Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: The combination of an Oreo crust, tangy red velvet cheesecake, and sweet white chocolate is just about perfect!
Texture: Each bite is loaded with so many incredible crunchy, smooth, rich, and creamy textures.
Ease: Making the cheesecake is easy, but coating the bites in chocolate is messy and hands on.
Pros: Fun and festive homemade treat perfect for the holidays. You could also swap out the sprinkles to make these perfect for Valentine’s Day or the 4th of July!
Cons: Coating in chocolate is time consuming, messy, and takes a few tries before they start to look pretty. If you want to avoid that, you could drizzle with chocolate instead.
Would I make this again? Absolutely!
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There are a handful of recipes that I’ve shared over the years that have become permanent favorites among you guys. It doesn’t seem to matter where or when I share those recipes, they always get tons of likes, comments, and rave reviews.
My recipe for Chocolate Covered Cheesecake Bites is one of those. I can see why.
It basically takes an already indulgent dessert, cheesecake, and turns it into bite sized pieces of chocolate candy. What’s not to love? I knew this year I had to make a fun and festive version that could be adapted to different holidays. That’s how these Red Velvet Cheesecake Bites were born!
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I used green and red sprinkles to garnish these for a festive Christmas effect. However, depending on the time of the year, pink or heart shaped sprinkles would be perfect for Valentine’s day. Or even a drizzle of pink candy melts. For the 4th of July, blue sprinkles would be perfect!
Red Velvet Cheesecake Bites Recipe Tips
-Make sure your cream cheese has come completely to room temperature and you beat it until completely smooth. Otherwise you’ll end up with lumps in your batter that will look like white specks among the red cheesecake.
-I like to use Americolor Gel food coloring for red velvet. It packs a colorful punch with just a few drops, so you’re not using a ton of food coloring and altering the taste of the recipe. Any gel food coloring will be better than liquid. Or if you’re interested in natural dyes, check out my Natural vs. Artificial Food Coloring experiments here.
-For easiest and cleanest chocolate coating, the cheesecake bites need to be completely frozen. If they start to warm up, pop them back in the freezer to solidify again.
-The white chocolate coating calls for coconut oil. This helps to smooth out the chocolate so it’s easier to dip, and helps the chocolate to solidify once it’s cold. It doesn’t really add any coconut taste. You can also use shortening.
-If garnishing with sprinkles, do so immediately after dipping in chocolate before it’s had a chance to set.
Red Velvet Cheesecake Bites
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 12 (185 grams) whole chocolate graham crackers
- 1 stick (113 grams) unsalted butter, melted
For the filling:
- 16 ounces (454 grams) cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (57 grams) sour cream
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon red gel food coloring
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
For the chocolate coating:
- 16 ounces (453 grams) white chocolate
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil or shortening
Instructions
To make crust:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8 by 8-inch square baking dish with foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray.
- In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the graham crackers until finely ground. Add the butter and pulse until moistened. Press mixture evenly into prepared pan. Bake for 10 minutes, or until light golden and fragrant. Reduce heat to 325°F.
To make filling:
- Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth and fluffy, about 3 minutes. On low speed, add in the sour cream, eggs, cocoa powder, food coloring, vanilla, flour, and salt and beat until just combined. Be careful not to overmix. Pour the batter over the crust and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until cheesecake is slightly puffed and center is set. If the center is slightly jiggly, that’s fine.
- Let cool completely on a wire rack. Freeze for 3 hours, or until very cold and firm, or overnight.
To coat in chocolate:
- Once frozen, lift cheesecake out of pan and gently peel away foil. Using a sharp knife, cut cheesecake into 36 bite-size squares. If squares become too soft, freeze until chilled again.
- Place the chocolate and coconut oil in a microwave-safe bowl and heat for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds, until melted and smooth.
- Place parchment paper or a silicone baking mat on a baking sheet. Dip cheesecake squares, one at a time, in the melted chocolate. Let the excess drip off and place on prepared sheet. Immediately garnish with sprinkles, if using.
- Repeat for all the squares then refrigerate until the chocolate is set. Serve or store the squares in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer.
I seem to have missed something. Is there an actual recipe for these white chocolate covered cheesecake bites, or is this mosre of an idea page?
Hi John! Thanks so much for pointing that out! The issue has been fixed and the recipe is back 🙂 Thanks again!
Thanks you! These will be made the 13th and distributed on Valentine’s Day!
I am going to make this for Christmas. But I was wondering what brand or kind of coconut oil was best to use. (or shortening)? And I was also wondering if I needed to use white chocolate CHIPS? Because I just kind of started cooking, so I don’t about everything there is.
I am going to make this for Christmas. But I was wondering what brand or kind of coconut oil was best to use. (or shortening) And I was also wondering if I needed to use white chocolate CHIPS. Because I just kind of started cooking, so I don’t about everything there is.
I love Red Velvet, and these will be perfect for the holidays!
Hi, I’ve made your other chocolate covered cheesecake bites before and after dipping them, the chocolate cracked after it hardened. What can I do to avoid this? They still tasted good but didn’t look so pretty.
I would say use a higher quality chocolate. Try a piece of baking chocolate that you chop up yourself instead of chocolate chips (if you were using those).
I try to make something the same. I like this idea for Christmas.
I love Red Velvet, and these will be perfect for the holidays!
I need to make these for Christmas 🙂