Reese’s Cheesecake Bars
You’ll love these rich and indulgent Reese’s Cheesecake Bars! A creamy cheesecake, peanut butter and chocolate dessert that always disappears quick!
A Peanut Butter Chocolate Lovers Dream
A graham cracker crumb crust, a smooth and creamy cheesecake layer with plenty of chopped Reese’s throughout and a chocolate ganache topping – yum! If you’ve followed me for long, you know I am a sucker for anything that is Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup inspired – like my Reese’s Peanut Butter Poke Cake, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Cake or Reese’s Mini Cheesecakes! These dessert bars are the perfect flavor combination!
Frequently Asked Questions
This is a question I commonly get any time I show this specific mixer in my recipe instruction step by step photos. I am using a Bosch mixer (paid affiliate link) for this recipe. While this fancy mixer is quite nice, it’s honestly no better than your traditional stand mixer. It just works well for taking photos to show the ingredients inside. I don’t think I can justify the price tag to be honest. You can use any other stand mixer or just use an electric hand mixer.
There are a couple different options to add with your chocolate ganache layer. You could swap the regular sized Reese’s cups for the mini ones. Or go for some White Chocolate Reese’s Cups. You could even try some Reese’s Pieces on top. Maybe try a peanut butter drizzle, M&M’s or peanut M&M’s on top with the ganache. Some crushed peanuts would work too if you like them. It could really enhance that peanut butter part of the flavor profile.
Having all the ingredients room temperature just helps it all incorporate into the batter a bit better and will also keep the cream cheese from getting clumpy again when mixed with everything.
Sure, using premade crumbs can make things easier. You can use the store bought graham cracker crumbs that you can buy in the box. Then you’ll need about 1 ½ cups of graham cracker crumbs for this recipe.
Yup! These can easily get “ugly” quickly, haha. I like to run the knife blade under some warm water to physically warm it up first. Then I wipe the knife dry with some paper towels or a clean kitchen towel and then make my first cutting pass through the dessert. I make sure to wipe the blade of the knife clean after every pass through the dessert. If I notice that a particular area is harder to cut through, sometimes I spray the blade of the knife with some non stick cooking spray to help give it a little extra help cutting through, or I’ll run it under hot water again.
Any leftover Reese’s Cheesecake Bars can be stored in an airtight container. They should be kept in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can freeze leftovers for up to 3 months in the freezer.
Ingredients Needed: (See Recipe Card Below For The Full Recipe)
- graham crackers – I crush up the graham crackers but you can use store bought graham cracker crumbs if you’d like – see my Frequently Asked Questions above for more on that.
- granulated sugar
- unsalted butter– or you can use salted butter. The little bit of salt included in the salted butter is so minimal that it will not impact the flavor of these cheesecake bars.
- Reese’s peanut butter cups
- cream cheese– If you forget to set out the cream cheese, check out these Tips for Softening Cream Cheese Quickly.
- all-purpose flour
- plain Greek yogurt– make sure it’s room temperature, it makes it easier to mix together for the layer that it is used in. If Greek yogurt isn’t your thing, swap it out for some sour cream.
- vanilla extract
- salt
- eggs – try to set your eggs out until they come to room temperature if you have time. This really helps the eggs incorporate so much easier into the batter.
- semi-sweet chocolate chips – if you prefer a lighter tasting ganache, you could use milk chocolate or if you prefer dark chocolate, use dark chocolate chips.
- heavy cream – when making ganache, it must be heavy cream, no substitutes.
- powdered sugar
How To Make Reese’s Cheesecake Bars
Preheat oven to 325ºF. Line a 9×13-inch baking pan with parchment paper (or foil). Spray with non-stick cooking spray and set aside. Place graham crackers in a food processor (in batches) and pulse until ground. If you don’t have a food processor, just put them into a large Ziploc bag and crush them with a heavy object like a rolling pin.
Place crumbs into a medium size bowl and add sugar and melted butter, and stir until combined. Evenly press the mixture firmly into the bottom of the prepared pan. I like to use the bottom of a measuring cup to pack it in and get it into the corners. Bake for 10 minutes, and remove from the oven. Transfer to a wire cooling rack.
Roughly chop the 24 Reese’s peanut butter cups by hand with a knife. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the cream cheese on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add sugar, and flour and blend well, scraping the sides of the bowl.
