Cheesecake Bars
I trust everyone is in a festive holiday mood... I have 2 weeks off and I couldn't be more thrilled... this is much needed downtime after a rather busy year at work. I hope to spend some fun times with the kiddos and also with some friends who are visiting us. Having the kids at home with me means lesser time for the things I usually do in my free time such as blog hopping, posting new recipes and even cooking something new... so today I'm here with a recipe I made a month ago for a get-together - Cheese cake bars.
They are very versatile and you can play around with the basic recipe and make many variations - such as adding crushed oreo biscuits or topping with a layer of ganache, adding in some nuts etc.
CHEESE CAKE BARS
Ingredients
For the Crust:
1 3/4 cup graham crackers (honey or chocolate) or nilla wafers - crushed to a powder
1/4 cup roasted almonds - powdered (optional, or you could increase the crackers by 1/4 cup)
Brown Sugar - half cup
Butter - 4 tbsp, melted
For the Filling:Low fat cream cheese (Neufachtel) - two 8 oz pkgs, softened
Sugar - half cup
Eggs - 2 large
Sour cream - 3/4 cup
Semisweet chocolate chips - about 1/2 cup
Vanilla - 1 tsp
Jam (strawberry, raspberry etc) - 1/4 to 1/3 cup (I used plum jam since i wanted to finish that)
Method:1) Preheat oven to 300F. Line a 13x9 inch pan with aluminium foil - this will ensure that it's easy to lift out the cheesecake when done.
2) For the crust, combine the crumbs, powdered nuts (if using), brown sugar and melted butter. It will seem crumbly... press into the bottom of the pan and bake for 8 minutes and allow to cool.
3) Meanwhile, beat the cream cheese and sugar in a big bowl. Add eggs one at a time. beating the mixture until fluffy. Add sour cream and vanilla stir well. Pour over the crust & spread it out evenly with a spatula.
4) Microwave the jam for about 15-20 seconds to soften it... drop spoonfuls on the filling randomly... make swirls with a toothpick.. you will want to work quickly because the swirls are easier to make when the jam doesn't cool down too much.
5) Sprinkle chocolate chips on the top and bake for 40 mins. Allow to cool and refrigerate for atleast 4 hours before cutting into bars and serving.
In case I don't get to post again before the New Year starts, I'd like to wish everyone a very happy holiday season and a wonderful New Year ahead!
They are very versatile and you can play around with the basic recipe and make many variations - such as adding crushed oreo biscuits or topping with a layer of ganache, adding in some nuts etc.
CHEESE CAKE BARS
Ingredients
For the Crust:
1 3/4 cup graham crackers (honey or chocolate) or nilla wafers - crushed to a powder
1/4 cup roasted almonds - powdered (optional, or you could increase the crackers by 1/4 cup)
Brown Sugar - half cup
Butter - 4 tbsp, melted
For the Filling:Low fat cream cheese (Neufachtel) - two 8 oz pkgs, softened
Sugar - half cup
Eggs - 2 large
Sour cream - 3/4 cup
Semisweet chocolate chips - about 1/2 cup
Vanilla - 1 tsp
Jam (strawberry, raspberry etc) - 1/4 to 1/3 cup (I used plum jam since i wanted to finish that)
Method:1) Preheat oven to 300F. Line a 13x9 inch pan with aluminium foil - this will ensure that it's easy to lift out the cheesecake when done.
2) For the crust, combine the crumbs, powdered nuts (if using), brown sugar and melted butter. It will seem crumbly... press into the bottom of the pan and bake for 8 minutes and allow to cool.
3) Meanwhile, beat the cream cheese and sugar in a big bowl. Add eggs one at a time. beating the mixture until fluffy. Add sour cream and vanilla stir well. Pour over the crust & spread it out evenly with a spatula.
4) Microwave the jam for about 15-20 seconds to soften it... drop spoonfuls on the filling randomly... make swirls with a toothpick.. you will want to work quickly because the swirls are easier to make when the jam doesn't cool down too much.
5) Sprinkle chocolate chips on the top and bake for 40 mins. Allow to cool and refrigerate for atleast 4 hours before cutting into bars and serving.
In case I don't get to post again before the New Year starts, I'd like to wish everyone a very happy holiday season and a wonderful New Year ahead!
Cheesecake bars looks absolutely divine and incredible.
ReplyDeleteThe sheesecake bars look so inviting. Yum!
ReplyDeleteVery tempting and delicious cheesecake....
ReplyDeleteHappy Holidays! Laavanya.
ReplyDeleteThose cheesecake bars look so good.
Have fun with kids- it is very valuable! Happy Holidays :)
ReplyDeleteThe cheesecake bars looks delicious!
Thank you so much for a great recipe. I love the brown sugar in the crust, it added so much flavor. I can't find my springform pan and wanted cheesecake! This worked perfectly. I wanted a little more filling so used 3 pkgs of cream cheese and 3 eggs.... It came out of the foil perfect... no loose crumbs. Really yummy.... this is going to become my "go-to" dessert from now on. Simple to make, simple to adapt, and simply delicious too!
ReplyDeleteAllison.. so great to hear that you loved this recipe! :) Thanks for trying it and for leaving your feedback here.
ReplyDeleteCHEESE CAKE BAR..WOW......LOOKING YUMMY.ITS JUST MOUTH WATERING
ReplyDeleteSo simple and so perfect! Yammy!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteCheese cake looks yum..:)Loved your presentation..:))
ReplyDeleteBest wishes for a wonderful year ahead..
Reva
Mouthwatering cheesecake bars,looks so yummy.Wishing you a very happy new year 2012.
ReplyDeleteUmmmm drooling :)
ReplyDeleteWow Looks so tempting!
ReplyDelete