Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars

 

I've been wanting to post this recipe for a while now but I never seem to be able to get any photos of the finished product. It's usually eaten up before I get the chance! This is a fairly simple bar to put together, even though there are three layers to it. Totally worth the few dishes you will have to clean up, IMO. 

You can cheat a bit and use a roll of Pillsbury chocolate chip cookie dough for the top layer if you don't want to make your own. 

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bar

Ingredients

Bottom Layer

1 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cup melted butter

1/4 cup brown sugar

Cheesecake Layer

2 - 8 oz pkgs cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup sour cream

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

Cookie Dough Layer

1/2 cup butter, softened (can use margarine)

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1 egg

2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cup flour

pinch salt

1 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Line a 9 X 13 pan with parchment paper, set aside. 

Bottom layer - Mix together graham crackers, butter, and brown sugar. Press evenly into the prepared pan. Bake at 350 for 5 - 8 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove from heat and set aside. 

Cheesecake layer - beat cream cheese until smooth, scraping bowl as needed. Beat in sugar, sour cream, egg, and vanilla. Spread over crumb layer in pan. 

Cookie dough layer - Beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 3 - 4 minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla. Add in flour, salt, and chocolate chips. Beat until stiff dough forms. Evenly crumble the dough over the cheesecake layer. It's okay if a bit of the cheesecake shows through in places. 

Bake at 350 for about 12 minutes, rotate pan, then bake another 10 - 15 minutes, until top is lightly golden brown and bar appears set. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature before attempting to cut. You can also let it chill in the fridge before cutting. 

This bar has so many flavors and textures that combine in the most amazing way. The buttery, caramelly crust, the smooth cream cheese middle, and the chocolatey cookie top are an unbeatable combo. 

Store them in the fridge after they have cooled. They also freeze very well if you want to make them ahead of time. They might look like a simple square but they are SO FLIPPIN' GOOD!!. 

After school snack or fancy dessert after dinner? 

This can be both, and so much more! 

Bourbon Bacon Marshmallow Macadamia Nut Brownies

If you ever want to be pushed into coming up with recipes you normally wouldn't think of then I recommend hosting a Chopped-type contest. You give your participants 2 mystery ingredients that they have to use to create a recipe. I have been hosting a Chopped: Quarantine Edition contest for just over a month now and it has been so much fun. It definitely has been helping me think outside the box when developing recipes.

I came up with this recipe when I chose bacon and brown sugar as the 2 mystery ingredients. I went a little crazy and threw in some bourbon and marshmallows and macadamia nuts because... why not? Some people say less is more, but when we are talking brownies: more is more. 

Bourbon Bacon Marshmallow Macadamia Nut Brownies

Ingredients

1/2 cup flour

2 tsp instant coffee

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp butter

3/4 cup cocoa powder

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 eggs + 1 yolk

3 Tbsp bourbon + 4 Tbsp of bourbon

1 tsp vanilla

3/4 cup macadamia nuts

1/2 cup bacon bits (divided)

1 jar marshmallow creme

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Line a 10 inch pan with parchment paper, set aside.

Stir together flour, instant coffee, and salt. Set aside. 

In the top of a double boiler, cook and stir butter, cocoa powder, and sugars for 8 minutes. 

Add in eggs and yolk, bourbon, and vanilla. Stir to combine well. Remove from heat and stir in flour mixture, macadamia nuts, and half of the bacon bits. 

Pour into prepared pan.

Drop the marshmallow creme by the spoonful on top. Swirl in with a butter knife. Top with the other half of the bacon bits. 

Bake at 350 for approx 30 - 40 minutes. Do not over bake or brownie will be dry.

Remove from heat and, using a pastry or basting brush, brush the 4 Tbsp of bourbon over the top of the brownie. 

Let cool completely. Run a knife around the edge of the pan and use parchment paper to help remove the brownie from the pan. Cut into 16 pieces. 

Can I just say.... these are perfect with a little bourbon on the side too. 

Father's Day is coming and I'm pretty sure a lot of dad's out there that would enjoy this!

A glass of milk would work too. Just sayin'

The bacon adds a salty crunch and the macadamia nuts have a wonderful crunchy yet not too crunchy texture. The marshmallow gets nice and toasty on top which is a whole other layer of flavor and texture. 

So. Much. Going. On. 

Rich and gooey and chocolaty. Everything a brownie should be. 

Easy Raisin Square

I know that usually raisins aren't the first thing most people go to when they feel like a treat BUT, now hear me out, they SHOULD be. See, they are plump and juicy and sweet and...they are a fruit...so..you know... healthy....ish. 

With only 5 ingredients, this square only takes about 2 minutes to whip up and then 25 minutes to bake so you could be enjoying a piece in under an hour! I dust mine with a little icing sugar because they aren't that sweet at all... but this is optional. It does make them look a little prettier though. 

