Cherry Cheesecake Bars Easy To Make

Love cheesecake but not the hassle of making it from scratch? Try these recipes instead! Mini cheesecakes, lemon cheesecake bars, or sopapilla cheesecake bars!

Easy Cherry Cheesecake Bars

I love homemade cheesecake. But sometimes I don’t want to go through the effort of making a regular-sized cheesecake and worrying about water baths, cracking, and all those considerations that come along with traditional cheesecake. These cherry cheesecake bars are super simple to make and are always a crowd pleaser! The first step in this recipe is to make the crust. You’ll need graham cracker crumbs, butter and sugar which get pressed into the bottom of a square pan, then baked until crisp. While the crust is baking, I prepare the filling. Here are the ingredients you’ll need for both:

Ingredient List

The filling is a simple combination of cream cheese, vanilla extract, eggs, sugar and heavy cream. If you don’t have heavy cream on hand, sour cream will also work. The cheesecake bars will need to chill for at least 2 hours, so plan accordingly! You can actually prepare the bars up to 3 days before you plan to serve them, then simply slice and top with cherries right before serving.

Crust:

Graham Cracker Crumbs: Form the base of the crust. Sugar: Sweetens and helps bind the crumbs together once baked. Salted Butter: Adds moisture, richness, and also keeps the crust in place. Unsalted butter will also work if that’s all you have on hand. You can add a pinch of salt to the crust mixture separately.

Cheesecake Filling/ Topping:

Cream Cheese: The star ingredient! This creates the classic rich and creamy cheesecake texture. Sugar: Sweetens up the filling. Sour Cream: Adds a touch of tang and keeps the filling moist. Heavy Cream: Enhances richness and also prevents cracks in the baked cheesecake. Eggs: Bind the ingredients and provide structure for a perfect slice! Vanilla Extract: Infuses the filling with a hint of sweet, aromatic flavor. Cherry Pie Filling: For the topping!

How to Make Cherry Cheesecake Bars

I actually think the trickiest part about this cheesecake bar recipe is cutting the bars into neat squares! The bars are easiest to cut straight from the fridge and when you use a hot knife. (See the tips below!) This recipe makes about 9 larger squares or 12 smaller squares.

Cheesecake

Use Full-Fat Ingredients: Use full-fat cream cheese and sour cream! Decadent cheesecake bars isn’t the time to skimp on the fat. Room Temperature Ingredients: Room-temperature ingredients will blend more smoothly, so set your cream cheese, sour cream, cream, and eggs on the counter for an hour or two before you’re ready to start baking. Making Graham Cracker Crumbs: If you don’t have graham cracker crumbs, blend 12 whole graham crackers in the food processor or blender until finely ground. Don’t Over-bake the Bars! The center of the cheesecake bars should have just the slightest wobble to it, like jello after it has been set. Cutting Into Squares: Use a hot knife to cut your cherry cheesecake bars for the cleanest cut. Run a chef’s knife under very hot water, dry with a clean kitchen towel, and then slice. Repeat these steps between each cut for the cleanest slices.

These cherry cheesecake bars can also be made in advance and frozen! Remove the chilled bars from the pan and slice them into pieces. Place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze for 2 hours, until the bars are frozen solid. Transfer them to an airtight container, laying a piece of parchment between them if you are going to stack them. They will keep for up to 3 months. Thaw in one layer in the fridge overnight.