White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake Bars

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.

Raspberries, water and sugar

Cooked raspberries

Strained raspberries

Melted butter & Oreo crumbs

Finished crust

Make sure you use good quality baking chocolate!

Broken up chocolate bars

Melted white chocolate

Finished cheesecake batter

First layer of cheesecake batter

First layer of raspberry sauce

Second layer of cheesecake batter

Spoonfulls of raspberry sauce dropped in circles, then swirled once
through the middle with a toothpick to make hearts!

Finished bars!

Ready to cut after refrigerating

Soft-Baked M&M Cookie Bars

I made a few different kinds of cookies for Christmas this year and I've been trying to figure out if I should make any more or not. I had a bag of red and green mini M&Ms but have never really loved the cookie recipe that is on the bag, so I wasn't sure what to make with them. Usually I would make a skillet cookie but that is a better dessert to take to a small gathering where you will cut and serve it there (like after having dinner at someone's house). I saw this Soft-Baked M&M Cookie Bars recipe and decided to give it a try because it looked easy and I could cut them up and bring them to my sons' Preschool Christmas party on a tray, and freeze any remaining bars.

This recipe is super simple to make and takes no time at all. I love recipes that don't require a mixer and use melted butter (rather than having to plan ahead to soften butter).

I only used mini M&Ms in this recipe - I did not add chocolate chips. One 11-ounce bag of mini M&Ms was not quite 2 cups, so it was the perfect amount. I mixed most of them into the dough but reserved a few which I put on top before baking the bars in the oven.

Do not let these bars over-bake! Mine were a bit overdone when I checked them at 25 minutes the second time I made them (for Easter), so next time hopefully I'll remember to check them earlier.

If you use parchment paper and let the bars cool for an hour, it is very easy to lift them out of the pan and cut them up. I cut all 4 edges off and then cut the rest into little bars.

These are delicious and come together so quickly - give them a try the next time you have M&Ms that you aren't quite sure what to do with!

Soft-Baked M&M Cookie Bars

Recipe courtesy “Sally’s Baking Addiction” Website

 

Think of these bars as no-chilling, no-rolling EASY M&M cookies! Using melted butter, more brown sugar than white sugar, and a touch of cornstarch guarantee the absolute softest, chewiest M&M cookie bar texture.

2¾ cups all-purpose flour

1½ teaspoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted & cooled for just 5 minutes*

1 cup packed light or dark brown sugar

½ cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1¼ cups mini or regular-size M&Ms

¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

 

Preheat the oven to 350°. Adjust oven rack to the center rack position. Line the bottom and sides of a 9×13-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the sides to easily lift the bars out of the pan. Set aside.

 

Whisk the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.

 

In a medium bowl, whisk the melted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together until no brown sugar lumps remain. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla extract. Pour this into the flour mixture and mix together with a large spoon or rubber spatula. The dough will be very soft, slick, and thick. Fold in the M&Ms and chocolate chips. The M&Ms and chips may not stick to the dough because of the melted butter, but do your best to combine them.

 

Transfer dough to the prepared baking pan and press/smooth into an even layer. Bake for 26–30 minutes or until lightly browned on the sides and top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean with a few moist (not wet) crumbs. Do not over-bake. If you notice the bars browning too much before 25 minutes, tent the pan with foil. Bars puff up in the oven, but settle as they cool.

 

Allow the bars to cool in the pan set on a wire rack for at least an hour. While they’re still warm, I like to press a few more M&Ms and chocolate chips into the tops, just for looks (optional!). Once relatively cool, lift the bars out of the pan using the overhang on the sides and cut into squares.

 

Cover leftover bars and store at room temperature for up to 1 week.

 

NOTES:

Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Allow to come to room temperature and continue with step 4. Baked cookie bars freeze well for up to 3 months. Thaw bars overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before serving.

 

Cornstarch: If you don’t have cornstarch, you can leave it out. The cookie bars will still be soft.

