Snickerdoodle Cheesecake Bars

Scott signed me up for the Bake-Off at work, and my randomly assigned category was cheesecake! Oh no... break my heart... ha, ha! But I need to make a cheesecake that can easily be made into 35 servings with a generic enough flavor to appeal to most people without being boring, yet special enough to hopefully win the contest. So I stumbled upon a recipe for Snickerdoodle Cheesecake Bars and have been adapting it to try and make it perfect. Let me tell you... no one is complaining!

I am going to include the recipe for the bars, along with a recipe for a full round cheesecake made in a 9-inch springform pan.

Snickerdoodle Cheesecake Bars

Ingredients:

Cinnamon Sugar: (double this if not using the optional cinnamon sauce recipe)

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Cookie Crust:

• ⅔ cup (150gm) unsalted butter, room temperature
• ⅔ cup granulated sugar
• 1 ½ tbsp light brown sugar
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
• 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups + 2 tbsp all-purpose flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
• 2 tsp corn starch
• 1 ½ tsp cream of tartar
• ½ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon

Cheesecake Filling:

• 2 lb (4 bricks) full-fat cream cheese, room temperature
• 1½ cup granulated sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• 1½ cup full-fat sour cream

Crumb Topping:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• ½ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
• ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 8 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Directions:

Cinnamon Sugar:

1. In a bowl, combine the sugar with the cinnamon until blended together.
2. Set aside until needed.

Cookie Crust:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Thoroughly grease a 10x15 glass baking pan with non-stick baking spray, or line the pan with baking paper so that the paper hangs over the edges.
• Note: This pan size is just one size larger than a 9x13.
2. In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar for 5 minutes, scraping the bowl several times, until light and fluffy.
3. Add the egg, egg yolk and vanilla, and mix on low to combine. The mixture will look lumpy.
4. Separately, whisk together the flour, corn starch, cream of tartar, salt and cinnamon. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and mix just until everything comes together into a dough.
5. Press the snickerdoodle cookie dough against the bottom of the prepared pan. Poke all over with a fork or dough docker. If not using the optional cinnamon sauce, sprinkle half of your cinnamon sugar mixture over the crust before baking.
6. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, and turn the oven down to 325F.
7. While the crust is baking, you should be getting the filling and topping ready. If using the optional cinnamon sauce, also prepare this now.

Cheesecake Filling:

1. In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or paddle, beat the cream cheese with the sugar for 5 minutes, until smooth and fluffy.
2. Add the vanilla bean paste and the eggs, mixing on low (or whisking by hand) until combined. Whisk in the sour cream.
3. Spread the filling over the hot crust.
• If using the optional cinnamon sauce, spread this in an even layer over the crust before topping with the cheesecake filling.
• The cinnamon sauce can move and smoosh up the sides of the pan when adding the cheesecake filling, so I would spread the cinnamon sauce near to, but not quite up to, the edge of the crust and then dollop the cheesecake filling around (maybe with a cookie scoop) especially near the edges to help spread things out without moving the cinnamon sauce layer too much.

Crumb Topping:

1. In a bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. Drizzle with the melted butter, and stir together until moist and crumbly.
2. Sprinkle the topping over the cheesecake filling. Everyone likes a different amount of crumb topping, so use as much or as little as you like.

Bake:

1. Bake the cheesecake for about 35 minutes (be sure the oven is set to 325). The topping should be golden brown, and the cheesecake should still have a wobble to it and will set up more as it cools. Center should be 150 degrees. I highly recommend using a kitchen thermometer to test for this.
2. Turn off the oven, prop open the door about an inch or two and leave the bars to finish a slow cook for about 30 minutes.
3. Remove from oven. Cool at room temperature for 2 hours, then refrigerate for at least 4-6 hours, or overnight, until well chilled and set.
4. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture on top of the cheesecake, and cut into squares. 

• Tips: Because of the crumb topping, it is nice to serve the squares in cupcake liners to contain the mess. You can get about 35 servings by cutting in a 4-slice by 9-slice grid. For clean, professional looking slices, run a large knife under hot water, dry the blade, and then make one slice straight down and back up. Do not drag the knife through the cheesecake to complete a longer cut. Clean and reheat the blade between each cut.

