Show-Stopping Holiday Cheesecakes

June 24, 2009
Photo: Jennifer Davick; Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas 
There's nothing quite like unveiling a luscious, irresistible cheesecake at the holiday table. Eyes will widen and jaws are sure to drop when you present these showstopping cheesecakes at your next festive fete.
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Chocolate-Peppermint Cheesecake

Photo: Linda Pugliese, Hector Sanchez; Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas, Buffy Hargett Miller
Chocolate-Peppermint Cheesecake Recipe
This decadent and beautiful chocolate cheesecake is decorated with plenty of peppermint candies and treats. Just like a delicious peppermint hot chocolate, this dessert takes one of our favorite flavor pairings to the next level.
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Red Velvet-White Chocolate Cheesecake

Photo: Hector Sanchez; Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas
Red Velvet-White Chocolate Cheesecake Recipe
This gorgeous, festive cake marries two favorite holiday cake flavors: red velvet and cheesecake. The cake features layers of white chocolate cheesecake alternated with red velvet cake layers, topped with white chocolate frosting and candy "leaves".

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Brown Sugar Cheesecake with Cranberry Compote

Photo: Becky Luigart-Stayner; Styling: Cindy Barr, Mary Lyn Hill Jenkins
Brown Sugar Cheesecake with Cranberry Compote Recipe
Filled with holiday flavors from crushed gingersnap cookies, brown sugar, fresh cranberries, pears, and cinnamon, this cheesecake deserves a spot at your holiday dessert table.
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Poinsettia Cheesecake

Photo: Ryan Moriarty; Styling: JK Denim
Poinsettia Cheesecake Recipe
Decorate a store-bought cheesecake with red petals made of candy melts for a quick and impressive holiday dessert.

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No-Bake Cheesecake with Pecan Caramel

Photo: Johnny Miller; Styling: Sarah Smart 
No-Bake Cheesecake with Pecan Caramel Recipe
Since we've nixed the baking (even of the crust), you save tons of time; you don't have to wait for the cheesecake to cool out of the oven. Make the cheesecake up to 3 days ahead, but prepare the caramel shortly before serving. It hardens quickly to a yummy praline-like texture.

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Pumpkin-Pecan Cheesecake

Photo: Jennifer Davick; Styling: Lydia Degaris Pursell
Pumpkin-Pecan Cheesecake Recipe
Test Kitchen Professional Pam Lolley combined the flavors of three holiday favorites--pumpkin pie, pecan pie, and cheesecake-- to create this luscious holiday dessert.
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Roasted Sweet-Potato Cheesecake with Maple Cream

Photo: Leigh Beisch; Styling: Dan Becker
Roasted Sweet-Potato Cheesecake with Maple Cream Recipe
Roasted sweet potato offers a perfect earthy sweetness to show off the flavor combo of cinnamon and nutmeg in this creamy cheesecake. Reviewers gave it 5 stars!

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Cinderella Cheesecake

Photo: Hector Sanchez; Styling: Lydia Degaris Pursell
Cinderella Cheesecake Recipe
This fairytale dessert is positively enchanting, even Cinderella agrees! A chewy ring of brownie-batter crust folds over creamy and luscious peanut butter cheesecake.

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Chocolate Chunk Candy Cane Cheesecake

Photo: Lee Harrelson; Styling: Jan Gautro
Chocolate Chunk Candy Cane Cheesecake Recipe
Loaded with chocolate chunks and peppermint candies, slathered in a decadent chocolate ganache, and decorated with classic Christmas candies, this cheesecake is a "must-make" for the holidays.
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Pumpkin-Almond Cheesecake

Photo: Levi Brown
Pumpkin-Almond Cheesecake Recipe
Two layers--almond cake and pumpkin cheesecake--are the stars in this showstopping dessert. Garnish with whipped topping and almond brittle to add a special touch to your holiday dessert buffet.

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Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake

Photo: Jim Franco; Styling: Lydia DeGaris Pursell
Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake Recipe
Let this elegant chocolate cheesecake be the centerpiece of your holiday tablescape featuring a gorgeous white chocolate snowflake in the center. The chocoholics in your family will thank you.

