Cranberry Cheesecake Bars
With a crumbly topping and sweet cranberry cheesecake filling, these Cranberry Cheesecake Bars are the perfect fall and winter dessert! Easy to make and a dessert everyone loves, these bars will steal the show!
I love these Cranberry Cheesecake Bars! They’re simple to make, and everyone always devours them. They’re so festive, too! The sweet and tangy cranberry sauce is perfect in these bars, so they’re great for Thanksgiving and Christmas events, dinners, and gatherings.
This is also a great dessert to take to potlucks and parties. You can make them ahead of time and then just pop them into the fridge until you’re ready to go. And you can cut them smaller, so they’re ideal for nibbling with fingers or cut them larger for a plated dessert.
Cranberry Cheesecake Bars
These Cranberry Cheesecake Bars are a little different. The oats in them give them a more wholesome flavor, and the pecans add a nutty crunch. The combination of flavors is terrific, and I love one of these bars with a cup of coffee in the afternoon in addition to dessert.
One more thing – these bars make a sizeable batch. You’ll need a 9 x 13-inch baking dish to make these cake pan Cranberry Cheesecake Bars.
Why I love this recipe
- It’s sweet, tangy, nutty, and oh-so-pretty!
- This recipe makes about 30 bars, but you can cut them smaller.
- Cranberry Cheesecake bars are perfect in the fall and around the holidays!
Gather these ingredients
- All-purpose flour
- Quick oats – Or old-fashioned oats.
- Brown sugar – You’ll want dark brown sugar for this recipe.
- Pecans – Roasted and finely chopped.
- Butter – Softened.
- Premium white morsels
- Cream cheese – Softened.
- Sweetened condensed milk – Make sure this is NOT evaporated milk.
- Lemon juice
- Vanilla extract
- Almond extract
- Cranberry sauce – Look for canned whole berry cranberry sauce.
- Cornstarch
How to make Cranberry Cheesecake Bars
- Preheat your oven to 350-F and prepare a 9 x 13-inch baking dish by greasing it with butter or spraying it with cooking spray.
- Combine the flour, oats, brown sugar and pecans in a large bowl. Add the softened butter and work it in with your fingers or a spatula until it is crumbly and combined.
- Stir in the white chocolate morsels, and set aside 2 ½ cups for the topping.
- Press the remaining crumb mixture into the prepared pan.
- Beat the cream cheese in a large bowl with an electric mixer, or use the paddle attachment of your stand mixer until it is creamy.
- Add the sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice, vanilla and almond extract and mix until smooth.
- Pour the creamy mixture over the crust.
- Combine the cranberry sauce and cornstarch in another bowl, then spread it over the cream cheese mixture in the baking pan.
- Sprinkle the reserved crumb mixture over the top of the cranberries.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the center is set. Cool the bars completely in the pan on a wire rack.
- Cover and refrigerate until ready to cut and serve.
Tips & substitutions
- When pressing the crumb mixture into the pan, flour your fingertips to keep it from sticking, or use the back of a spatula.
- Use a hot, wet knife when cutting these bars. They’ll cut more easily if they’re very cold.
- You can use walnuts instead of pecans; toasting them first gives them such a nice flavor.
- Make sure your cream cheese is quite soft before blending it, or it’ll be lumpy.
Serving suggestions
These Cranberry Cheesecake Bars would be an awesome addition to a dessert board, or serve them along with other holiday desserts like M&M Christmas Cookies, White Chocolate Pistachio Cookie Bars, and Raspberry Chocolate Dessert Cups.
Storage
Store any leftover bars in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Check out these awesome cake pan dessert recipes while you’re here
Get the Recipe:
Cranberry Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups quick or old fashioned oats
- ⅓ cup packed dark brown sugar
- ½ cup finely chopped pecans
- 1 cup 2 sticks butter, softened
- 2 cups 12 oz. pkg: premium white morsels
- 1 package, 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
- 1 can, 14 oz. Sweetened Condensed Milk (not evaporated milk)
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tsp. almond extract
- 1 can, 14 oz. Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease 13 x 9-inch baking pan.
- Combine flour, oats, brown sugar, and pecans in large bowl. Add butter and mix until crumbly. Stir in white chocolate morsels. Set aside 2 1/2 cups morsel mixture for the topping. Press the remaining crumb mixture into prepared pan. TIP: You may want to flour your fingers to make pressing easier.
- In a large mixing bowl beat the cream cheese until creamy. Add sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice, vanilla and almond extracts; mix until smooth. Pour the creamy mixture over the crust.
- In a medium bowl, combine the cranberry sauce and cornstarch. Spread over cream cheese mixture in the baking pan. Sprinkle reserved crumb mixture over the cranberries.
- Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until center is set. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cover; refrigerate until serving time (up to 1 day). Cut into bars.
Hello and welcome to my home and table!
I’m Sandy—lover of food, family, cooking, THE BIG BOARD, travel, and bringing people together. Through great recipes and connection around the table, we become better, stronger, and more courageous people. Feasting on Life is real, and every time we do it, we grow a little more. Read more...