Marsha's Notes:

For more cinnamon flavor, you can also add a cinnamon sauce to your recipe. Either swirl it into the cheesecake filling or spread it over your crust after it has had it's initial 10 minute bake. A single batch of sauce should probably be suitable for a 9-inch cheesecake, but you will want to double the recipe for a large pan of bars. To make the sauce:

Cinnamon Sauce (single batch... Double if making a large pan of bars):

• ¼ cup butter
• ¾ cup dark brown sugar
• 3 Tbl. half and half
• 1 Tbl. ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. ground cloves
• 1 Tbl. flour

Directions:

1. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add brown sugar, 2 Tbl. half and half, cinnamon, salt, and cloves and cook while stirring constantly until mixture comes to a simmer. Immediately remove from heat, add remaining table spoon half and half and stir in flour. 

Here is the recipe for a traditional 9-inch springform pan.

Snickerdoodle Cheesecake

Ingredients:

Cinnamon Sugar:

• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Cookie Crust:

• 1/3 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 tbsp light brown sugar
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cups + 1 tbsp all-purpose flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
• 1 tsp corn starch
• 3/4 tsp cream of tartar
• 1/4 tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Cheesecake Filling:

• 2 lb (4 bricks) full-fat cream cheese, room temperature
• 1½ cup granulated sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• 1½ cup full-fat sour cream

Crumb Topping:

• 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
• ½ cup light brown sugar
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• ½ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
• ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
• ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
• 6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Directions:

Cinnamon Sugar:

1. In a bowl, combine the sugar with the cinnamon until blended together.
2. Set aside until needed.

Cookie Crust:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Thoroughly grease a 9-inch springform baking pan with non-stick baking spray. If desired, cut a circle of parchment paper to fit in the bottom of your pan before spraying.
2. In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar for 5 minutes, scraping the bowl several times, until light and fluffy.
3. Add the egg and vanilla, and mix on low to combine. The mixture will look lumpy.
4. Separately, whisk together the flour, corn starch, cream of tartar, salt and cinnamon. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and mix just until everything comes together into a dough.
5. Press the snickerdoodle cookie dough against the bottom of the prepared pan. Poke all over with a fork. Sprinkle the dough with about half of the cinnamon sugar mixture.
• If using the optional cinnamon sauce, you can omit sprinkling the top of the crust with the cinnamon sugar mixture and instead save some or all of it for the topping at the end.
6. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, and turn the oven down to 325F.
7. While the crust is baking, you should be getting the filling and topping ready.

Cheesecake Filling:

1. In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or paddle, beat the cream cheese with the sugar for 5 minutes, until smooth and fluffy.
2. Add the vanilla bean paste and the eggs, mixing on low (or whisking by hand) until combined. Whisk in the sour cream.
3. Spread the filling over the hot crust.

• If using the optional cinnamon sauce, spread this in an even layer over the crust before topping with the cheesecake filling.
• The cinnamon sauce can move and smoosh up the sides of the pan when adding the cheesecake filling, so I would spread the cinnamon sauce near to, but not quite up to, the edge of the crust and then dollop the cheesecake filling around (maybe with a cookie scoop) especially near the edges to help spread things out without moving the cinnamon sauce layer too much.

Crumb Topping:

1. In a bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon. Drizzle with the melted butter, and stir together until moist and crumbly.
2. Sprinkle the topping over the cheesecake filling.

Bake:

1. To bake the cheesecake in a water bath: Wrap the bottom and sides of the springform pan in a large piece of tin foil to prevent water from leaking into the cheesecake.
• I like to use the extra-long tin foil rolls for this so I can cover the entire bottom and sides of the pan with a single sheet. Using two smaller pieces to cover often leads to leaks.
2. Then place the spring form pan into an oven-safe dish large enough to hold the cheesecake pan and enough hot water poured around the foil-wrapped cheesecake pan to come about 2 inches up the sides (or halfway up the pan). Place in the center of the oven.
• It can be helpful to wait to pour the water in until after the cheesecake and oven-safe dish have been placed in the oven.
3. Bake the cheesecake for about 60-75 minutes (be sure the oven is set to 325). The topping should be golden brown, and the cheesecake should still have a slight wobble to it. Center should be 150 degrees but no hotter than 160 degrees. If your cheesecake has not yet reached 150 degrees, continuing cooking at 325 until it has.
4. Turn off the oven, prop open the door about an inch or two and leave cheesecake to finish a slow cook for about 30-60 minutes to completely set the middle.
5. Remove from oven. Cool at room temperature for 2 hours, then refrigerate for at least 4-6 hours, or overnight, until well chilled and set.
6. Sprinkle the remaining cinnamon sugar mixture on top of the cheesecake.
• If you did the optional cinnamon sauce on the top of the crust and didn't sprinkle any of your cinnamon sugar mixture over the crust, you may have more than you would like for sprinkling over the top of the crumb, so just use as much as you think is appropriate.

