With a thick delicious crust and a tasty cherry swirl, these Cherry Cheesecake Bars are a hit with friends and family.
I’m absolutely in love with anything that has cheesecake it it’s name. Always have been and always will be.
Cheesecake, hands down has to be one of my all-time favorite desserts. But when you turn them into bars, they get even better.
These Cherry Cheesecake Bars are a huge hit in our house, everyone loves cherry and cherry and cheesecake just go hand in hand.
These are super simple too, and they don’t require as long as a cooling time as your regular cheesecake, win!
With easy to find ingredients that you have on hand, you can have these Cherry Cheesecake Bars on your table in no time.
Some of my other favorite cherry recipes that we have on our site include: Cherry Pie, Cherry Danishes and Cherry Coke Cupcakes.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
- With easy to find ingredients, these come together in no time.
- You can switch up the flavors to what you love.
- Double this recipe to feed a larger crowd.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED (FULL RECIPE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST):
Graham cracker crumbs
Unsalted butter
Granulated sugar
Cream cheese
Eggs
Heavy cream
Vanilla extract
Almond extract
Cherry pie filling
HOW TO MAKE CHERRY CHEESECAKE BARS, STEP BY STEP:
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 9×9-inch baking pan or line with parchment paper.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and granulated sugar until fully moistened.
- Firmly press the mixture evenly into the bottom of the prepared baking pan with the back of a spoon or your hands to form a crust.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or with a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese and granulated sugar together until smooth.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Stir in the heavy cream, vanilla extract, and almond extract until well combined.
- Spread the cream cheese mixture evenly over the crust.
- In a small bowl, mash ½ cup of the cherry pie filling with a fork until there’s only small pieces of cherry.
- Spoon dollops of the mashed cherry pie filling over the cheesecake layer. Use a knife or skewer, gently swirl the cherry pie filling into the cheesecake mixture, creating a marbled effect (be careful to not over swirl or it won’t look marbled).
- Place in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the edges are set and the center is slightly jiggly (it should not be soupy in the center). It will continue to set as it cools.
- Remove the pan from the oven and let it cool completely at room temperature.
- Once cooled, refrigerate the cheesecake bars for at least 2 hours, or until firm.
- Once chilled, cut into bars and serve topped with a dollop of cherry pie filling.
HOW LONG SHOULD I REFRIGERATE THESE?
You will want to make sure that you have them cool to room temperature first before refrigerating.
Once in the refrigerator you will want them to chill for at least 2 hours until the are completely set.
CAN I USE OTHER PIE FILLINGS OR FLAVORS?
Absolutely, this recipe is totally customizable to whatever flavor cheesecake bars you want to make.
Some of our favorite flavors/filling that we add include:
- Blueberry
- Raspberry
- Apple
- Strawberry
- Peach
- Chocolate Cream
- Lemon
WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO CUT CHEESECAKE BARS?
I have always recommended this and will still always recommend this when cutting cheesecake.
Get a sharp knife and run it under hot water, cut your cheesecake in one line, then rinse of and repeat for each cut that you make.
The hot water helps the cheesecake not to stick to the knife and makes perfectly even cuts each and every time.
DO I HAVE TO USE BOTH EXTRACTS?
No, this is a personal preference as we love the two flavors together, especially in these Cherry Cheesecake Bars.
You can use one or the other, just make sure to double the amount if using just one.
HOW TO STORE:
These can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container where they will keep for up to 3-5 days.
These can also be frozen, I recommend freezing without the cherry pie filling on top.
Place your bars on a baking sheet and let them freeze for about an hour. Wrap each bar in plastic wrap and then place in a freezer container where they will keep for up to 3 months.
To defrost, remove to the refrigerator until thawed, top and serve.
TIPS AND TRICKS:
- Using room temperature ingredients helps things combine well.
- You will want to make sure that you are adding your eggs one at a time, we want to make sure each egg is fully combined.
- Do not skip letting these cool to room temperature, this will help prevent cracking when you place in the refrigerator.
- These can be frozen, see above on how to do that.
- Other flavors can be made, see above on some ideas.
- The best way to cut these bars is to use a sharp hot knife.
- You do not have to pre bake the crust before making these bars!
- Easily double this recipe to make a 9×13-inch pan of bars.
Love a good bar recipe that contains cheesecake and fruit? Then you will not be able to resist my Cherry Cheesecake Bars.
If you like this recipe you might also like:
- No Bake Banana Cheesecake Bars
- Oreo Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars
- Funfetti Sugar Cookie Cheesecake Bars
- Peach Cobbler Cheesecake Bars
If you’ve tried these CHERRY CHEESECAKE BARS or any other recipe on my site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and what shenanigans I’m getting into!
Cherry Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
For the cheesecake filling and cherry swirl:
- 16 ounces cream cheese softened
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- ¼ cup heavy cream room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- 1 ½ cups cherry pie filling reserve ½ cup for the swirl
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 9×9-inch baking pan or line with parchment paper.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and granulated sugar until fully moistened.
- Firmly press the mixture evenly into the bottom of the prepared baking pan with the back of a spoon or your hands to form a crust.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or with a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese and granulated sugar together until smooth.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Stir in the heavy cream, vanilla extract, and almond extract until well combined.
- Spread the cream cheese mixture evenly over the crust.
- In a small bowl, mash ½ cup of the cherry pie filling with a fork until there’s only small pieces of cherry.
- Spoon dollops of the mashed cherry pie filling over the cheesecake layer. Use a knife or skewer, gently swirl the cherry pie filling into the cheesecake mixture, creating a marbled effect (be careful to not over swirl or it won’t look marbled).
- Place in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the edges are set and the center is slightly jiggly (it should not be soupy in the center). It will continue to set as it cools.
- Remove the pan from the oven and let it cool completely at room temperature.
- Once cooled, refrigerate the cheesecake bars for at least 2 hours, or until firm.
- Once chilled, cut into bars and serve topped with a dollop of cherry pie filling.
Notes
- Using room temperature ingredients helps things combine well.
- You will want to make sure that you are adding your eggs one at a time, we want to make sure each egg is fully combined.
- Do not skip letting these cool to room temperature, this will help prevent cracking when you place in the refrigerator.
- These can be frozen, see above on how to do that.
- Other flavors can be made, see above on some ideas.
- The best way to cut these bars is to use a sharp hot knife.
- You do not have to pre bake the crust before making these bars!
- Easily double this recipe to make a 9×13-inch pan of bars.
Nutrition
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