Tis the season for Peppermint Pie (candy cane pie)! Make this tasty Christmas pie this holiday season, perfect for family gatherings and winter parties. You'll love this creamy peppermint-flavored pie nestled in a tasty Oreo crust.
Celebrate the holidays right with this irresistible peppermint patty pie! We love a good no-bake pie around Christmas to make a quick and easy dessert for parties and family get-togethers.
So what's in a Peppermint Pie? This candy cane pie is the perfect Christmas dessert made with a creamy cream cheese center, topped with crushed peppermint and white chocolate shavings, all in a chocolate Oreo crust! Just like you've seen at Village Inn.
You'll love our peppermint-inspired recipes like our White Chocolate Dipped Peppermint Cookies, peppermint brownies, and peppermint rice krispies.
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Ingredients in Peppermint Pie
So what's in a Peppermint Pie? This recipe uses easy ingredients to make a smooth and creamy peppermint cheesecake pie. Make sure to follow our tips and tricks for the best experience.
- Oreo's- Use a food processor to crush the cookies to a fine powder to get a compact crust. cookies crushed
- Butter- No worries about softening the butter before hand, you will be melting it in the microwave.
- Milk- Make sure to use cold milk, we used 2% for this recipe.
- Dream Whip- Dream whip gives this recipe a great texture. If you choose to use cool whip instead, only use cool whip, vanilla, and peppermint extract for bowl one.
- Extracts- For a smooth flavor use vanilla extract. You will also use peppermint extract for to get that holiday taste. Make sure to not sure mint extract or the pie will taste like toothpaste.
- Sugar- You will need both white granulated sugar and powdered sugar for different sections of the pie.
- Cream cheese- Make sure that the cream cheese is fully softened. If it isn't fully softened, it will make a lumpy pie.
- Red dye- This is optional. the red dye will give it a festive look but will not alter the taste.
- Heavy whipping cream- For a light and fluffy topping on the pie.
- Peppermint candies- You can use peppermint candies or candy canes. Cruch them into various sizes to top the pie with.
- White chocolate shavings- This addition gives the pie a fun and elegant look to really capture the holiday spirit and add a layer of flavor.
See recipe card for quantities.
How to make Candy Cane Pie
Making this peppermint mousse pie is simple, but be sure to follow each step so the sections set correctly. This pie is softer by nature, even after it chills.
- Begin by placing the Oreo's in a food processor and crushing until fine. Mix with the melted butter and press into a pie pan to make a crust.
- In a mixing bowl, combine milk, Dream Whip, peppermint extract, and vanilla extract. Whisk on high for 3-4 minutes until peaks form, then add sugar and mix until smooth. Refrigerate.
- Beat softened cream cheese in another bowl until smooth. Add milk, sugar, and optional red food coloring, making the mixture twice as dark as desired.
- Gently fold the Dream Whip into the cream cheese mixture. Spread onto an OREO crust and refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight.
- When ready to serve, whip the cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla in a mixing bowl until stiff peaks form. Spread the whipped cream over the pie, then garnish with crushed peppermint and white chocolate shavings.
Hint: Once you've mixed the two bowls together, don't add more food coloring. Overmixing the fillings will leave a goopy pie.
Substitutions and Variations
Try some of our favorite substitutions and variations for different fun flavors!
- Ice Cream- Make a layer of the pie your favorite brand of peppermint ice cream. Make sure to soften the ice cream, spread on the Oreo crust, and then refreeze before adding the additional layers.
- Brownie- Brownies and peppermint are one of our favorite combinations. Instead of an Oreo crust, make a brownie crust. Be sure to let it cool before adding the layers.
How to Serve
Pair this peppermint cream pie with our other tasty winter pies to make the perfect Christmas dessert spread. It taste great with these other cream pies, Oreo Pie, Black Bottom Pie, and Turtle Pie.
Learn from us
Make sure you let the pie set long enough. This is like a peppermint mousse and if you don't give it enough chill time, it will be a runny mess. This is a soft set pie, but when it chills it holds it's form. To help the process, use a cold bowl if working in a warm kitchen. If you have to work in a warm kitchen, work quickly.
Storaging Peppermint Pie
Store prepared pie in the refrigerator lightly covered with plastic wrap for 3 days. You can also freeze the pie once assemble for up to 2 months. When ready to eat, serve frozen or let thaw for 30 minutes on the counter or 1-2 hours in the fridge. It makes a great Christmas dinner prep!
Top tip
It's important that you do not use mint extract but peppermint extract! Mint extract will make it taste like toothpaste. Use peppermint extract for this recipe.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Pairing
These are my favorite pies to serve with Candy Cane Pie:
Recipe
Best Peppermint Pie
Ingredients
For the Crust:
- 24 OREO cookies crushed
- 5 Tablespoons butter melted, I use salted
Filling Bowl 1:
- ½ cup cold milk
- 1 envelope Dream Whip See note 1 for substitutions
- 1 teaspoon peppermint extract
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup sugar
Filling Bowl 2:
- 8 oz cream cheese fully softened, see Note 2
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 2 Tablespoons milk
- red dye optional
Topping:
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 Tablespoons powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- ¾ cup crushed peppermint candies or candy canes work, see note 3
- 2 oz white chocolate shavings
Instructions
OREO crust:
- Place whole OREOs in a food processor and process on high until a fine crumb is reached. Add melted butter and pulse 5-8 times. Transfer into a pie plate and press into the bottom and up the sides of the dish. Put in refrigerator.
Filling:
- Place milk, Dream Whip envelope contents, peppermint extract and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl. Use the whisk attachment and beat on high for 3-4 minutes, until peaks form. Add the sugar and mix until it's not longer grainy, about 30-60 seconds. Move bowl to the refrigerator.
- In another mixing bowl, with the paddle attachment, beat the softened cream cheese until perfectly smooth. Add the milk and sugar and beat until well combined. Add some red food coloring if desired. This will be combined with the bowl of Dream Whip, so you want to make it about twice as dark as you actually want it. See note 4.
- Fold the Dream Whip mixture into the cream cheese mixture with a spatula. Be patient and allow it to come together. See photos above for a visual reference. Do not stir or it will turn into a goopy mess. Place filling on OREO crust and spread smooth. Place in the refrigerator for 3 hours to overnight.
Topping:
- When ready to serve, place whipping cream, powdered sugar and vanilla in a mixing bowl. Using a whisk attachment, beat the cream until stiff peaks form. Smooth across the pie, then top with crushed peppermint and white chocolate shavings.
Notes
- I use Dream Whip because it gives the pie a nice structure and mimics whipping cream. You could also use an 8 oz tub of Cool Whip instead of everything in bowl 1. If you do this, make sure to add ½ teaspoon vanilla and 1 teaspoon peppermint extracts to bowl 2.
- Make sure your cream cheese is fully softened. This is important to make sure your filling is perfectly smooth with no lumps.
- Any hard peppermint candy will work for this. I like to crush them while they're still in their wrappers, using a heavy bottomed ceramic mug. You can also use a marble rolling pin. Make sure you use something heavy that won't break!
- Only add the food coloring to the cream cheese mixture. Do not add more after you've mixed the two bowls of filling together or you might accidentally over mix and make it goopy.
Andrea says
This is a quick and easy peppermint pie! A perfect combination of flavors of peppermint and Oreo!