Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cheesecake

Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cheesecake is rich and decadent. The creamy vanilla cheesecake filling has Little Debbie Christmas trees baked in the center. It’s decorated to look like the popular snack cake and looks so festive.

Little Debbie Cheesecake decorated and ready to serve.

With easy-to-follow instructions, this Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cheesecake recipe will be a holiday tradition. I started making this several years ago and my kids look forward to it every year. They go crazy over the Christmas Tree snack cakes, and we also make Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cake Balls and Little Debbie Christmas Tree Dip.

If you love cheesecake and Little Debbie Christmas Trees, this dessert is the best blend of both worlds. The little cakes are baked right in the middle of the rich cheesecake filling. It is amazing!

I love making cheesecake and also make Cookies and Cream Cheesecake.

Why You Will Love This
Ingredients
Variations to Recipe
Step By Step Instructions
Storage
Expert Tips
Frequently Asked Questions

Why You Will Love This

Decorated to look like the iconic snack cakes. The cheesecake is topped with white chocolate ganache, sugar sprinkles and red stripes. It’s so cute!
Perfect for parties. It’s absolutely adorable and will be a hit for Christmas parties and celebrations. Each bite is rich and delicious.
Easy to make. The recipe is simple to follow and very easy.

Ingredients

Crust

Golden Oreos. Crushed into fine crumbs to make the crust.
Butter. Melted to combine with the cookie crumbs.
Christmas Nonpareils Sprinkles. I suggest Nonpareils because they don’t bleed.

Filling

Cream cheese. Softened at room temperature. Make sure to use the bricks of cream cheese.
Sugar. Plain, granulated sugar.
Vanilla extract. Gives the filling the perfect flavor and hint of vanilla.
Full Fat Sour Cream. The fat content of regular sour cream is needed to make the filling taste its best. Don’t substitute for light or the texture will not be the same.
Eggs. Large, room temperature eggs. The filling will combine easier and the cheesecake will bake more evenly.
Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cakes. The star of the dessert!

Ganache Topping

White baking chocolate. Use good quality chocolate.
Heavy whipping cream. Don’t substitute this for regular milk. You need heavy whipping cream.
Green Sanding Sprinkles. This will make the cheesecake look like a Little Debbie Christmas Tree.
Red Store-Bought Cookie Frosting. Pipe stripes on the cheesecake easily with this cookie icing.

Get the entire list of ingredients at the bottom of the page.

Variations to Recipe

Chocolate Flavor. Swap the Christmas Trees for the Chocolate Christmas Trees if you can find them.
Crust. Instead of Golden Oreo cookies, use graham cracker crumbs or vanilla wafers. If you use Chocolate Christmas Trees, try using regular Oreos for the crust. This would be delicious with chocolate cheesecake.
Topping. Prefer milk chocolate? Substitute milk chocolate for the white baking chocolate.

Step By Step Instructions

Step 1. Before you get started, go ahead and preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
Step 2. Crush the Oreos in a food processor until fine crumbs.

Oreo crumbs combined with butter in a bowl.

Step 3. Next, mix together the cookie crumbs, melted butter and sprinkles in a mixing bowl.

Step 4. Pour this mixture into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. Press the mixture up the sides of the pan about ½ inch. Bake for 8 minutes and then cool at room temperature.

Step 5. While the crust is cooling, making the filling using an electric mixer. Beat the cream cheese until fluffy. You can use a hand mixer or stand mixer.

Vanilla and sugar added to cream cheese mixture.

Step 6. Next, add the granulated sugar, flour and vanilla extract for 1-2 minutes until combined. Scrape sides of the bowl to make sure it is well blended.

Eggs added into mixture one at a time and combined.

Step 7. Gradually add in the eggs, one at a time, until combined. Be careful not to over mix.

Step 8. Then mix in the sour cream and heavy cream.

Step 9. Pour half of the filling over the crust. Smooth it out with a spatula.

Little Debbie Trees placed on top of cheesecake batter.

Step 9. Top the batter with the Little Debbie Cakes. Gently press them down into the batter.

Remaining cheesecake batter poured over snack cakes.

Step 10. Add the remaining cheesecake batter on top. Then gently tap the cheesecake against the counter to get out any air bubbles. Place the cheesecake pan into a large pan. Pour boiling water around the cheesecake pan until it goes about halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan. The hot water will help the cheesecake not crack.

Cheesecake baked and cooling on wire rack.

Step 11. Finally, bake the cheesecake for 55-65 minutes. The edges should be set and the center should still look jiggly. Then turn the oven off and crack the oven door. Let the cheesecake sit in the oven on the rack for 45 more minutes until the cheesecake has cooled to room temperature. Once cool, remove from the oven and the water. Allow to chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight.

White chocolate and heavy cream combined to make ganache.

Step 12. While the cheesecake cools, make the ganache topping. Place the heavy cream in a microwave safe bowl and heat in 30 second intervals. It should be hot but not boiling. Pour the cream over the white chocolate and let sit for a few minutes. Then stir until thoroughly combined and smooth.

Ganache poured over cheesecake and topped with green sugar sprinkles.

Step 13. Carefully remove the cheesecake from the springform pan. It is easiest to do by running a knife around the sides of the cheesecake to release the cheesecake from the pan. Then move the cheesecake to a serving plate. Pour the white chocolate and cream mixture over the cheesecake and smooth it out. Sprinkle the green sanding sugar on top.

Cookie icing on cheesecake to look like stripes.

Step 14. Use the cookie icing to create lines over the cheesecake to look like a Little Debbie Christmas Tree cake. Carefully pipe the icing over the green sprinkles.

Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cheesecake being cut.

Step 15. The cheesecake is ready to slice and serve.

Storage

Store the leftovers covered in the refrigerator up to 5 days inside an airtight container.

Expert Tips

Softened Cream Cheese. The filling will be so much easier to mix and smoother. If you forget to sit it out, learn How to Soften Cream Cheese quickly.
Remove air bubbles. Gently tap the pan on the counter to remove air bubbles from the mixture. Air Bubbles cause the cheesecake to crack so it’s important to remove them.
Cool in the oven before refrigerating. Let the cheesecake come to room temperature in the oven before moving to the fridge. This will help it to set fully.
Room temperature ingredients. Make sure to use room temperature ingredients to ensure that the cheesecake is creamy and smooth.
Full Fat Cream Cheese. Use full fat cream cheese for the best flavor.

Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cheesecake sliced and served on a plate.

Frequently Asked Questions

What if my cheesecake cracks?

Sometimes this happens but the ganache topping will cover it. Add the ganache as normal to the cheesecake and no one will see the crack.

Can you freeze?

Yes, the cheesecake can be frozen up to 2-3 months. Wrap carefully in plastic wrap and then place inside a freezer bag or container.

When ready to serve, thaw overnight in the refrigerator.

Can I use less Christmas Tree Cakes?

The recipe calls for 7 but you can reduce to 5. However, I would not use any less or it won’t have the same flavor.

How long does the cheesecake need to chill in the fridge?

It needs a minimum of 4 hours, but I prefer overnight. Don’t try to slice it before it has properly chilled, or it won’t cut easily into slices.