Deliciously fluffy layered Peppermint Chocolate Delight is simple, yet impressive. It’s our new favorite Christmas dessert!
Layered desserts like Pistachio Dessert, White Chocolate Lasagna, and Magic Pumpkin Cake are among our favorite family treats. This Peppermint Chocolate Delight is a delicious Christmas must-make!
festive christmas treats
The kids love whipping up Christmas treats like the Christmas Popcorn we whipped up last week. It was so good, but I have a recipe today that I think is even better. It’s called Peppermint Chocolate Delight.
We made it a few weeks ago and it was so good that it was gone super fast. It has a cracker crumb bottom, cream cheese layer, chocolate pudding layer and whipped topping with candy cane pieces.
I think it’s another great dessert to make for Christmas. The chocolate and peppermint combo is amazing. In fact, I might have to try making chocolate dipped peppermints because I love the combination!
Making Peppermint Chocolate Delight
CRUST. Begin by crushing wafers in a Ziploc bag. Add melted butter and mix until well coated. Press onto the bottom of 13×9 dish.
CREAM CHEESE LAYER. In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, 2 tablespoons milk and peppermint extract until well blended. Fold in half of Cool Whip and mix well. Spread over crust.
PUDDING. Make pudding by whisking milk and instant pudding in a bowl until thickened. Pour over cream cheese layer and refrigerate for at least 10 minutes.
SERVE! Top with remaining Cool Whip and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Add crushed candy canes right before serving. ENJOY!
Recipe Tips
Ingredient Tips:
- Be sure to use instant chocolate pudding otherwise the pudding will not set without the extra step of cooking it.
- Use whole milk for a thicker creamier pudding.
- Instead of using vanilla wafers, use Oreos or graham crackers.
Keep the cookie layer in place when spreading the cream cheese layer: You want to be careful when adding each new layer so that the layer underneath doesn’t get displaced. I like to drop dollops of the next layer all over before carefully spreading it across the pan. Also, sticking the pan in the fridge or freezer while you whip up the next layer can help the previous layer set more quickly.
How to make beautiful clean cuts: Many times my family will simply use a spoon and dig into this dessert without worrying about it being picture perfect. However, there are times when I really want it to look beautiful like when serving company. Placing it in the freezer for about 30 minutes before cutting and wiping the blade after each cut will help yield clean slices.
Storing info
STORE peppermint delight covered with plastic wrap and store in the fridge for a few days.
I have not tried FREEZING this myself, but it seems like it would be able to be frozen for about a month without a problem. Just cover tightly with plastic wrap and wrap again with aluminum foil. Thaw in the fridge before serving.
Here are even more peppermint treats you’ll love this season:
- Peppermint Brownie Trifle
- Frozen Peppermint Delight
- Peppermint Bark Cheesecake
- Peppermint Chocolate Truffles
- Peppermint Crunch Fudge
- Peppermint Milkshake
- Marbled Peppermint Bark
- Peppermint Ice Cream
Peppermint Chocolate Delight Recipe
Ingredients
Instructions
- Begin by crushing wafers in a Ziploc bag. Add melted butter and mix until well coated. Press onto the bottom of 9×13 dish.
- In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, 2 tablespoons milk and peppermint extract until well blended. Fold in half of Cool Whip and mix well. Spread over crust.
- Make pudding by whisking milk and instant pudding in a bowl until thickened. Pour over cream cheese layer and refrigerate for at least 10 minutes.
- Top with remaining Cool Whip and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Add crushed candy canes right before serving. ENJOY!
Recipe adapted from Kraft Recipes.
Great, great healthy recipe. Specially for kids.
YUMMM!!!
Thanks!! We loved this recipe! Hope you give it a try!
How do you get your crumbs to stay in place when spreading the cool whip/cream cheese layer? Mine turned into a crumbly mess every time I tried to even out the layer.
It can be tricky! I like to make sure I add the next layer kind of all over, before I spread it out. I add spoonfuls all over 🙂 Good luck for next time!
My trick for making cookie crusts is to add an extra tablespoon of butter, then once it’s all pressed into the pan, stick it in the freezer while you work on the next layer. I also use my little food chopper to crush the cookies and mix the butter in. But the #1 thing, stick the crust in the freezer for a few minutes while working on next layer 🙂
Tasted good but I did everything right and it came out as mush
I’m sorry it did. I wish I knew why it did? Thank you for giving it a try 🙂
It may depend on the brand/type of ingredients you used? Sometimes “Off Brands” and “Name Brands” have different instructions/ratios for them (ie., Milk & butter – think of Mac and cheese). Or did you substitute almond milk or skim milk? I find these are sometimes thinner and don’t hold up as well baking.
Hello Lil’ Luna, I made this recipe (with a few slight variations to make it gluten free) for my families Christmas In July Party. I would like to share the recipe on my blog if that is fine by you. Thank you for the delicious and easy recipe.
What size pan do you use ?
9×13 🙂 Enjoy!
I havent tried it yet, but i feel like a few key components should be mentioned. You need to freeze the crust. I added double the butter to help make it more solid still didnt hold up when spreading the first layer. Freezing was perfect. 2nd it doesnt say to heat the mill and pudding mix…this is also required. Maybe its just assumed but i tend to follow things to a tee. Im excited im sure it will be delish! Those things above are a must.
Hi Sunny,
The recipe calls for instant pudding. Instant pudding isn’t cook.
Joyce
7.8oz for pudding? The boxes are 1.4oz. Do I really need that many boxes of pudding?
The regular size boxes are like 3.4 ounces, so it’s 2 of those 😉
Yummy and so easy to make. Kids will love it.
This desserts a win with the chocolate, cream cheese and peppermint trio. I also love the crunch of the crust.
I know its on the recipe card, so just a reminder to anyone reading comments- be sure to buy the Instant pudding.
I could eat this year round!! My family loves it so much!! The layers taste so good together!!
My family loves this dessert! I would say it’s one of the favorites. There’s never leftovers.
So creamy and sweet! This is the most festive dessert ever! Looks like you spent hours making it too!