Marsha's Notes:

For more cinnamon flavor, you can also add a cinnamon sauce to your recipe. Either swirl it into the cheesecake filling or spread it over your crust after it has had it's initial 10 minute bake. A single batch of sauce should probably be suitable for a 9-inch cheesecake, but you will want to double the recipe for a large pan of bars. To make the sauce:

Cinnamon Sauce:

• ¼ cup butter
• ¾ cup dark brown sugar
• 3 Tbl. half and half
• 1 Tbl. ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. ground cloves
• 1 Tbl. flour

Directions:

1. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add brown sugar, 2 Tbl. half and half, cinnamon, salt, and cloves and cook while stirring constantly until mixture comes to a simmer. Immediately remove from heat, add remaining table spoon half and half and stir in flour. 

Cinnamon Sauce

The Best Keto Cheesecake

Krystal asked me to add this to the blog. It is a low-carb version of cheesecake, so when you are looking for something for dessert, but also want to watch your blood sugar levels. Enjoy! She sure did!

Find the original recipe here: https://jenniferbanz.com/the-best-keto-cheesecake

The Best Keto Cheesecake

Ingredients:

For the crust:

• 1 ½ Cups almond flour
• ¼ Cup Powdered Sweetener (like Stevia)
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 6 Tablespoons Butter, melted

For the filling:

• 6 Packages 8 ounces full fat cream cheese, room temperature
• 2 Cups Powdered Sweetener (like Stevia)
• 5 Large Eggs room temperature
• 8 Ounces Sour Cream room temperature
• 1 Tablespoon Vanilla extract

Equipment:

• 10 inch Springform Pan

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 325F.  Adjust the rack to the middle of the oven.  Combine the crust dry ingredients in a medium bowl.  Mix in the butter.  Pour the crust mixture into a 10 inch x 4 inch springform pan and press halfway up the sides using your fingers.  Use a flat bottomed cup to press the mixture into the bottom.  Refrigerate the crust for 20 minutes.
2. In a large mixing bowl, beat the room temperature cream cheese with a hand mixer until light and fluffy.  If you use a stand mixer use the paddle attachment.  
3. Add in the sweetener a little at a time (about ⅓) and beat with the hand mixer.  
4. Add in the room temperature eggs one at a time and beat until well incorporated.
5. Finally, add in the vanilla and room temperature sour cream and beat until just incorporated.
6. Pour the cheesecake mixture into the crust and even out the top.  Bake in the pre-heated oven.  Check after 50 minutes.  The top should no longer be glossy and the center should still be jiggly. 
7. Turn off the oven and crack the door.  Let the cheesecake sit in the oven for 30 minutes.  Remove the cheesecake from the oven run a sharp paring knife between the cheesecake and the pan (this is to ensure the cake doesn't stick.  Do not remove the springform).  Let sit on the counter for 1 hour.
8. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours.  
9. Remove the springform pan sides, decorate the top, and serve.  Makes 12 slices.

JENNIFER'S TIPS (from the website where we got the recipe)

NUT FREE VERSION: If you are intolerant to almonds, you can do a 1 for 1 swap with sunflower seed flour!  

PAN SIZE: This keto cheesecake recipe requires a large springform pan.  I have linked to one in the recipe carb above.  If you use one that is too small, you will have leftover filling.

CRUSTLESS LOW CARB CHEESECAKE: To make this without a crust, line the inside of the springform pan with parchment paper.  You can also butter the sides and bottom really well.  Then continue with the cheesecake as normal.

KETO PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE: Simply replace the sour cream with pumpkin puree and add in 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice.

