Eat Well, Live Happy: February 2023

Valentine's Day is coming up and I have the perfect recipe for you! Try these White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake Bars. You can swirl the raspberry sauce to look like hearts!

This recipe has a few steps to it so it takes a little bit of time to assemble, but it is not difficult at all. A few tips for you and things I want to remember for next time - strain the raspberries as soon as you finish with them on the stove while they are still warm so they do not thicken too much and remember to scrape down the outside of the strainer to get all of the raspberry sauce off of it. I used frozen raspberries which worked very well since you cook them. I could not tell any difference from the sauces I've made with fresh raspberries. Make sure you use white chocolate baking chocolate bars, not white chocolate chips. Chill the melted white chocolate in the fridge while making the rest of the cheesecake batter so it is not still hot when it's time to add it to the batter. When pressing down the Oreo crumb mixture, don't press down too much or the crust will be hard to cut through. These took a little longer to bake because my square pan is an 8x8, not a 9x9 as the recipe calls for.

The next time I want to make the raspberry sauce in heart shapes, I will try to make 16 hearts spaced out well enough so each slice has a heart in it, and I'll use a thicker cake tester rather than a toothpick. Here is a short video showing how to make the hearts - so easy!

If you don't have or don't like white chocolate, you can leave it out. If doing so, leave out the flour as well. The bake time will be similar. I'm not a huge fan of white chocolate and couldn't even taste it in these bars, so I will likely omit it next time to see how it tastes without it.

There are lots of helpful notes below and also on the link above from the original recipe.

I love cheesecake but since I have a small family, I rarely make them because a whole cheesecake would be way too much for us. I love making bars like these that I can cut and easily freeze to enjoy whenever I want one! These are also perfect for a small get together or to add to a larger dessert spread.

White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake Bars

Recipe courtesy “Sally’s Baking Addiction” Website

Exceptionally quicker and easier than a full cheesecake, these white chocolate raspberry cheesecake bars are luxuriously creamy, perfectly sweet, and swirled with layers of homemade fresh raspberry sauce.

RASPBERRY SAUCE:

2 teaspoons room-temperature water, divided

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1½ cups fresh or frozen raspberries (do not thaw)

2 Tablespoons granulated sugar

CRUST:

22 regular Oreo cookies (not Double-Stuf)

5 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

FILLING:

6 ounces Bakers or Ghirardelli white chocolate baking bars, finely chopped

2 8-ounce blocks full-fat cream cheese, softened to room temperature

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs, at room temperature

Make & cool the raspberry sauce: The raspberry sauce must cool down completely before using, so I recommend making it first. Mix 1 teaspoon water with 1 teaspoon cornstarch in a very small bowl. Set aside. Combine raspberries, granulated sugar, and remaining 1 teaspoon of water together in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir the mixture as it begins to cook, breaking up some of the raspberries as you stir. Once simmering, add the cornstarch mixture. Continue to stir and allow to simmer for 3 minutes. Remove the pan from heat and press through a fine mesh strainer to remove the seeds, remembering to scrape down the outside of the strainer to get all of the sauce off. Allow the thin raspberry sauce to cool completely before using. Cover and store for up to 1 week in the refrigerator.

Preheat oven to 350°. Line the bottom and sides of a 9-inch square baking pan (8-inch is too small) with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the sides to lift the finished bars out (makes cutting easier!). Set aside.

Make the crust: In a food processor or blender, pulse 22 Oreos (including the cream filling) into a fine crumb. You should have about 2 cups (packed) crumbs. Pour crumbs into a large bowl. Add the melted butter and stir to combine. The mixture will be thick and quite wet. Try to smash/break up any large chunks. Pour the mixture into prepared pan. With medium pressure using your hand (or the flat bottom of a glass), pat the crumbs down into the bottom to make a compact, thick crust. Bake for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside. Leave oven on.

For the filling: Melt the chopped white chocolate in a double boiler or the microwave. If using the microwave: place the white chocolate in a medium heat-proof bowl. Melt in 20 second increments in the microwave, stirring after each increment until completely melted and smooth. Let the warm chocolate cool as you work on the other cheesecake filling ingredients. You can place it in the refrigerator, but just don’t let it solidify!

Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and granulated sugar together on medium-high speed in a large bowl until the mixture is smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the flour, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and salt, then beat until fully combined. On medium speed, add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition until just blended. After the second egg is incorporated into the batter, stop mixing. A few small lumps can remain. Pour in the cooled (but still liquid) white chocolate. Beat on low speed just until combined.

Pour half of the cheesecake filling onto the crust. It’s ok if the crust is still slightly warm. Drizzle half of the raspberry sauce all over the top. Spread remaining cheesecake filling on top. (It’s ok if the raspberry sauce has spread to the sides or slightly incorporates into the top layer of cheesecake.) Drizzle remaining raspberry sauce on top, then use a toothpick or knife to gently swirl everything together. (TIP: for Valentine’s Day, drop the top layer of raspberry sauce by spoon in small circles, then run a toothpick or a cake tester through the centers of the circles to make them look like hearts!)

Bake for 32–36 minutes or until the cheesecake appears set on top and the edges are lightly browned. The bars will be puffy, but will sink slightly down as they cool. Place pan on a wire rack. Cool for 45 minutes at room temperature, then chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours (and up to 1 day) before slicing. If you plan to chill the bars for longer, loosely cover with aluminum foil after 3 hours of chilling.

To slice, lift the bars out of the pan as a whole using the parchment overhang on the sides. Cut into squares with a sharp knife. For extra neat squares, wipe the knife clean between each cut.

Cover and store leftover cheesecake bars in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

NOTES:

Make-Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Prepare the raspberry sauce up to 1 week in advance. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use. Prepare recipe through step 6 up to 2 days in advance. Cover unbaked cheesecake bars and store in the refrigerator until ready to bake. Continue with step 7. Since they’re cold, bars will take a few extra minutes to bake. To freeze: cool, chill, and slice bars as instructed. Freeze bars between layers of parchment paper for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.

Oreo Cookies: You need about 22 whole Oreos, which pulse down into about 2 packed cups of crumbs.

Graham Cracker Crust Instead: If you want to use graham crackers instead of Oreos, use this graham cracker crust recipe. Same pre-bake time.

White Chocolate: Use 6 ounces of “baking chocolate” bars, found in the baking aisle. They’re sold in 4-ounce bars, so you’ll need 2. (You’ll have 2 ounces leftover for another use.) I prefer Bakers or Ghirardelli brands. Do not use candy melts, white chocolate dipping wafers, or white chocolate chips; all contain stabilizers or added ingredients preventing them from combining evenly with the cheesecake filling.

Lemon Juice: This recipe does not taste like lemon. The 1 teaspoon of lemon juice brightens up the otherwise flat white chocolate flavor.

Raspberry Jam: You can try using raspberry jam instead of the homemade sauce. I recommend 3 Tablespoons for each layer (6 Tablespoons total).

9×13-inch or Full Cheesecake: For a 9×13-inch pan, you can double the filling recipe. Do not double the raspberry sauce or crust ingredients. For the sauce, use 3 teaspoons of water (1.5 teaspoons with the cornstarch, 1.5 teaspoons with the raspberries & sugar), 2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries, and 3 Tablespoons of sugar. For the crust, use 30 Oreos and 1/2 cup (8 Tablespoons) of melted butter. Bake time is closer to 45–50 minutes. Cool for 1 hour at room temperature, then chill for at least 4–5 hours before slicing. Use these same amounts for a full cheesecake in a 10-inch springform pan (no smaller). I recommend following the baking and cooling instructions, including using a water bath, as found in my regular cheesecake recipe. I found the edges rose up and burned quickly, so tent with aluminum foil after about 30 minutes. (I found the cheesecake then stuck to the foil, creating a bit of a mess on top.) For these reasons, I strongly recommend using this recipe for bars instead of a full cheesecake.

Mini Individual Cheesecakes: Use the baking and cooling instructions found in my mini cheesecakes and use this recipe as written. Recipe makes about 2 dozen cheesecakes in a muffin pan. Line 2 12-count muffin pans with liners. Firmly press 1.5 Tablespoons of crust mixture into each. Pre-bake for 5 minutes. Pour filling on top, about 1 Tbsp filling for each. Drizzle each with raspberry sauce. Swirl with a toothpick. Again, use the baking and cooling instructions found in my mini cheesecakes. Feel free to top cooled mini cheesecakes with whipped cream.