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–+ servings

Cherry Cheesecake Bars

, making them perfect to cut and serve. The cherry cheesecake bar recipe makes 12-15 bars.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Resting Time 4 hours
Course Dessert
Servings 12 bars

Equipment

Ingredients
  

Brown Sugar Cinnamon Crust

  • 3.5 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 ⅔ cup old fashion oats
  • 1 ⅔ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
  • 1 ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 ¼ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2 cups unsalted butter, cubed
  • 2 tablespoon lemon juice (juice from 1 lemon fresh squeezed)
  • 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt, for topping after baking

Cheesecake Filling

  • 2 8 ounce packs cream cheese, softened
  • 1 tablespoon corn starch
  • ⅔ cup white sugar
  • 2 eggs, large
  • 2 tablespoons heavy cream
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla
  • ½ teaspoon almond extract
  • 1 14.5 ounce can cherry pie filling

Instructions
 

Make the crust

  • Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 13 x 9 baking pan with parchment paper, letting excess extend over the sides of the pan.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat 3.5 cups of flour, oats, brown sugar, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon on low speed until combined.
  • Add cubed butter, beat until mixture is crumbly and no large pieces of butter remain, about 2 minutes. Add in lemon juice and mix just to combine.
  • Press 3 cups of mix into the parchment lined baking sheet and take the remaining 3 cups of mix and place it covered in the refrigerator.
  • Bake crust until lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Let it cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. No heat should be left in the crust when you put the cheesecake filling on top (so about 2 hours to cool!)

Make cheesecake filling

  • Preheat oven to 350F.
  • In a clean stand mixer bowl, using clean paddle attachment, beat 1 pack of softened cream cheese until smooth, about 1 minute.
  • Add in corn starch and beat for 1 minute.
  • Add in white sugar, beat until smooth, about 1 minute.
  • Add in cream, almond extract, vanilla, and eggs, beating until combined and smooth.
  • Pour cheesecake filling over cooled crust. Dollop cherry pie filling by tablespoons onto cheesecake mix. Swirl with a knife. Set aside while you prepare the crumble topping.

Crumb Topping

  • Take reserved topping out of the fridge. Pour it on a large cutting board or workspace. Using a pastry cutter, cut this until it is a fine crumb.
  • Top cheesecake with crumb topping.
  • Bake for 35-40 minutes in a 350F oven.
  • Top with coarse sea salt immediately after taking it out of the oven.
  • Cool completely on a wire rack. Loosely cover and refrigerate until firm, 1-2 hours, but overnight is better.

Cut and Storage

  • Cut into bars. Cover and refrigerate for up to 1 week.
Keyword cheesecake, cheesecake bars, cherry cheesecake, halloween baking, summer desserts, summer picnic
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