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Candy Cane Pie

A candy cane pie covered in white chocolate with a cookie crust.
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5 from 2 reviews

Certainly one of the most festive holiday desserts, this Candy Cane Pie starts with a crunchy chocolate cookie crust, filled with a creamy no-bake peppermint filling and finished with a salted white chocolate ganache. It's easy to make and a refreshing, sweet finish to any holiday feast.

Ingredients

For Chocolate Cookie Crust:

  • 2 cups (290 grams) oreo cookie crumbs (about 19 whole chocolate sandwich cookies)
  • 3 tablespoons (35 grams) unsalted butter, melted

For Candy Cane Filling:

  • ¾ cup (170 grams) heavy cream
  • 6 ounces (170 grams) cream cheese, softened
  • 1 teaspoon pure peppermint extract
  • ½ cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
  • ½ cup crushed candy canes, plus more for garnish (see note)
  • Natural red food dye (optional)

For White Chocolate Ganache:

  • 1/3 cup (75 grams) heavy cream
  • 1 cup (170 grams) white chocolate chips or chopped white chocolate
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions

For Pie Crust:

  1. Mix together the oreo crumbs and the butter.
  2. Pour the crumbs into a 9” pie plate and start pressing the ingredients up the sides of the pie plate to form the edges first. Once the edges are formed, work the crumbs down to evenly distribute them into the bottom of the pie plate. Using a flat bottomed measuring cup, pack the crumbs down tightly into an even layer.
  3. If baking: Bake in a preheated 350º for 10 minutes. If freezing: freeze for 30 minutes for a no-bake pie option. (See the text above for pros and cons of each).

For Filling:

  1. With a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Set aside in a separate bowl.
  2. To the now-empty bowl add the cream cheese, sugar, and peppermint extract. Beat on medium speed until completely smooth, about 2 minutes.
  3. Add ⅓ of the whipped cream to the cream cheese mixture and fold it in with a rubber spatula by hand until it is completely combined.
  4. Add the remaining whipped cream to the bowl and gently fold it in, being careful not to deflate the whipped cream.
  5. Add ½ cup crushed candy canes to the cream mixture and fold them in.
  6. Transfer 1/3 of the candy cane filling to the oreo crust. Smooth over the top. Squeeze 8-12 drops of liquid natural red dye over the top of the filling. Using a small offset spatula, swirl the dye.
  7. Transfer 1/3 more of the filling on top of the swirls, and smooth over the top. Repeat with the red dye.
  8. Place the remaining candy cane filling on top of the swirls and smooth over the top. Alternatively, you can skip the red swirls.
  9. Place the pie in the freezer to set for 15 minutes.
  10. Meanwhile, make the ganache: Heat the cream (either in a small pot or in the microwave) until steaming. Place the white chocolate in a small bowl. Pour the hot cream on top of the white chocolate. Make sure all the white chocolate is covered. Let it sit for 5 minutes. Whisk together the chocolate ganache. Let it cool down for 10 minutes. (see notes for troubleshooting tips)
  11. Once it’s slightly cool, carefully pour the ganache over the pie filling, making sure to cover the candy cane filling entirely.
  12. Place the assembled pie in the refrigerate to set up. It needs at least 4 hours of chilling time, but preferably overnight (12 hours).
  13. Right before serving, place in the freezer for about 30 - 60 minutes for perfect slices of pie. When ready to serve, sprinkle crushed candy cane pieces over the top of the pie.

Notes

Have a question or looking for tips? The text written above the recipe is always a great first place to start! There are always loads of explanations, tips and technical advice shared before the recipe.

To make crushed candy canes: unwrap about 5 ounces (1 standard box) of candy canes and place inside of a food processor. Pulse until the candy canes are small pieces, about the size of a pea or smaller. Alternatively, you can place the candy canes in a bag and smash with a rolling pin, but this method is harder to get even pieces of candy cane.

Because the chocolate to cream ratio is rather high, depending on how warm you get the cream you might have trouble melting the chocolate. If that happens, you can either gently (10 seconds at a time) heat the ganache in the microwave until it's fully melted and smooth, or stick the ganache in a double boiler (the ganache goes in a heatproof bowl over a small pot of simmering water) and melt together until smooth.

This pie should be served very chilled. It can be made up to 1 day ahead of time, if stored in the refrigerator, or up to 1 month if frozen. If serving from the refrigerator, I recommend placing the pie in the freezer for 30 – 60 minutes before serving, though it’s not essential. To serve from the freezer, let the pie sit at room temperature until it’s easy to cut into it, about 15-30 minutes, depending on how warm your kitchen is.

Find it online: https://everydaypie.com/candy-cane-pie/