Cherry Vanilla Cheesecake Bars
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Cherry Vanilla Cheesecake Bars. UPDATED with video! A very festive and super easy to make, cheesecake cookie bar recipe. One of our most popular cookie bar recipes ever. Perfect for the Holiday freezer.
Here's another very simple recipe to add to our growing collection of cookies, squares and bars. Creamy cheesecake sits atop a cookie base.
The bright red cherries add flavour and a festive look to these delicious little squares.
The cheesecake portion is quite dense and holds up well to freezing. That makes them a terrific addition to your Holiday baking list too.
UPDATE : Cheesecake and cheesecake related recipes have been very popular on Rock recipes from the beginning. Click this Cheesecake Link if you dare to see several pages of cheesecake indulgences that we have featured over the years.
These cheesecake squares have been a particular hit, ending up on our list of our 25 most popular recipes on our 7th Anniversary.
Maybe it's because they turn out so pretty. Or that they are easy even for a beginner baker. Maybe that they are a great way to portion control.
Perhaps that they freeze well for later, or...well, it starts to become obvious why they are so popular, doesn't it?
If this is your kind of cookie bar recipe then, you might want to try our Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake Bars.
...or our incredibly popular Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars.
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Cherry Vanilla Cheesecake Bars
Cherry Vanilla Cheesecake Bars – a very festive and easy cheesecake cookie bar recipe. One of our most popular cookie bar recipes ever.
Ingredients
FOR THE BASE & CRUMB TOPPING
- 1½ cups flour
- ⅓ cup firmly packed brown sugar
- ½ cup cold butter
FOR THE CHEESECAKE FILLING
- 1 cup (8 ounces) cream cheese
- ½ cup sugar
- 3 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 large egg
- ⅔ cup glace cherries, , cut in quarters (well drained maraschino cherries will also work, I rinse them and drain them on paper towels before cutting them)
Instructions
- In a food processor pulse together the flour, brown sugar and butter until crumbly (or simply cut the butter through the flour and sugar with a pastry knife or two butter knives held between your fingers)
- Save a ½ cup of this crumble mixture to sprinkle over the top later.
- Press the rest of the crumble mixture into the bottom of a greased or parchment lined 8x8 inch square baking pan.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes while preparing the cheesecake filling.
- Beat together the cream cheese, white sugar, lemon juice and vanilla extract until smooth.
- Beat in the egg.
- Fold in the chopped cherries.
- Spread the cheesecake mixture evenly onto the pre-baked cookie base and sprinkle the reserved cookie crumble over the surface.
- Bake at 325 degrees F for 20 - 30 minutes or until the cheesecake is set at the centre.
- Let cool completely in the pan before cutting and serving.
- Refrigerate in airtight containers. Freezes well too.
Notes
I've since made this recipe with fresh cherries that have been quartered and they were delicious as well.
Nutrition Information
Yield
18Serving Size
1 gramsAmount Per Serving Calories 133Total Fat 6gSaturated Fat 4gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 2gCholesterol 25mgSodium 56mgCarbohydrates 18gFiber 0gSugar 10gProtein 2g
The nutritional information provided is automatically calculated by third party software and is meant as a guideline only. Exact accuracy is not guaranteed. For recipes where all ingredients may not be used entirely, such as those with coatings on meats, or with sauces or dressings for example, calorie & nutritional values per serving will likely be somewhat lower than indicated.
can you substitute the cherries for something else? say, Blueberries?
I'd give it a try for sure.
I buy the big bottles of marachino cheeries from Costco so need lots of recipes using cheries. Can you use these here?
Absolutely! Maraschino cherries would work just as well.
Since I don't care for candied or maraschino cherries, can you used canned cherries that have been drained?
Also wondering if you can use fresh cherries?
I'd five it a whirl with fresh or canned cherries but I'd make sure I cut them relatively small and patted them dry in paper towels first.
Oops! "give" it a whirl.
Our family do not like cherries.Can you sub strawberries? Thank you. The recipe sound yummy.
No, fresh strawberries would be too wet. I have seen glace strawberries that would make a good substitution or any dried or glace fruit of your choice for that matter.
What are glace cherries and where do you find them in the grocery store?
Glace cherries are candied cherries. I find them in the baking aisle. Well drained maraschino cherries make a good substitute.
Could you use fresh or frozen cherries?
You can try but they may be too wet. Maraschinos maybe?
can u use cheery pie filling or some other pie filling