VERY IMPORTANT: The most important thing you should know when it comes to making cheesecake is that all of your ingredients should be at room temperature.  Anything that is refrigerated should be left out for at least 2 hours, preferably 4.  That means eggs, sour cream, and cream cheese.  Submerging your eggs in warm water will help speed up the process of bringing the ingredients to room temperature, as will unwrapping and chopping your cream cheese into smaller pieces.

FREEZING: This is a large keto cheesecake but good news, it freezes very well!  You can freeze individual slices or the whole cake...or half of the cake!

• This is a good reference for freezing a whole cheesecake
• To freeze individual slices, simply slice the pieces of cheesecake and place them on individual pieces of plastic wrap.  Wrap them tight, place in a freezer bag or bowl, and store them in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.  Any longer than 2 weeks and they will lose quality.

Cheesecake Pancakes

I found this recipe years ago and am now copying it here from our family cookbook binder. Enjoy!

Cheesecake Pancakes

Ingredients:

• 1 pkg. (8oz.) cream cheese
• 2 cups Bisquick mix
• ½ cup graham cracker crumbs
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sliced fresh strawberries
• 1/2 cup strawberry syrup

Directions:

1. Slice cream cheese lengthwise into four pieces.  Place on ungreased cookie sheet, cover and freeze 8 hours or overnight.  
2. Brush griddle or skillet with vegetable oil, or spray with cooking spray; heat griddle to 375 degrees or heat skillet over medium heat.  
3. Cut frozen cream cheese into bite-sized pieces; set aside.  
4. In large bowl, stir Bisquick mix, graham cracker crumbs, sugar, milk and eggs with wire whisk or fork until blended.  
5. Fold in cream cheese to batter.  
6. For each pancake, pour slightly less than 1/3 cup batter onto hot griddle.  Cook until edges are dry.  Turn; cook other sides until golden brown.  
7. In small bowl, mix strawberries with syrup; top pancakes with strawberry mixture.

Marsha's Notes:

• You freeze the cream cheese to make it easier to cut into small bites, but you can do it right out of the fridge too, it’s just messier.  
• Also, Scott and I found that instead of big chunks of unsweetened cream cheese in the middle of our pancakes, we enjoyed more leaving that cream cheese out and instead topping the pancakes with cheesecake flavored spreadable cream cheese from the tub instead.  No freezing or chopping required.
•  Lastly, instead of using strawberries with the syrup, we just sprinkled our fresh cut strawberries with some sugar, let sit until juices developed and topped our pancakes that way.  It saved us buying strawberry syrup that we didn’t want.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie

For Christmas this year, I wanted to try something new. My sister had posted on Facebook a recipe that looked similar to this one which I thought looked like a great new idea to try. So, after looking at several different layered pumpkin pies, I settled on Just a Pinch's Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie. While the picture they use (the one I included on this post) is a bit misleading... the layers of the pie don't come out with such high contrast because you mix one cup of the cream cheese filling with the pumpkin layer, so it is a bit more pale than what this picture would lead you to believe... but it is still DELICIOUS!

Just a Pinch's Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie

Ingredients:

• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 c white sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1 (9 inch) prepared pie crust (or graham cracker crust, whichever you prefer)
• 1/2 c pumpkin puree
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 pinch ground cloves
• 1 pinch ground nutmeg
• 1/2 c frozen whipped topping, thawed

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Blend in eggs one at a time. Remove 1 cup of batter and spread into bottom of crust; set aside.
3. Add pumpkin, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg to the remaining batter and stir gently until well blended. Carefully spread over the batter in the crust.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until center is almost set. Allow to cool, then refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight. Cover with whipped topping before serving.

Taste of Home's Eggnog Cheesecake

The other eggnog recipe I tried this holiday season was for this delicious cheesecake.  It's called an "eggnog" cheesecake because there is indeed eggnog in it.  However, instead, I would just call it a "holiday cheesecake" because it did not really taste that much like eggnog to me.  It was extremely mild, and mostly just tasted like a WONDERFUL cheesecake.

Looking through the recipe, I could not find a place to increase the amount of eggnog while decreasing another liquid.  So, my only other idea to boost the eggnog flavor was to see if you could buy eggnog concentrate or extract to add instead.  While some products seem to be available online, nothing was readily available for me to test in my home kitchen.  So, I am going to post this recipe as it originally appeared with the disclaimer that, while it was TOTALLY DELICIOUS, it was not very eggnog intense.