 

Butter: Avoid letting the melted butter cool for too long, otherwise your dough will be crumbly instead of soft (and your cookie bars can end up cakey). You want it still warm, but not hot enough to begin cooking the eggs.

 

M&Ms: You can use regular-size, mini, or a mix of both. I like to crush some of them, too, to sprinkle on the top before baking. Totally optional!

 

Do I have to add chocolate chips? You can skip the chocolate chips. If you skip them, increase M&Ms to 1½ cups. You could also replace the chocolate chips with white chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, or peanut butter chips.

Edit April 2023: I made these again with regular size M&Ms for Easter. I prefer baking with the mini M&Ms and wish they made them more often in seasonal colors. I've only ever seen them in Christmas colors and in Red, White & Blue over the summer. These were slightly over-baked so next time I will be sure to set my timer for less than 25 minutes and check them earlier.

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Brownies

Years ago I made a chocolate chip cream cheese bar recipe using the Ghirardelli chocolate chip cookie mix. In recent years I haven't been able to find the mix in stores, and I prefer to not use box mixes anyway so I haven't made them in a while. My sister Maria made these similar Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Brownies a few weeks ago for a family gathering, and everyone said they were delicious. Unfortunately I missed the gathering so I decided to try these today to use up a block of cream cheese that I had no plans for. This recipe is very easy to make. The hardest part is waiting for them to cool off before being able to dig in! I baked them for 25 minutes and it was done on the outside but the inside was a little undercooked (but still delicious!), so next time I will bake the bottom crust a few minutes longer before adding the cream cheese and top crust. 

This is the perfect recipe to bring to someone else's house for dessert since you can make it the day before and just bring it in the 9x13 pan, or cut the squares and assemble on a plate or platter. Either way, this recipe is sure to please both kids and adults!

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Brownies

Recipe courtesy The Recipe Critic website

 

COOKIE CRUST:

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup sugar

½ cup butter, softened

½ cup oil

2 eggs

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 cups flour

12-ounce package chocolate chips

 

CHEESECAKE:

1 8-ounce package Cream Cheese, room temperature

1 egg

¼ cup granulated sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

 

Preheat oven to 350°. Cream butter, oil and sugars. Add eggs and beat until fluffy. Mix in the rest of the ingredients. Put half of the dough mix in the bottom of an ungreased 13x9 inch baking pan or casserole dish with half of the dough, forming a crust. Use your hands for this as if you were filling a pie plate with a homemade pie crust. Bake for 10 minutes.

 

While baking, beat the cream cheese, egg, sugar, and vanilla in a bowl until well blended. Take the crust out of the oven and spread the cream cheese mixture on the top, being sure to cover the entire top. It will be ooey and gooey and may blend with the crust and this is OK.

 

Take the other half of the cookie dough and crumble it on top of the cream cheese coating, being sure to cover it all. Bake for 25-35 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

 

Let cool for 30 minutes, then cool in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before serving. Store in the fridge, due to the cream cheese.

 

NOTES:

Flour your fingers before patting down brownie mix on the bottom of the pan to keep it from sticking to you.

 

When making your cheesecake mixture make sure your cream cheese is room temperature. If it is too cold it will not mix properly. (To speed up the process you can microwave the cream cheese at 10 second increments until you achieve room temperature consistency.)

 

Avoid cracks in your cheesecake by not over mixing. Too much air will cause the cheesecake to rise too rapidly in the oven which is what creates the cracking. Instead, mix the cream cheese and sugar completely then switch to a low blend once you add the egg.

 

Let the bars cool for 30 minutes before storing them in the refrigerator for 2 hours. Placing them in the refrigerator too soon after cooking will cause condensation which will make the cheesecake texture gummier and more inconsistent.

 

You can also use other cookie dough flavors instead of chocolate chip. Peanut butter, M&M, etc. The original recipe used a package of chocolate chip mix, I used my recipe for the Best Chocolate Chip Cookies.