Recipe: Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars

This quick and easy recipe for Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars is perfect to make for bringing to work for a food day or maybe a dessert for watching the cake… it goes together in not time.. and is absolutely delicious!

It’s a shortcut recipe from the folks at Betty Crocker… and uses a cookie mix for the base… yes .. I know.. the blog snob will heart failure… yet another easy recipe that doesn’t take hours to make from scratch.. horrors!!! … how can you possibly make anything that uses a shortcut??? Well I don’t know about you.. for me.. it’s all about the taste… not about the labor… I’m more than willing to work in the kitchen if I have to… but if I don’t… all the better!

TIPS

There were a number of problems with this recipe… I made a few adjustments to the recipe and directions…

I read the reviews on the site and agree with them… this recipe does not make enough for a 9 x 13 pan… pure and simple… so you have a couple of choices here… if you have your heart set on a 9 x 13 size pan… make a double recipe of the crust and press what’s left into a medium to large cookie … decorate it and everyone will think you baked it just for the cookie cake….

If you do double the crust for the 9 x 13 pan.. you don’t have to double the cheesecake part.. that amount worked perfectly.

Another option… is to use a smaller pan… I used an 7 x 11 pan and the crust was fine… but.. I didn’t have enough crumb mixture left to do a crumb topping…. next time I won’t bother to even try to put a topping on it… it doesn’t really need it…

I kept the name of the recipe the same as the original… but it really is misleading… the original recipe uses an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie mix… I scanned the recipe before going to the store and missed that.. and bought a chocolate chip cookie mix… when I realized my mistake.. I made them anyway… they were excellent … so it’s up to you which one to use.

I lined my baking pan with non-stick foil… let the foil over hang a bit… this way all I had to do was lift them out of the pan onto a cutting board to cut… I still sprayed the foil with cooking oil spray to be sure they didn’t stick.

I got my cream cheese very soft… and it was a snap to make the filling… if you need to soften the cream cheese quickly.. click here for tips.

I refrigerated mine overnight, and they cut fine as long as I wiped the blade in between cuts… the Betty Crocker people suggest using a wet knife and wiping the blade after each cut…

Try these… you will like them!






Recipe: Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars

All you need:

Crust:

½ cup cold butter
1 pouch (1 lb. 1.5 oz.) Betty Crocker Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix (see Tips)
1 egg, slightly beaten

Cheesecake Filling:

2 pkgs. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

All you have to do:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Line a baking pan (7 x 11 inch) … see tips for baking pan size… with non-stick foil. Spray the foil with cooking oil spray and set aside.

In a large bowl, cut the butter into the cookie mix with a fork or pastry blender until well distributed.

Stir the beaten egg into the cookie mix mixture until it’s crumbly.

If using 1 mix… press all of the mixture into the bottom of your prepared pan…. if using 2 mixes… press 3 cups (for a 7 x 11 pan) or 4 cups for a (9 x 13 pan)… reserve the rest for a crumb topping and another use (see tips)

Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until well mixed.

When the crust comes out of the oven, pour the cheesecake mixture over the crust. If you are using 2 cookie mixes… you will have enough to sprinkle some of the cookie mix mixture over the top for a crumb topping… and use the leftovers for a large cookie “cake” as an extra (see tips).

If you only use 1 cookie mix… that’s fine.. these will taste wonderful without the topping.

Bake 25-30 minutes or until a light golden brown and firm to the touch (mine took 30 minutes).

Cool 30-40 minutes, then refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.

Lift the foil out of the pan and place the bars on a cutting board and cut into bars using a sharp knife. For clean cuts, wipe the blade in between cuts.