Candy Cane Cheesecake Dip

Prepared with cream cheese, cool whip, peppermint extract, and crushed candy canes, this Candy Cane Cheesecake Dip is a deliciously cool and refreshing appetizer or dessert idea! Serve with your favourite dippers like chocolate graham crackers, pretzels, vanilla wafers, or Oreos!

For those times when whipped cream just won’t cut it, Candy Cane Cheesecake Dip is what you need! It’s super creamy and thick, does not deflate like whipped cream because it’s made with cream cheese, it tastes sweet and slightly tart at the same time, and finally, it’s loaded with crushed candy canes and mini white chocolate chips!

This is not your everyday, run-of-the-mill dessert dip. I would describe this dessert dip as high-end, opulent, lavish, and posh! Once you’ve prepared the dip, you can store it in the fridge for 3 days! It will keep its shape, retain its flavour, and not break down at all. In some instances, there may be some melting of the crushed candy canes and this will depend on the brand you use. I find that jars of pre-crushed candy canes melt less than candy canes that you crush your self. And, if in the case your dip settles and water content or moisture pools a little on top, simply transfer the dip to a large bowl and use a spatula to gently fold the mixture together until smooth and creamy once again.

NO-BAKE RECIPES

I used to think that the term no-bake meant that a recipe was more of an assembly-type recipe. Something like a salad, for example. It sounds simple enough, right? Toss the lettuce and any other veggies you want into a bowl. Top it with cheese, croutons, avocado, hard-boiled egg, etc. Add some dressing and you’re all done! But, no-bake actually just means no baking. There still might be some stove-top cooking needed – or even a microwave, for that matter.

Some other no-bake-type holiday recipes you might enjoy are these Rudolph’s Red Nose Cookies. Hairy Moose Droppings are delicious and always quite the conversation starter! Just like these Caramel Peanut Slices were a favourite of my mom’s so were these Marshmallow Coconut Balls and so were these Christmas Crunch Cookies. You can find many more no-bake cookie recipes here at Lord Byron’s Kitchen by using the search field at the top of this page.

WELCOME TO A LORD BYRON CHRISTMAS!

I’m going to tell you all about this recipe and how you can make it in your home this holiday season, but first, I want to tell you about what you can expect from Lord Byron’s Kitchen this Christmas. I know we’re getting closer to the big day, so it’s time to get to the holiday-themed recipes! Over the past decade, I have built a reputation for sharing series-type recipes. The most popular would be my annual 24 Cookies of Christmas, which was fashioned after an advent calendar. But, I have others that are only 12 days, which were fashioned after the 12 Days of Christmas.

This particular recipe is a part of my third holiday series for this year. So, welcome, Dear Reader, to Lord Byron’s 12 Christmas Candy Cane Recipes Series. Just like every other series that I’ve shared over the years, this one will also see a new recipe shared each day for the next 12 days – even on Saturday and Sunday! You might be asking yourself, how many Christmas recipes could one possibly have or need? Well, I say you can never have too much of a good thing. And, I love having lots of choices. Who wants to prepare the same holiday recipes year after year?

SUBSCRIBE NOW AND NEVER MISS ANOTHER RECIPE!

Traditionally, every year I share a series of recipes that you might already be familiar with. For example, I’ve previously shared 12 Holiday Trifles, 12 Holiday Bars & Squares, and even these 12 Edible Holiday Wreath recipes! Also, some of my favourite recipe collections from previous years are my 75 Homemade Gifts from Your Kitchen, my 50 Make Ahead Freezer Friendly Christmas Recipes, and my 30 No-Bake Christmas Recipes post.

You really don’t want to miss one of these recipes, so if you have not yet subscribed to Lord Byron’s Kitchen, I encourage you to do so. That way, a new recipe will be emailed to you every day. You won’t have to bother to come looking for it! And, just in case you’re curious, you can see previous annual posts for my 24 Cookies of Christmas Series here!

