Festive Layered Dessert Squares

Festive Layered Dessert Squares, holiday themed dessert squares with cream cheese, cool whip, pudding and crushed candy canes. Great Christmas dessert!

Festive Layered Dessert Squares

Festive Layered Dessert Squares

Also try these Star Shaped Jam Cookies, they are so good!

For myself, making sweet treats this time of year is a little difficult since I don’t care much for many of the traditional holiday desserts. I cook and bake what I love, and you’ll never find me making fruit cake or dense desserts loaded with nuts.

Stemming from my firm belief that Cool Whip should be it’s own food group {lets take a vote on that}, I like to keep things creamy and light all year long.

Which is why I’m head over heels in love with this Festive Layered Dessert Squares recipe, it’s inspired by Kraft Canada’s Chocolate-Peppermint Striped Delight. 

Changes that I made to this recipe is using the new cream cheese in the delicious family, the Philadelphia Chocolate Brick, instead of Philadelphia Cream Cheese. It’s the same creamy cheese, yet in chocolate – and really jazzes up a recipe. Much better than using cream cheese and then adding cocoa to infuse some chocolate. 

I also changed the pudding flavour to vanilla since I already has the chocolate layer thanks to the Philadelphia Chocolate Brick. This does give you a yellowish pudding layer, so you could use food colouring and change that if you wanted a different colour.

Instead of traditional peppermint candy canes, I used cherry flavoured candy canes in this recipe. It still gives that festive flair in looks, but the cherry-chocolate combination is to die for!

Enjoy!

layered dessert squares with crushed candy cane topping
Festive Layered Dessert Squares

Festive Layered Dessert Squares

Yield: 10
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes

Festive Layered Dessert Squares, holiday themed dessert squares with cream cheese, cool whip, pudding and crushed candy canes. Great Christmas dessert!

Ingredients

  • 1-1/2 cups Honey Maid Graham Crumbs
  • 1/4 cup butter, melted
  • 1/2 cup sugar, divided
  • 1 pkg Philadelphia Chocolate Brick, 250 g, softened
  • 3 cups + 2 TBSP cold milk, divided
  • 1/2 cup finely crushed cherry candy canes, divided
  • 3.5 cups thawed Cool Whip Whipped Topping, divided
  • 2 pkg Jell-O Vanilla Instant Pudding, 4-serving size each

Instructions

  1. Mix crumbs, butter and 2 Tbsp. sugar; press onto bottom of 13x9-inch dish. Refrigerate until ready to use.
  2. Beat cream cheese, remaining sugar and 2 Tbsp. milk in medium bowl until blended. Stir in half the crushed candy. Add 1-1/4 cups Cool Whip; mix well. Spread over crust.
  3. Beat pudding mixes and remaining milk with whisk 2 min.; pour over cream cheese layer. Let stand 5 min. or until thickened. Cover with remaining Cool Whip.
  4. Refrigerate 4 hours. Top with remaining crushed candy just before serving.

Notes

** Kraft Kitchen Tips **
HOW TO EASILY CUT INTO SQUARES
Place dessert in freezer about 1 hour before cutting into squares to serve.
HOW TO SOFTEN CREAM CHEESE
Place completely unwrapped package of cream cheese on microwaveable plate. Microwave on HIGH 15 sec. or until slightly softened.
SUBSTITUTE
Prepare using non-hydrogenated margarine, Philadelphia Light Brick Cream Cheese, skim milk, JELL-O Fat Free Pudding and Cool Whip Light Whipped Topping.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 10 Servings
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 245Saturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 20mgSodium: 120mgCarbohydrates: 34gSugar: 29gProtein: 3g

Did you make this recipe?

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63 Comments

  1. Those look so good. I missed it for Thanksgiving, but I’m so making these for Christmas dinner.

  2. That looks absolutely delicious! Thanks for the recipe, I’ll have to give this a try 🙂

  3. wow looks delish , i will be trying this over the holidays thanks for sharing the recipe 🙂

  4. This looks and sounds delish! I love dishes that are fairly easy to prepare and more fun to eat!

  5. Looks tasty! I like the idea of using Cherry candy canes, it is a nice way to change the taste up a little bit.

  6. Always looking for new and not too complicated recipes to make during the holidays. This is a keeper. Thanks for sharing. And for your tips.

  7. oh wow, these look delicious. I was looking for some desserts to serve and might just try this one.

  8. This looks so good. I like that it seems to be light, not a traditional heavy dessert. My girls will love to help make this too!

  9. That looks really good. I’ll have to keep this recipe in mind because I’m always on the lookout for easy holiday desserts.

  10. This looks really good, easy enough to make and gives me an excuse to try the chocolate cream cheese, I still have not tried that one yet, thanks for sharing!!

  11. I will try this for my Christmas desert. Looks delicious. I also does not like fruit cake. If I’m going to have a desert and all the calories. I want something that’s really good.

  12. omg, DROOL..this looks so appealing and after we make it I will have to send it home with someone because I would eat way more than I should. Thanks for posting.

  13. This looks and sounds yummy! Definitely would make a great dessert for the holidays, thanks for the recipe!

  14. These look so delicious and easy to make..and very festive with the crushed candy canes on top.

  15. This looks so yummy, and fairly easy to bake! I love lemon recipes and I bet my gramma would love this one!!

  16. The Cherry Chocolate combination sounds really good. I like to make food with candy canes but I have never tried with cherry ones.

  17. This looks so delicious, I have some chocolate cream cheese at home, I was gonna make cheesecake but I’ll definitely try these squares too.

  18. This is so pretty and so easy too! Like you I don’t like heavy cakes, definitely NO fruitcake! This looks nice and light.

  19. I made this on Saturday and it was delicious. My daughter took the recipe. Thank you for sharing.

  20. Now this is my kind of dessert! And I agree, Cool Whip should be it’s own food group!! 🙂

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