Holiday Recipes: Peppermint Mocha Cheesecake

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Don’t miss the Peppermint Mocha Cheesecake Recipe at the end of the post!

Growing up, one of our favorite holiday recipes was a Mint Chocolate Mousse that my mom used to make.  I remember it as a labor intensive dish and difficult to achieve the perfect consistency.  The mousse was served in beautiful crystal glasses only used for this dessert that would teeter precariously in the freezer until ready to be served.  But it was all worth it.  That dessert tasted like Christmas.

Apparently, that mousse had raw egg in it.  So one day, my mom declared it was a recipe that wasn’t safe for eating any more.  Either that or the hassle was no longer worth it, I should go back and ask…

It’s now been decades since I’ve had THE mousse, and so this year, I decided to recreate the flavors in my very own dessert – with cooked eggs.  No excuses to get me out of this one in years to come!

Enter: Peppermint Mocha Cheesecake.  Fortunately, this is a super-easy recipe.  I’m no baker, so if I can pull this off… anyone can.

The inspiration and star of the cheesecake is Nestle Coffee-Mate Peppermint Mocha Creamer.  I picked this up on a recent jaunt to Walmart, along with Nescafe Tasters Choice.  The instant coffee dissolves easily into warm milk which gets mixed in with the cream cheese and Peppermint Mocha Creamer.  Then it all gets poured onto a chocolate cookie base.

It’s the most delicious blend of holiday flavors – peppermint, coffee and chocolate.  Yes please!

Pin this recipe for your holiday get-togethers and when you whip it up, let me know what you think!

Peppermint Mocha Cheesecake

Yield: 8-10

Substitute your favorite Coffee Mate flavor for a winning holiday cheesecake!

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Ingredients

• 2 sleeves of chocolate sandwich cookies, finely crumbled (total 2 cups)
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 3 pkgs (24 oz. total) cream cheese, room temperature
• 3/4 cups sugar (divided)
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 cup Nestle Coffee-Mate Peppermint Mocha Coffee Creamer
• 2 tablespoons Nescafe Taster's Choice Instant Coffee
• 1 tablespoon warm milk
• 16 ounces sour cream, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup peppermint crunch baking chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease the bottom and sides of a 9" spring form pan.
2. Stir together the cookie crumbles and melted butter and press onto the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Freeze while preparing the filling.
3. Beat the cream cheese with 1/4 cup of the sugar until creamy. Add in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Gradually(!!), add in the Coffee-Mate. Mix the warm milk and the Nescafe Instant Coffee until dissolved, then stir it into the cream cheese mixture until blended.
4. Pour the cream cheese mixture into the crust and bake 45-50 minutes or until the edge is set but the center is still slightly wobbly.
5. Meanwhile, mix the sour cream with the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar and vanilla until smooth. Spread over the warm cheesecake and bake for an additional 5 minutes.
6. Allow to cool to room temperature, then chill for several hours or overnight. Remove from spring form pan. Top with peppermint crunch baking chips before slicing.