This festive candy cane cheesecake with a sugar cookie crust is the ultimate holiday dessert, combining creamy, mint-flavoured cheesecake with a Pillsbury sugar cookie crust. A rich yet airy filling covers a sweet cookie base, making it a crowd-pleasing treat that’s surprisingly simple to prepare. Topped with crushed candy canes and optional candy cane bows, this cheesecake is a show-stopping centrepiece that tastes as good as it looks—perfect for Christmas gatherings and holiday parties.
For this recipe, we used Pillsbury pre-cut sugar cookies to make the sugar cookie crust and it add simplicity with a tad of deliciousness to the cheesecake. We also made candy cane bows, which are so cute! For the best results, use mini candy canes that have consistent, tight hooks. Watch them carefully as the timing for candy canes varies widely depending on the type and brand of candy cane – it can take anywhere from 5 minutes to 20 minutes for them to become pliable.
ingredients
directions
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the bottom of a 9-10” springform pan with parchment paper.
Arrange the sugar cookies in the bottom of the pan, allowing the edges to touch (there will be gaps between the corners of the cookies). Bake for 15 minutes, until the cookies have spread to fill the bottom of the pan and are cooked through. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
While the base cools, whip heavy cream in a stand mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form (the cream should hold its shape when the whisk is lifted). Transfer the whipped cream to a bowl and set aside.
Place the cream cheese in the mixer bowl and mix at medium to high speed until smooth. Add the sugar, sour cream, and mint extract. Mix on a medium to high speed until completely incorporated and smooth, then fold or stir in the whipped cream gently, ensuring not to overmix so the filling stays light and fluffy.
Once the sugar cookie base is cool, transfer the cheesecake filling to the pan and use an offset spatula to spread it into an even layer. Smooth the top and transfer the cheesecake to the fridge to chill for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight.
Candy Cane Decoration: Preheat oven to 250°F. Arrange candy canes in pairs on a parchment-lined baking sheet to form hearts. Break the hooks off extra candy canes and use the straight pieces to connect the overlapping bottoms of the hearts. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes until pliable, then carefully shape into bows. Let cool completely. Crush any remaining candy canes.
Before serving, decorate the cheesecake with candy cane bows and crushed candy canes.
