Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake Bites
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Want the perfect mini dessert for all your holiday parties? These AMERICAN HERITAGE® Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake Bites make any dessert table look festive and fun!
There’s a lot to love about this time of year! From putting out all the decorations to listening to Christmas music non-stop, we can’t get enough.
Making Christmas desserts is definitely right up near the top! Now that my girls are older, it’s become a fun holiday tradition that we like to do together each year. Whether it’s Christmas cookies for gifts or bite size desserts for holiday parties, they love jumping in to help!
These days we need LOTS of desserts! We’re lucky enough to live in an awesome neighborhood that has tons of get-togethers. Of course, we never want to show up empty handed, which is why I always have an easy recipe or two up my sleeve.
Bite size cheesecake recipes are one of my favorites because they’re super easy and always a crowd pleaser. Since it’s the holiday season, I wanted to give my usual recipe a fun holiday twist. What better than chocolate peppermint cheesecake bites, right.
Since chocolate would be one of the main ingredients, I had to be sure to use just the right one.
AMERICAN HERITAGE CHOCOLATE!
This time I wasn’t going to use just any chocolate. I wanted to take things up a notch with AMERICAN HERITAGE® Finely Grated Baking Chocolate. It’s different from the others because it has a unique sweet and savory flavor combination with a variety of spices and other ingredients like vanilla, orange and cinnamon.
Made with all natural ingredients, this versatile chocolate is grated and ready for holiday baking. Because it’s so finely grated, it blends well with any recipe and and is easily substituted 1:1 in recipes that require baking chocolate. The bonus? You’re getting a kosher chocolate that’s 57% cocoa, has no preservatives and is Rain Forest AllianceTM Certified.
Now all I needed to do was combine it with a few other ingredients and I’d have the perfect bite size dessert for parties!
Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake Bites
One thing I love about this recipe is that it doesn’t take many ingredients. If you need a quick dessert on the fly, you may even have everything you need on hand already.
Step 1: Pour 3/4 cup of whipping cream into a large mixing bowl. Whip on high speed until stiff peaks form, then place whipped cream in the refrigerator.
Step 2: Combine cream cheese and sugar in a mixing bowl.
Step 3: Using the beater attachment, blend the cream cheese mixture. Add peppermint extract and continue to mix the ingredients until smooth and creamy.
Step 4: Place chocolate in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave in 15 second increments, stirring in between, until completely melted. Add to cream cheese mixture.
Step 5: Fold the whipped cream into the cheesecake mixture. Continue to mix gently until well blended.
Step 6: Refrigerate the cheesecake mixture while you prepare the shells. Place 3/4 cup of AMERICAN HERITAGE Finely Grated Baking Chocolate in a small bowl. Microwave in 15 second intervals, stirring each time, until completely melted and smooth.
Step 7: Dip phyllo shells upside down into the melted chocolate to coat the rim. Add a few peppermint sprinkles before the chocolate sets.
Step 8: Add cheesecake to icing bag and pipe into phyllo cups.
Add a little bit of crushed peppermint candy to the top of the cheesecake and you’ve got pretty mini cheesecakes that are perfect for the holiday season and other special occasions! They’ll look amazing on your dessert table and if you bring them to a party, you’ll get invited back for sure.
Since there’s no such thing as too much chocolate, we paired these cheesecake bites with AMERICAN HERITAGE Chocolate Gourmet Hot Cocoa Mix.
Just mix 2/3 cups of cocoa with 2/3 cups of boiling water, throw in a few mini marshmallows and you’ve got just the drink to keep you warm on a chilly day!
Everyone will think you spent so much time in the kitchen…they don’t need to know that it only took 20 minutes. Don’t worry, I won’t tell!
They will definitely be asking about your secret ingredient and that you can share! Both AMERICAN HERITAGE Finely Grated Baking Chocolate and AMERICAN HERITAGE Chocolate Gourmet Hot Cocoa Mix can be found on Amazon, so there’s plenty for everyone!
Can you make these cheesecake bites ahead of time?
You sure can! In fact that’s one of the things I love most about this recipe. You can make the cheesecake the day before, put it in a piping bag, then store it in the refrigerator until you’re ready.
You can also dip the phyllo shells in chocolate a day ahead, cover with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator. Just wait to fill the phyllo shells with cheesecake until about an hour before serving. Otherwise they may start to get a little soft and we prefer them with a little crunch.
Can you freeze cheesecake?
Yes, cheesecake is easy to freeze, which can be super helpful if you’re trying to plan ahead. Just put the cheesecake in a freezer bag and squeeze out as much air as possible. For an extra layer of protection, wrap the freezer bag in aluminum foil.
Variations
Don’t have phyllo shells? Try these alternatives…
- Serve this as a dip. Place the cheesecake in a bowl and add a little crushed candy cane or peppermint sprinkles for garnish. Serve with graham crackers, cookies or pretzels for dipping.
- Pour cheesecake into a store-bought (or homemade) graham cracker or cookie crumb crust for a full size dessert. After pouring it into the crust, refrigerate it for about two hours to give it time to set.
- Use chocolate cookies as a base. Just pipe the cheesecake onto a cookie and garnish with a few peppermint sprinkles.
Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake Bites
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup AMERICAN HERITAGE Finely Grated Baking Chocolate
- 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened at room temperature
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
- 30 phyllo shells
- Crushed candy canes or peppermint sprinkles for garnish
Instructions
- Pour heavy cream into a large bowl. Whip on high speed until stiff peaks form, then place in refrigerator.
- Combine cream cheese and sugar in a separate mixing bowl.
- Using the paddle attachment for your stand mixer (or a regular hand mixer), mix ingredients on medium speed until blended. Add peppermint extract and continue to mix the ingredients until smooth and creamy.
- Place chocolate in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave in 15 second increments, stirring in between, until chocolate is completely melted. Add to the cream cheese mixture and mix well.
- Fold whipped cream into the cheesecake mixture. Continue to mix gently until well blended.
- Refrigerate the cheesecake mixture while you prepare the shells.
- Place 3/4 cup of AMERICAN HERITAGE Finely Grated Baking Chocolate in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave in 15 second intervals, stirring in between each, until completely melted and smooth.
- Dip phyllo shells upside down into the melted chocolate, just enough to coat the rim. Add a few peppermint sprinkles or crushed peppermint candies. Be sure to add them before the chocolate dries or they won't stick.
- Add cheesecake to icing bag and pipe into phyllo shells.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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Grab the family and make this delicious recipe together! It’s sure to get you in the holiday spirit!
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