When rhubarb season arrives everyone knows it. Rhubarb shows up everywhere because it just keeps growing and growing and growing! Not that we're complaining. Rhubarb is an amazing ingredients in soooo many things. Throw it in with some strawberries or blueberries and the flavor of whatever you are making just gets better.
These cheesecake squares can be whipped up in about an hour from start to finish and will make you all sorts of new friends. People cannot get enough of them! And by "people" I mean me. I may have eaten more than one..... quality control, you understand.
But seriously, be prepared to make more than one pan of these!
Rhubarb Cheesecake Squares
Ingredients
Rhubarb Layer
5 cups chopped rhubarb
3/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp water
3 tsp cornstarch
Cheesecake Layer
2 - 8 oz bricks of cream cheese (16 oz total), room temp
1/2 cup icing sugar
1 egg
Crust/Crumb Layers
1 cup butter
1 3/4 cup flour
1 cup oats
3/4 cup brown sugar
pinch salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Directions
Preheat oven to 350. Line a 9 X 13 pan with parchment paper, set aside.
Prepare rhubarb layer - cook rhubarb, sugar, and water. Simmer for 8 minutes over medium heat. Add in the cornstarch and cook 2 more minutes. Set aside to cool.
Prepare cheesecake layer - Beat together the cream cheese, icing sugar, and egg until smooth. Set aside.
Prepare crust/crumb layer - Crumble together butter, flour, oats, brown sugar, and salt. Add half of this mixture to the prepared pan and press firmly.
Add the walnuts to the remaining half and set aside.
Assemble square: Scoop cheesecake mixture by the spoonful on top of the crust and spread with a spoon, being careful not to disturb the crust layer too much.
Spread the rhubarb mixture on top of the cheesecake.
Lastly, crumble on the remaining crust/crumb mixture evenly over the top.
Lightly press down.
Bake in 350 oven until topping is golden brown and cheesecake is set - about 30 minutes.
Cool completely before slicing. Store in fridge.
Love cheesecake but not the time involved to make it? Give this a try. All the tastiness of cheesecake but in a fraction of the time. Plus... rhubarb and crumbly bits.... you've got nothing to lose here.
FYI - If you are a little shy of 5 cups of rhubarb you can make up the difference with strawberries!
wow.....good!
ReplyDeleteThank you Daniela! :)
DeleteUsing blueberries in place of the rhubarb, so far looks good
DeleteI made these last weekend and they were a hit! I not only used rhubarb, but also added a few strawberries. Everyone loved them!
DeleteI made a recipe similar the week before. I couldn't find it to make for a graduation party this week. I came upon this recipe and changed a few things.
Delete1. Added 2 teaspoons cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg to the rhubarb.
2. Instead of cornstarch, I used flour. 4 Tablespoons with the suar/rhubarb mix.
3. I baked the bottom crust for 10 minutes and cooled before adding the rest.
4. I ended up needing to bake the bars longer, I believe 14 minutes more.
Everyone loved the bars! Thank you! Will be a staple rhubarb recipe!
Can I fold rhubarb mixture into cheese mixture slightly
ReplyDeleteI doubt it
DeleteYou can but it would completely change the end result
DeleteAmazing. So so good.
DeleteSo easy and delicious! I also put some blueberries (about 1 cup) on the rhubarb for more colour.
ReplyDeleteThis was fabulous!!! I can’t brag on it enough. I didn’t have 5 cups of rhubarb and put frozen strawberries with it. It is soooo good!
ReplyDeleteWhat is icing sugar?
ReplyDeleteConfection or powder sugar
DeletePowder sugar
DeleteSo glad I read your wonderful recipe to the end as I had 4 cups rhubarb and needed to add in 1 cup strawberries...these bars are delicious! Made them for a Memorial weekend service at my club and the bars were enjoyed by all! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
ReplyDeleteRegular oats or quick oats
ReplyDeleteQuick
DeleteI use old fashioned oats. Worked great!
DeleteWas. 3 tsp. cornstarch enough to thicken the rhubarb mixture?
DeleteWell I’m making them for my granddaughter’s graduation. Looks pretty good but I would suggest adding a little water to the cornstarch before adding to the rhubarb. It lumped so I had to fish out as much as I could and added a little water to 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and added it. As a lot lumped I thought it wouldn’t be thick enough and thank goodness it has a crumble top to hide what I couldn’t scoop out
ReplyDeleteGood to know. Thanks!
DeleteStir the sugar and corn starch together blending well then add to the rhubarb .No more lumps!
