk will be donated to the drive. You can also log onto Milk Life to learn about the need for more nutritious foods in America's food banks and how your small donation can make a big impact.

Like desserts as much as I do? Check out these other amazing recipes from Domestic Superhero (click picture for recipe):

Thanks for visiting!

- Allyson