INGREDIENTS NEEDED FOR THIS RECIPE

The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare this recipe. For exact amounts and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post.

• Cream Cheese – I prefer to use the brick-style cream cheese for this dessert. It’s much heavier than whipped or spreadable cream cheese and will hold up better if you plan to make this dip ahead of time.
• Confectioner’s Sugar 
• Peppermint Extract – If you have trouble finding peppermint extract, you could use mint extract instead. Peppermint extract uses pure peppermint oil while mint extract uses a combination of peppermint oil and spearmint.
• Cool Whip – Please ensure the cool whip is refrigerated and thawed according to the instructions on the packaging.
• Crushed Candy Canes
• Mini White Chocolate Chips

HOW TO MAKE CANDY CANE CHEESECAKE DIP

Transfer the softened cream cheese to the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on medium speed for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy. Add the confectioner’s sugar and peppermint extract. Beat on medium-low speed to incorporate. Next, add the thawed cool whip and beat on medium speed to incorporate.

Add 5 tablespoons of crushed candy canes and all of the mini white chocolate chips. Use a rubber spatula to fold those into the cream cheese mixture. Transfer to a serving bowl and top with the remaining crushed candy canes. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.

MAKING YOUR OWN CRUSHED CANDY CANES

If you don’t want to use the red and white crushed candy canes that you can find just about anywhere this time of year, you can crush your own candy canes by placing unwrapped, broken candy canes into a sturdy bag and firmly rolling over them with a wooden rolling pin.

Either way you look at it, the candy canes should not be crushed too finely. Many times, you’ll find they have too much powder, meaning that they have been crushed too much. You want chunky pieces in order to get the red and white speckled pattern.

I’ve tried crushing them myself and have crushed them a little too much. Even the type you buy in the store can sometimes have too much candy cane dust. You can easily fix it by filtering out the dust. Working in small amounts, place a heaping spoonful of the crushed candy canes into a colander. Sift out the dust so that you are left with nice little pieces.

TIPS AND TRICKS

I highly recommend that you prepare Candy Cane Cheesecake Dip at least 4 hours before you plan on serving it. Cover it well and transfer it to your fridge. The cream cheese and cool whip mixture will set up and become a little firmer after refrigeration. Depending on the type of candy canes you use, it may also be a good idea to reserve the last tablespoon of crushed candy canes until you are ready to serve. As I previously mentioned, some types/brands of candy canes tend to melt when the come in contact with moisture. If you want the best impression, top the dip with the leftover crushed candy canes just before serving.

I’ve seen this dip prepared other ways as well. If you prefer, you can substitute the mini white chocolate chips with mini marshmallows. In fact, you can use marshmallow fluff as the base and completely forego the cream cheese and cool whip. It’s a bit tricky to do, but you can stir crushed candy canes right into the marshmallow fluff for a very quick version of this recipe.

SERVING SUGGESTIONS

I like to serve this dip with cookies. I lean more toward cookies that are rather plain so that the flavour of the dip is the highlight. As you can see in the photographs, I used vanilla wafers, animal crackers, and graham crackers. Other snacks that are great for dipping are Oreos – you can use golden or chocolate Oreos. I’ve seen this dip served with pretzels and some people love the combination of salt and sweet, but the taste of peppermint with the saltiness of a pretzel is not for me.

QUESTIONS?

If I have not answered all of your questions in the text above, don’t hesitate to reach out to me! You can contact me by sending me a message in the comments section further down the page. I will try my best to answer as soon as possible! You might reach me even faster by following me on Facebook and sending me a private message. Scroll down below the recipe card to find my Follow Me on Social Media box and never miss another recipe!

Finally, as I stated previously, every day I will be posting a new recipe. If you miss one, don’t fret. You can find my entire collection of Christmas Recipes right here! There are over 200 Christmas recipes and counting. There’s something for everyone! Cheers!