Cheesecake Cookie Bars!

Cheesecake cookie bars with a cookie dough base, baked vanilla cheesecake, & dollops of cookie on top

We all know that I love to combine two different bakes into one, right? My lemon drizzle cheesecake, my cheesecake brownies, my brownie doughnuts... there are so many more options when you start merging bakes, and this is one of the best. 

Cookie bars

I’ve been trawling the internet for different ways I could develop the delicious and heavenly cookie bar after my Rolo cookie bars and others have been so delicious and addictive. And then I found this from Eating on a Dime. Oh my gosh… cheesecake and cookie bar put together?! YES PLEASE.

I’ve made my version of cheesecake cookie bars for a while now, and I genuinely didn’t realise that I have never posted them on to here. I tried them so soon after my other cookie bars, that I assumed I had. I used the same base recipe as my other cookie bars because the cookie dough is just elite, and then the same cheesecake mixture from my cheesecake brownies and it was perfect.

Dough

I don’t like to mess with something that I know works, so the cookie base stayed the same, I just switched out the Rolos for chocolate chips. I would say you could use Rolos as well, but it might bake a bit funny with the mixture of caramel and cheesecake (I tried, it was delicious, but very gooey.) but honestly? I prefer the chocolate chips for this one.

• Butter – You can use either block butter or a baking spread for this type of recipe.
• Sugar – I chose all light brown sugar for its rich flavour, but feel free to substitute some or all of it with white granulated sugar, like I do in other cookie recipes.
• Egg – I usually use medium eggs, but one large egg works perfectly fine for this cookie dough if you don’t have a medium egg.
• Vanilla – This is optional, but it adds a lovely depth of flavour.
• Flour – Plain flour is ideal here to avoid a cakey texture in your cookies – I do like to add a little cornflour for texture 
• Raising agents – I use bicarbonate of soda, which is a classic choice for cookies. Keep in mind, baking powder is not the same.
• Salt – I like to add sea salt for extra flavor, though you can skip it or use salted butter instead.
• Chocolate chips – you can use any flavour chocolate chips you fancy 

Baked cheesecake

This sort of cheesecake really does have to be baked, as the cookie is obviously baked. However, it’s still so creamy and delicious! I bake the cookie bars for a maximum of 30 minutes, as the cheesecake is still ever so slightly wobbly on top, but firm. The cookie isn’t completely solid, and its better that way because it has to be stored in the fridge, the cold will naturally make the cookie firmer.

• Soft cheese – you want to use a full-fat soft cheese in this. You can use any brand of full-fat soft cream cheese
• Egg – like the cookie dough, I use one medium egg. 
• Sugar – you can use caster sugar, light brown soft sugar, it depends the flavour you are after
• Vanilla – again, this is optional, but it adds a lovely depth of flavour

Adapting the recipe 

You could make this into a chocolate cookie base, by taking out 75g of plain flour, and adding 50g of cocoa powder to the mix. I have done this, and it is also SO deliciously yummy! Honestly, you could try anything with these (within reason) like using M&Ms instead of chocolate chips, or basically any other chocolates I have going spare. 

You can also flavour the cheesecake differently, if you like. You can use a bunch of different extracts such as lemon, orange, almond, or even coffee. I love making the cookie dough chocolate flavoured, and adding coffee to the cheesecake mix to make a mocha cheesecake cookie bars. 

I love anything cheesecake but combining it with my other favourite bakes is just a game changer! I have made some delicious cheesecake brownies that are a must try, and also a scrummy cheesecake loaf cake. Yes thats correct, basically anything with cheesecake added in, is just the elite.

Tips & Tricks 

• These cheesecake cookie bars will last for 3-4+ days in the fridge, once made
• You can freeze the cookie bars for 3+ months 
• I use a 9″ square tin in my recipe 
• Sometimes they can still look a little underdone, but often baked cheesecake can do so. It will still have a ever so slight wobble, and when you touch it, it will spring back, but it shouldn’t be liquid by any means.

Cheesecake Cookie Bars!

Cheesecake cookie bars with a cookie dough base, baked vanilla cheesecake, & dollops of cookie on top

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Category: Biscuits

Type: Cookie Bars

Keyword: Cheesecake

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cooling/setting time: 3 hours hours

Total Time: 3 hours hours 40 minutes minutes

Servings: 16 Pieces

Author: Jane's Patisserie

Ingredients

Cookie Mix

• 275 g plain flour
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp cornflour
• 115 g unsalted butter
• 55 g granulated sugar
• 135 g light brown sugar
• 1 medium egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 250 g chocolate chips

Cheesecake Mix

• 250 g full fat cream cheese
• 100 g caster sugar
• 1 medium egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

Grams - Ounces

Instructions

• Preheat your oven to 190ºc/170ºc fan and line a 9x9inch square tin with parchment paper, and leave to the side for now.
• Add the melted (or softened) butter to a bowl, and add the two sugars.
• Add in the egg, and vanilla, and mix again.
• Add the plain flour, bicarbonate, salt and cornflour and mix again until you have a cookie dough
• Add the chocolate chips and mix with a spatula until distributed evenly
• Add half of the mixture into the bottom of the tin and press down.
• In a bowl, beat the cream cheese until loose, and add the sugar and beat again until combined. Gradually beat in the egg until combined along with the vanilla.
• Pour the cheesecake mixture on top of the cookie bars, and then sprinkle and distribute over bits of the spare cookie dough.
• Bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Once baked, leave to cool in the tin completely, and then refrigerate for a couple of hours to set

Notes

• These cheesecake cookie bars will last for 3-4+ days in the fridge, once made
• You can freeze the cookie bars for 3+ months 
• I use a 9" square tin in my recipe 
• Sometimes they can still look a little underdone, but often baked cheesecake can do so. It will still have a ever so slight wobble, and when you touch it, it will spring back, but it shouldn’t be liquid by any means.

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