Cherry Cheesecake Bars (+Video)
Cherry Cheesecake Bars! So simple and easy to slice and serve! Creamy cheesecake filling in a homemade graham cracker crust. Perfection!
AN EASY CHEESECAKE RECIPE
I like a sweet and soft cheesecake with a thick, crunchy crust. And the best part is cheesecake is so easy to make. Plus, when you put it in a bar form, it makes it a little easier to cut and serve. Next time you have some guests over, try putting together a do-it-yourself cheesecake bar.
TIPS FOR MAKING CHEESECAKE BARS:
- You don’t have to use a cherry pie filling for the topping. You can serve them plain or with your favorite pie filling topping like strawberry, blueberry, etc.
- This recipe can be doubled for a 9X13 baking pan. These are pretty thick bars so keep that in mind when doubling.
- The parchment paper step will make these much easier to remove from the pan. You can use a nonstick spray but because the crust is so thick on these, it will still be a little difficult to remove from the pan without the parchment paper.
- Make sure your cream cheese is properly softened to room temperature. The batter will be lumpy if the cream cheese is still cold.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (FULL RECIPE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST)
- crushed graham crackers
- salted butter
- light brown sugar
- cream cheese
- eggs
- sugar
- vanilla extract
HOW TO MAKE CHERRY CHEESECAKE BARS:
Preheat oven to 325F degrees. Line an 8-inch square baking dish with parchment paper, letting edges hang over the side (see picture below). If you don’t have parchment paper, just spray dish with nonstick spray. The parchment paper just makes it easier to lift out and cut into bars when they’re done.
Combine the graham cracker crumbs with the butter, brown sugar and mix well. Put the mixture into the prepared pan and press down hard to create an even layer. Bake the crust until beginning to brown, 12 to 15 minutes.
Prepare filling. Mix cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs and stir. Mix in vanilla. Continue mixing until mixture is smooth. If you have a stand mixture, you’ll need to make sure you scrape down the sides of your bowl to ensure everything is mixed thoroughly.
Once crust is finished baking, pour filling on top of crust.
Bake the bars for about 35 to 40 minutes. The center may be just slightly jiggly, that’s okay, it will set up in the fridge.
Take cheesecake out to cool for about an hour and then cover and place in fridge to cool completely. This will take about 4-6 hours (or more) to completely chill. Serve plain or top with desired topping.
CRAVING MORE RECIPES? GIVE THESE RECIPES A TRY!
Cherry Cheesecake Bars (+Video)
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 2 cups crushed graham crackers
- 1 /2 cup salted butter (1 stick) melted
- 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
For the filling:
- 2 (8 ounce) blocks cream cheese softened to room temperature
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 1 can cherry pie filling for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F degrees.
- Line an 8-inch square baking dish with parchment paper, letting edges hang over the side. If you don’t have parchment paper, just spray dish with nonstick spray.
- Combine the graham cracker crumbs with the butter, brown sugar and mix well.
- Put the mixture into the prepared pan and press down hard to create an even layer.
- Bake the crust until beginning to brown, 12 to 15 minutes.
- Prepare filling. Mix cream cheese and sugar until smooth.
- Stir in eggs and vanilla.
- Continue mixing until mixture is smooth.
- Once crust is finished baking, pour filling on top of crust.
- Bake the bars for about 35 to 40 minutes.
- The center may be just slightly jiggly, that’s okay, it will set up in the fridge.
- Take cheesecake out to cool for about an hour and then cover and place in fridge to cool completely. This will take about 4-6 hours (or more) to completely chill.
- Top with cherry pie filling.
Video
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Originally published: January 2011
Updated & republished: January 2020
Wow, I made this cheesecake last night and it was a great success. It comes out so thick and nice. The cherries really top it off. So easy to make and it came out perfect. I always thought cheesecake was so hard to make but this recipe is so easy. Thanks for the great recipe!
Made and was great.
Delicious! Even better after sitting in the fridge for a day as the crust becomes softer. This is my favourite way to use up our sour cherries in the summer! Fantastic recipe.
Thank you! Its so good!!!
This recipe was fabulous!! The only problem is we ate all of them too quickly and I’ll have to make more again soon. Delish!
Can I put it in a 9×13 pan for a thinner crust and filling?
Did anyone ever confirm if we can use a larger pan? I have an 11×7 pan and thought about using that. Please let me know your thoughts!
I made these last weekend and was so happy with the results. Everybody went crazy for them. They were so easy to make and I will be making them again and again I’m sure. Thanks Brandie!
Fabulous!
These were delicious and gorgeous!
Wow! We loved that this had a thick crust and thick filling! So good!
Made these and we really enjoyed them. Set out a variety of pie filling toppings for everyone to choose their own!
YUMMY! I'm your newest follower!
LOVE cheese cake. Great recipe!
Mmmmm…. cheesecake. Enough said.
Yummm!! looks delicious!! Just found your blog!! and loved it!! thanks for sharing!
These look perfectly delicious. I'd like mine topped with blueberries.
Can you pleeease send some over? I guess i'll be making this next – trouble maker!!!! :o) Looks yummy!
These look so good. I can definitely workout a few more minutes for these
LOVE cheesecake and this looks GREAT!!! and a must try.
Became a follower come by and visit anytime. Love making new friends.
YUMMMMM looks delicious!
Oh wow … this looks delightful… I'm always on the look out for cheese cake recipes. Thanks for sharing!
Those look yummy…and gorgeous, too, with the splash of red!
Yum!!! I love this cheesecake, and it looks amazing!!
Looks delish!! 🙂 I LOVE this kind of cheesecake.