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Vanilla Cheesecake with Cherry Topping

Photo: Oxmoor House
Vanilla Cheesecake with Cherry Topping Recipe
This classic, no-frills cheesecake features a traditional graham cracker crust, cream cheese filling, and sweet cherry sauce. We use the entire vanilla bean, so none of it is wasted: The seeds flavor the cheesecake, and the bean halves flavor the topping.
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Caramel Apple-Brownie Cheesecake

Photo: Jennifer Davick; Styling: Buffy Hargett
Caramel Apple-Brownie Cheesecake Recipe
Combine two of fall's favorite flavors--caramel and applies--in this decadent cheesecake. The crust is an apple brownie, similar to a blonde brownie, but with the addition of chopped apple. Then the creamy cheesecake filling is topped wtih a caramel-apple topping and a rich caramel sauce.

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Orange Ribbon Cheesecake

Annabelle Breakey; Dan Becker
Orange Ribbon Cheesecake Recipe
Add a burst of color to the table and make use of winter's best citrus fruits. This creamy cheesecake has a glistening topping of caramelized, candylike orange slices.

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Dulce de Leche-Pumpkin Cheesecake with Candied Almonds

Oxmoor House
Dulce de Leche-Pumpkin Cheesecake with Candied Almonds Recipe
Sweet milk caramel, or dulce de leche, takes this decadent cheesecake over the top, while candied almonds add pleasant crunch. Be sure to save room for dessert!
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Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cheesecake

Photo: Jennifer Davick; Styling: Lydia DeGaris Pursell 
Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cheesecake Recipe
Chocolate and peanut butter were meant to be. Together, they create a decadent marriage of flavors in this gorgeous, marbled cheesecake.

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Amaretti Cheesecake

Oxmoor House
Amaretti Cheesecake Recipe
Cheesecake in a slow cooker is a brilliant idea for a heavenly fall dessert. Top with fresh raspberries to complete your sweet treat.

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Banana Pudding Cheesecake

Photo: Jennifer Davick; Styling: Lydia Degaris Pursell
Banana Pudding Cheesecake Recipe
Two favorite desserts are blended into one sensational Banana Pudding Cheesecake, perfect for a Southern holiday extravanganza.
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Pumpkin Cheesecake

Photo: Luca Trovato; Styling: Lynda Hirst
Pumpkin Cheesecake Recipe
Like pumpkin pie, Pumpkin Cheesecake is an instant classic, filled with warm spices and good memories. Candied nuts make a delightful topping for this autumnal cheesecake.

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Chocolate-Almond Cheesecake Bars

Photo: Justin Walker; Styling: Missie Neville Crawford
Chocolate-Almond Cheesecake Bars Recipe
Surprise friends with a batch of Chocolate-Almond Cheesecake Bars.These sweet treats are just as pleasing to the eye as they are to the palette.

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Pumpkin-Orange Cheesecake with Salted Caramel

Photo: Annabelle Breakey; Styling: Robyn Valarik 
Pumpkin-Orange Cheesecake with Salted Caramel Recipe
Pumpkin and chocolate together are surprisingly delicious. The contrast of colors in this cheesecake look beautiful on display, and when guests discover it's topped with salted caramel, they just might lose their minds.
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Caramel-Apple Cheesecake

Photo: Luca Trovato; Styling: Buffy Hargett
Caramel-Apple Cheesecake Recipe
Caramelized apples are artfully arranged on top of this rich and delicious cheesecake for a showstopping fall dessert.

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Cranberry Swirl Cheesecake

Photo: Gentl & Hyers; Styling: Cindy DiPrima
Cranberry Swirl Cheesecake Recipe
Think beyond cranberry sauce and use the tart winter fruit in dessert, instead. Garnish the cheesecake with sprigs of mint to complete the Christmas color spectrum.

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"Almond Joy" Cheesecake

Photo: MarkRussell
"Almond Joy" Cheesecake Recipe
Taking its cues from the classic candy bar, this cheesecake recipe has cream of coconut added to the cream cheese filling and it's completed with a chocolate-cream of coconut topping and sliced almonds.
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Pumpkin Toffee Crunch Cheesecake

Photo: Charles Schiller
Pumpkin Toffee Crunch Cheesecake Recipe
Bring Halloween cheer to the dessert table with this too-cute cheesecake. Keep it simple by preparing just about everything for this cake ahead of time.

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Crushed-Peppermint Cheesecake

Christina Schmidhofer
Crushed-Peppermint Cheesecake Recipe
This peppermint cheesecake features a homemade Oreo cookie crust and crushed peppermint candy topping. It's hard to imagine a more festive holiday dessert.

