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?
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
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 and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Originally published: January 2011
Updated & republished: January 2020
