Easy Peppermint Brownie Bottom Cheesecake- Gluten Free

*This post is part of the Krusteaz Gluten-Free Blogger Bake Off, I received complimentary products to facilitate this post. Thank you Krusteaz for keeping this recipe free for my readers! 

Warning!!! Protect those keyboards, this cheesecake is drool worthy, and ridiculously easy to make!

Whether you are a cheesecake champion or a total novice, or fall somewhere in between, let me suggest you make this Easy Peppermint Brownie Bottom Cheesecake. It is actually a double chocolate brownie bottom, but that just seemed like a mouthful! A very tasty, very festive, very perfect mouthful.

But I digress…okay, drool is now wiped off chin, and I am ready to share with you a few of the reasons you need to make this cheesecake.

1. It is eazy-peazy. You might remember when I posted my Caramel Apple Slab Pie recipe I had a few people complain that it was not easy enough. I took that to heart (even though I disagreed with them), and so I am here to say that no matter how intimidated you have been by cheesecakes in the past, it is time to get over it because this cheesecake could be made by my 5 year old (in fact, he helped quite a bit in the making of it). Can you run a hand mixer? Do you have eggs, sugar, vanilla, and cream cheese? Then you can make it!
2. It is gluten free. Yep, you read that right. Gluten-free. But you would never ever know it. Thank you Krusteaz!
3. It tastes like Christmas. Or Heaven. Or if you don’t believe in either of those let’s just say it tastes really, really, really good.

I have been agonizing over what to share for the gluten-free bake off put on by Krusteaz. Remember, I told you guys about it on Facebook? (It’s okay, it was a while ago) I was so flattered to be a part of it, and I wanted my creation to be both tasty and helpful. I know that most people who eat gluten free find the baking to be the most difficult part. That is one of the reasons I love the Krusteaz gluten-free line, it tastes awesome, and the guess work is removed.

I considered submitting an entree, like a gluten free version of this Pistachio Crusted Halibut where you sub in the Gluten-free buttermilk pancake mix instead of regular. But I figured that was too easy. Most people who eat gluten free can probably figure that one out for themselves. I thought about a lot of different things, and I tried several of them. But it came down to 2 choices: Cinnamon Crumb Skillet Cake, made with the gluten free buttermilk pancake mix (Watch for it soon). Or, this Easy Peppermint Brownie Bottom Cheesecake (Gluten Free).

I honestly couldn’t decide, but I kept thinking how fun it would be to do something really festive. And what says festive more than chocolate and peppermint? Throw in brownies and cheesecake, and you are singing my song! What do you guys think?

Well, either way, you get both recipes, and a little info about the new gluten free line of products offered by Krusteaz, which I have to say is awesome. They have Buttermilk Pancake Mix, Blueberry Muffin Mix, Honey Cornbread and Muffin Mix, and of course the Double Chocolate Brownie Mix used in this dessert. You can learn more about the new line and where it is available here. But what you need to know is that all of the products bear the Whole Grains Council’s Whole Grain Stamp, which guarantees a half a serving of whole grains per serving, and it is available in most major grocery chains!

To avoid a “cracked” cheesecake, don’t over mix the eggs!

Easy Peppermint Brownie Bottom Cheesecake- Gluten Free

Warning!!! Protect those keyboards, this cheesecake is drool worthy, and ridiculously easy to make!

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cheesecake, Gluten free, peppermint brownie

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 55 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 5 minutes minutes

Servings: 12

Calories: 216kcal

Author: Rachael

Ingredients

Brownie Bottom

• 1 box Krusteaz Gluten Free Double Chocolate Brownie Mix
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup water

Peppermint Cheesecake

• 3- 8 ounces bricks of cream cheese softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 large eggs
• 3-4 soft mint candy peppermint sticks crushed or 1/3 cup crushed peppermint

Garnish

• Whipped cream
• More crushed peppermint
• Gluten free chocolate sauce

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 325
• Mix brownie mix, water, egg, and oil and put in the bottom of a spring form pan
• Beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla with mixer until well blended
• Add eggs, 1 at a time until just barely blended
• Crush peppermints in food processor or blender, and gently fold into cheesecake mixture
• Pour over the brownie mixture
• Bake for 55 minutes or until center is just set
• Remove from oven, losen rim of pan, (but leave it on), and refrigerate for at least 4 hours
• Remove rim, garnish

Notes

* To more easily blend cream cheese, warm in microwave for about 10 seconds
*Make sure cream cheese and sugar are completely blended and lump free before adding any other ingredients
*Over beating eggs in cheesecake mixture will cause the top of your cheesecake to crack, avoid this by just encorporating eggs.
*If cheesecake cracks, it will still taste good, so hide the flaw with garnishments and enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 216kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 83mg | Sodium: 105mg | Potassium: 56mg | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 430IU | Calcium: 34mg | Iron: 0.4mg

Our recipe card software calculates these nutrition facts based on averages for the above ingredients, different brands, and quality of produce/meats may have different nutritional information, always calculate your own based on the specific products you use in order to achieve accurate macros for this recipe.

Tried this recipe?Mention @ezpzmealz or tag #ezpzmealz!

Want to use this recipe in a meal plan?Try PrePear, my FREE Meal Planning App that allows you to save your recipes, plan meals, shop for groceries, and cook simply in one place. Join Here!

And one of my lucky readers is going to get a Krusteaz Gluten Free prize pack that has a darling tote, two packages of each of the mentioned gluten free products, and a Krusteaz spatula.  So now don’t you just want to go and make yourself one of these incredible cheesecakes? Enter to win, and you could get the brownie mix so you can get started on it!

Enjoy!
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And if you love cheesecake, be sure to check out some of these other fun recipes:
Strawberry Cheesecake Tart

Caramel Apple Cheesecake

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cheesecake