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Pumpkin Cheesecake Tart with Honey Swiss Meringue

Photo: Jody Horton; Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas 
Pumpkin Cheesecake Tart with Honey Swiss Meringue Recipe
Begin with a toasted pecan crust, layer with cream cheese and a classic pumpkin filling, and then gild the lily with a creamy Honey Swiss Meringue.
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Caramel-Pear-Cheesecake Trifle

Photo: Chris Court
Caramel-Pear-Cheesecake Trifle Recipe
Skip a step by ditching the crust; instead, layer gingersnap cookies with cheesecake filling, pears, and salted caramel sauce. This decadent trifle is perfect for a party because it can be made a day ahead and it serves a crowd.

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White Chocolate-Cranberry Cheesecake

Photo: Iain Bagwell; Styling: Heather Chadduck
White Chocolate-Cranberry Cheesecake Recipe
A chocolate cookie crust is filled with amaretto-spiked white chocolate cheesecake and topped with a fresh cranberry topping. This over-the-top dessert is perfect for celebrating the holidays with friends and family!

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Snickers Cheesecake

Photo: Kate Sears
Snickers Cheesecake Recipe
This layered dessert recipe starts with an Oreo crust, then a layer of chopped Snickers, then cheesecake batter and, finally, caramel sauce and peanuts. Creamy, sweet, and with a crunchy crust, this cheesecake is a dream dessert.
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Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

Photo: Antonis Achilleos; Styling: Lynn Miller
Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars Recipe
These cheesecake bars aren't meant to just haunt the dessert table at your Halloween party, the memory of their delicious pumpkin flavor will haunt your dreams for nights to come. They're cute, edible, and over-the-top tasty. What more can we say?

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Ginger-Pear Cheesecake

Ginger-Pear Cheesecake Recipe
Gingersnap cookies form the base for this indulgent dessert, full of spicy-sweet crystallized ginger and juicy pears. Garnish with extra crystallized ginger and revel in the holiday cheer.

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Praline-Crusted Cheesecake

Photo: Southern Living
Praline-Crusted Cheesecake Recipe
This top-rated cheesecake is a "masterpiece of pure decadence," according to one reviewer. Find out just how quickly it disappears at your holiday table!
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Cranberry Cheesecake with Cranberry-Orange Sauce

Photo: Jennifer Davick; Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas 
Cranberry Cheesecake with Cranberry-Orange Sauce Recipe
Cut into this fall cheesecake to find a surprising fruit layer on the bottom. Dress it up by pooling sauce on top and garnishing with fresh mint leaves, citrus curls, and sugared cranberries.

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Caramel Apple Cheesecake Tart

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Tart Recipe
It may look like a chore, but this cheesecake tart calls for a relatively straightforward preparation: First, press the crust into the tart pan. Next, mix the cream cheese filling, fill the tart shell, and bake. Finally, gild the pie with sautéed tart apples, and paint them with melted apple jelly for a jewelled effect.

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Eggnog Cheesecake

Photo: Leigh Beisch; Styling: Dan Becker
Eggnog Cheesecake Recipe
Feature a classic holiday beverages in a rich and creamy eggnog cheesecake that's ideal for the holidays. Eggnog lovers, you can enjoy this one any time of the year because you make your own eggnog mixture with eggs, sugar, whipping cream and brandy.
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Icebox Chocolate Cheesecake

Con Poulos
Icebox Chocolate Cheesecake Recipe
This 3-ingredient recipe brilliantly layers chocolate cookies with a quick mix of cream cheese, chocolate syrup and a little water. The cookies soften as the cake chills overnight for a perfectly moist, chocolaty "cheater's" cheesecake.

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Pumpkin Cheesecake

Photo: Jennifer Davick; Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas 
Pumpkin Cheesecake Recipe
We use a mix of chocolate and cinnamon graham cracker crumbs here to give the crust a dark color with notes of chocolate and a little spice. You can choose one or the other, so long as you use 1 1/2 cups total. We also like to give the canned pumpkin a whirl in the food processor so it's nice and smooth in the creamy filling.

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White Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake

Photo: Thomas J. Story; Styling: Karen Shinto
White Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake Recipe
This extravagantly dense and creamy cheesecake--flavored with pure peppermint extract and white chocolate--is big enough for a party. Finely crushed peppermint candies create a gorgeous ombré effect when sprinkled on top.
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Decadent Chocolate-Espresso Cheesecake

Photo: Jennifer Davick; Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas 
Decadent Chocolate-Espresso Cheesecake Recipe
Dessert and coffee all in one slice, this over-the-top cheesecake is a surefire crowd-pleaser. To garnish with chocolate shards, melt dark bittersweet chocolate, and spread it in a thin layer on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Let it stand until set, and break into pieces.
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