Blend in the Greek yogurt (or sour cream), vanilla extract, and salt, scraping the bowl. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, scraping the bowl.
Gently fold in the peanut butter cup chunks with a rubber spatula and mix together. Pour the cream cheese mixture over the crust and smooth out on top.
Bake for 40 minutes, until cream cheese filling is slightly jiggly in the middle, and set around the edges. Remove from the oven, and set on a wire rack to cool completely, about 1 hour. Cut 12 peanut butter cups in half. Set aside.
In a small microwave-safe bowl, combine chocolate chips, heavy cream, and butter. Microwave on high for 30-second intervals, stirring after each burst. When the chocolate mixture is melted, stir until smooth. This should take less than 2 minutes altogether. Add powdered and mix with a wire whisk until smooth.
Pour over cooled cheesecake and smooth out. Top with cut peanut butter cups, placing them cut side down on top of ganache in your desired directions. Arrange them so it’s easy to cut into even bars without cutting through the cups. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours, or overnight. You may speed up this process by putting it in the freezer for the first hour.
When completely chilled, lift from the pan by lifting the edges of the parchment paper. Cut into 24 squares and serve. Enjoy!
Craving More Recipes?
Reese’s Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
Crust
- 9 graham cracker sheets
- 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (can use salted)
Cream Cheese Filling
- 24 Reese’s peanut butter cups
- 16 ounces (2 blocks) cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup plain Greek yogurt, room temperature (or sour cream)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
Chocolate Ganache Layer
- 12 Reese’s peanut butter cups (for topping)
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter (can use salted)
- 3 Tablespoons powdered sugar
Instructions
Crust
- Preheat oven to 325ºF. Line a 9×13-inch baking pan with parchment paper (or foil). Spray with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
- Place 9 graham cracker sheets in a food processor (in batches) and pulse until ground. If you don’t have a food processor, just put them into a large Ziploc bag and crush them with a heavy object like a rolling pin. Place crumbs into a medium size bowl and add 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar and 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and stir until combined.
- Evenly press the mixture firmly into the bottom of the prepared pan. I like to use the bottom of a measuring cup to pack it in and get it into the corners. Bake for 10 minutes, and remove from the oven. Transfer to a wire cooling rack.
Cream Cheese Filling
- Roughly chop 24 Reese’s peanut butter cups by hand with a knife. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer (or stand mixer) to beat 16 ounces (2 blocks) cream cheese, softened to room temperature until smooth and creamy. Add 3/4 cup granulated sugar and 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour and blend well, scraping sides of the bowl as needed.
- Blend in 3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt, room temperature (or sour cream), 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1/2 teaspoon salt, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add 2 large eggs, room temperature, one at a time, beating well after each addition, scraping the bowl.
- Gently fold in the peanut butter cup chunks with a rubber spatula and mix together.
- Pour the cream cheese mixture over the crust and smooth out on top.
- Bake for 40 minutes, until cream cheese filling is slightly jiggly in the middle, and set around the edges.
- Remove from the oven, and set on a wire rack to cool completely, about 1 hour.
Chocolate Ganache Layer
- Cut 12 Reese’s peanut butter cups in half. Set aside.
- In a small microwave-safe bowl, combine 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, 3/4 cup heavy cream and 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter.
- Microwave on high for 30-second intervals, stirring after each burst. When the chocolate mixture is melted, stir until smooth. This should take less than 2 minutes altogether.
- Add 3 Tablespoons powdered sugar and mix with a wire whisk until smooth. Pour over cooled cheesecake and smooth out.
- Top with cut peanut butter cups, placing them cut side down on top of ganache in desired directions. Arrange them so it’s easy to cut into even bars without cutting through the cups.
- Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours, or overnight. You may speed this process by putting it in the freezer for the first hour.
- When completely chilled, lift from the pan by lifting the edges of the parchment paper. Cut into 24 squares and serve. Enjoy!
Notes
- Please refer to my FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
- If all you have is salted butter, you can use that without any adjustments. There is such a minimal amount of salt in salted butter that it won’t affect the end result. In fact, if you are wanting to cut a bit of the overall sweetness, that is a good way to do it.
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.
how much graham cracker crumbs would you use instead of using crackers and making your own?
Made this after you posted – couldn’t wait. Ha! Outstanding!!
is there a way to make is sugar free??
Are you using the mini Reese’s cups or the original full size?
Full size – if it helps I give an ingredient photo above in the post