DeleteThis recipe is delicious. I used pecans instead of walnuts simply because that is all I had. Everyone in the family loved it. Thank you💖
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteAny substitute for the egg??? I’ve got a family member very allergic to eggs, but this recipe sounds delicious!
ReplyDeleteApple sauce replaces eggs. Check in google for the measure
DeleteI’m not a fan of rhubarb, can I just use strawberries and/or combination of strawberries and blueberries instead?
ReplyDeleteWe've never done that before but you could give it a try. Let us know how it turns out if you do!
DeleteI cannot find how long to bake this. I do see the oven is set at 350.
ReplyDeleteSays 30 mins right at the end of instructions
ReplyDeleteNot sure how mine will be aesthetically I wasn’t paying attention and put the rhubarb down first. I’m laughing at myself and I’ll be taking them to a BBQ so I’m sure there will be comments
ReplyDeleteI am sure they will still taste delicious! :)
DeleteMade this with fresh rhubarb and it was out of this world good! I didn’t add the walnut as my family doesn’t care for them but this is definitely a keeper!
ReplyDeleteWhy isn’t this printable??
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately we do not have the option available to add a print button on the blog service we use.
DeleteCould you freeze this?
ReplyDeleteWe have never frozen it. that being said; I don't see why not. The rhubarb may release a little liquid when it thaws but I'm not entirely certain. Please let us know if you give it a try!
DeleteAdded a few drops of red food coloring to the rhubarb mixture for color.
ReplyDeleteWhat is icing sugar?
ReplyDeletePowdered sugar
DeleteCan I use frozen rhubarb?
ReplyDeleteI froze my own rhubarb... it seemed to work well. It doesn't make much difference to the overall outcome of the rhubarb mixture. Liquid comes out of the rhubarb when it thaws, but it all becomes liquefied when you add the sugar and heat from the stovetop, anyway, so the overall result is the same.
DeleteDo these freeze well?
ReplyDeleteHow many carbs per serving thanks
ReplyDeleteYou would have to enter the ingredients into a nutritional counter. We don't do that for our baked goods.
DeleteCan this be made a day or 2 ahead?
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. Just cover and keep refrigerated.
DeleteI have frozen rhubarb I understand it holds water will I need to add cornstarch?
ReplyDeleteI made with frozen rhubarb and raspberries.... delicious!! Didnt add the water cuz fruit was frozen.
ReplyDeleteNot a fan of any oats topping. What else would you suggest
ReplyDeleteI made it today for a birthday celebration! Everyone loved it! I did put some cinnamon in the crumble!
ReplyDeleteGreat recipe! Thank you! I did change it up just a bit, though. Something I seem to do with most recipes. (Wink) When making the rhubarb mixture, I added 1/2 packet of raspberry jello mix along with the cornstarch. This gave it added fruit flavor and color, which was absolutely delicious! You could use any jello flavor of your choice if you are not a fan of raspberry. Another idea, if you are looking to simplify this recipe and save time, would be to use homemade strawberry rhubarb jam in place of the rhubarb mixture. It works great! This is a wonderful and versatile dessert recipe!
ReplyDeleteSo if I need to add some strawberries, just put them in with the rhubarb and cook together?
ReplyDeleteI'd cook the rhubarb a bit first before adding the strawberries. Adding crushed pineapple would be great, as well!
DeleteI love rhubarb! Great with it. Every family gathering included homemade rhubarb pie, which looked forward to. Every family garden in the small town of Washington, Iowa, had rhubarb growing at end or another. Sometimes an aunt would harvest some and cute each of us kids a sour chunk to chew. That was memorable too. Thank you for this recipe. I cannot wait to try it and I will never add strawberries, blueberries, or anything to mine. I love rhubarb all by itself. Childhood in every bite.
ReplyDeleteSorry about the above typos. I was excited when I wrote it.
ReplyDelete3 tsp = 1 tablespoon. Is 1 Tbsp cornstarch really enough?
ReplyDeleteIt’s how much I used and it worked. If you’d like it thicker then you can add a little more.
DeleteCornstarch shouldn't be added to hot liquid, only cold, as it will definitely lump up.
ReplyDeleteIt won't clump of you add a bit of water to the cornstarch
DeleteMade it with just Rhubarb and would say they were just so so but would try again with strawberries also for flavour.
ReplyDeleteI ran out of brown sugar- could I use white sugar?
ReplyDeleteWhat could I use instead of the walnuts?
ReplyDeleteMade the recipe exactly as listed. Couldn’t taste the cheesecake layer at all. Was disappointing.
ReplyDeleteI don’t have parchment paper can I use Pam?
ReplyDeleteDoesn’t seem like a lot of sugar. Did anyone find that it could use more.
ReplyDelete