Click here for the original recipe from the Taste of Home website.

Eggnog Cheesecake

Ingredients:

Crust:

• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling:

• 3 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 3/4 cup eggnog
• 1/2 teaspoon rum extract
• Dash ground nutmeg

Directions:

1. Place a greased 9-in. springform pan on a double thickness of heavy-duty foil (about 18 in. square). Securely wrap foil around pan.
2. In a small bowl, combine the cracker crumbs, sugar and butter. Press onto the bottom of pan. Place on a baking sheet. Bake at 325° for 10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
3. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar and flour until smooth. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined. Gradually stir in the eggnog, extract and nutmeg. Pour filling over crust.
4. Place in a large baking pan; add 1 in. of hot water to larger pan. Place springform pan in a large baking pan; add 1 in. of hot water to larger pan.
5. Bake at 325° for 45-50 minutes or until center is just set and top appears dull. Remove springform pan from water bath. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer. Refrigerate overnight. Yield: 12-16 servings.
6. Editor's Note: This recipe was tested with commercially prepared eggnog.

Marsha's Notes:

I did not use the water bath, and it turned out just fine. I wrote a note on the recipe that says "Water bath makes too moist?" So I'm not sure if I even tried that or not. Ha, ha! I used 3 layers of foil when I wrapped my pan and it still leaked a bit, so be careful there. I also marked my recipe as 50 (+) minutes and "Brown on top some." The flavor must have been subtle because I also wrote 1/4-1/2 tsp eggnog flavoring.

Kraft's New York Cheesecake

I am a HUGE cheesecake fan, and this recipe was easy, made A LOT for my party, and was terrific. And the best part, no spring form pan required!  The picture and the recipe came from the Kraft website.

New York Cheesecake

Ingredients:

• 1 cup crushed graham crackers (about 6 grahams)
• 3 Tbl. sugar
• 3 Tbl. butter, melted
• 5 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 Tbl. flour
• 1 Tbl. vanilla
• 1 cup sour cream
• 4 eggs
• 1 can (21 oz.) pie filling, favorite flavor

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line 13x9 inch baking pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides of pan. Mix crumbs, 3 Tbl. sugar and butter; press firmly onto bottom of prepared pan. Bake 10 minutes.
2. Beat cream cheese, 1 cup sugar, flour and vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add sour cream; mix well. Add eggs, one egg at a time, mixing on low speed after each addition just until blended. Pour over crust. Bake 40 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool completely. Refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight. Lift cheese cake from pan using foil handles. Cut into small pieces to serve. Top with pie filling before serving. Store leftovers in refrigerator.

Taste of Home's Dulce De Leche Cheesecake

As cheesecakes go, this one is super easy yet also super yummy! A favorite at our house.

Dulce de Leche Cheesecake

Ingredients:

• ½ cup plus 1 Tbl. heavy whipping cream, divided
• ½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
• ¼ cup sweetened condensed milk
• 12 oz. cream cheese, softened
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 Tbl. flour
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• ½ tsp. grated lemon peel
• 1 egg
• 1 ready-made shortbread crumb crust

Directions:

1. In a heavy saucepan, combine ½ cup cream and brown sugar. Cook and stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Bring to moderate, steady boil. Boil, uncovered, about 5 minutes or until mixture is reduced to ½ cup, stirring occasionally. Stir in sweetened condensed milk; refrigerate.
2. In a small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar and flour on medium speed until fluffy. Add remaining cream, vanilla and lemon peel. Beat until combined. Add egg, beating until just combined. Place crust on baking sheet. Pour filling into crust. Drizzle with half of brown sugar mixture. Gently swirl with knife.
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes, or until center is almost set. Do not over cook and burn crust. Cool on wire rack for 1 hour. Refrigerate at least 4 hours. Before serving, in a small saucepan, cook and stir remaining brown sugar mixture over low heat until warm. Cut cheesecake into wedges. Drizzle with warm brown sugar mixture.

Marsha's Notes:

OR! Skip the hassle of making your own dulce de leche and just use caramel ice cream topping instead for a similar result.

You can also use a graham cracker crust, if you prefer.

Here it is going into the oven.