Easy Raisin Square

Ingredients

1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk

2 cups raisins

1 1/4 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

For Decorating

1 Tbsp icing sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Line a 9 X 9 pan with parchment paper, set aside. 

Using a very sturdy spoon, stir together the condensed milk, raisins, flour, baking powder, and salt. Spread the batter into the prepared pan - NOTE: it helps to dip your fingers in water and then spread it in the pan as the batter is very sticky and thick. Try to get the top as flat and even as possible.

Bake for 25 minutes at 350, until edges are light golden brown. Remove from heat and let cool on wire rack for about 15 minutes. Use the parchment paper to lift the bar out and let cool completely on wire rack. 

Cut into squares (I believe I did 24).

Dust with icing sugar if desired.

These are dense and chewy and not-too-sweet. Plus they are inexpensive to make and make a great snack time treat. If you like raisins.... I'm assuming you do if you are reading this....

Raisins are great. 

Keto Nanaimo Bars

You guuuuuuuys! 

These Nanaimo Bars are going to change your life! Okay.... maybe not... but they might. You don't want to not try them and take the chance you're missing out. 

They taste like "normal" Nanaimo bars, they look like "normal" Nanaimo bars, and the texture is totally like "normal" Nanaimo bars. You'd never know they were keto/gluten free/diabetic friendly. 

I even had some taste testers say they preferred these over "normal" Nanaimo bars because they weren't quite as overwhelmingly sweet. 

I wanted to keep some of the Bird's Eye pudding powder in the recipe because that is what makes a Nanaimo bar a Nanaimo bar. It adds the most carbs to the recipe but also adds the authentic flavor and color. Per bar (recipe makes 24) the nutritional counts are: 191 calories, 17.5 fat, 5.9 carbs, 3.2 fiber, 2.7 protein. That's 2.7 net carbs per slice.

Doing keto you often can feel like you are missing out. Not with these bars. These keep well in the freezer so you can just pop one out whenever you need a keto friendly sweet treat!

Keto Nanaimo Bars

Ingredients

Bottom Layer

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup Swerve brown sugar 

1 egg

5 Tbsp unsweetened baking cocoa

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup almond flour

1 cup unsweetened coconut, toasted

Middle Layer

3/4 cup butter, room temp

2 Tbsp Bird's Eye custard powder

1 cup Swerve icing sugar

4 Tbsp whipping cream

Top Layer

3 Tbsp butter

6 oz (scant 1 cup) sugar free milk (or dark) chocolate chips

2 Tbsp Swerve icing sugar

Directions

Prepare bottom layer - In a heat safe bowl, stir together butter, brown sugar Swerve, and egg. Place over a pan of simmering water over medium heat (or in a double boiler). Stir until well mixed. Stir in the cocoa powder. Stir until thickened. 

Remove from heat and stir in walnuts, almond flour, and coconut until well mixed. Press into a 10 X 10 pan lined with tinfoil. Set aside. 

Prepare middle layer - beat together butter, custard powder, and Swerve icing sugar. Beat in the whip cream until smooth. Drop by the spoonful over the crust.

Use the back of a spoon to spread the layer evenly. Note - it helps to dip the spoon in water and shake it off, then spread to prevent sticking. You can also use your fingertips dipped in water to help spread it out. 

Chill the two layers for at least half an hour before doing the last step - or pop in the freezer for 20 minutes. It is very important you do not skip chilling it!! Spreading the chocolate layer on top will be almost impossible if the bottom layers are not chilled. 

Prepare the last layer - Melt butter and chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl in 20 second increments, stirring well in between, until smooth. Stir in the Swerve icing sugar. 

Working fairly quickly, drop the chocolate in spoonfuls over the yellow layer and then spread it with the back of a spoon. This can be a little tricky because the chocolate starts to melt the middle layer, making it difficult to spread. Don't worry if your chocolate isn't completely even - just do the best you can. 

Chill until set. 

Use the tinfoil to remove the bar from the pan - this will make it much easier to cut. 

Cut into 24 pieces. You can keep these in the fridge or on the counter. I tend to leave them in the fridge in a lidded container and take them out about half hour before serving them. 

Only 2.7 carbs per slice!!

Look me in the eye and tell me that doesn't look EXACTLY like a "normal" Nanaimo bar. 

I love one of these with my keto coffee for those days I'm craving sugar. Totally satisfies the need for sweets. 

Texture is a big thing for me when it comes to replicating recipes to a keto friendly format. The texture of these, IMO, is spot on. A healthified, gluten free, keto friendly, diabetic friendly treat that I guarantee everyone will enjoy. 

FYI - you can also make these in mini muffin tins - I got 30. Just spoon about a tablespoon of the base into each muffin tin and press it down, then a Tbsp of the filling, spread it out, and then about 1 tsp of the chocolate topping, and spread it over the filling. 

Rhubarb Cheesecake Squares

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! 

Classic Chocolate Brownies (Big Batch)

Sometimes you just need a lot of brownies. 

Like a looooooooooooooot. Usually it'd be for a potluck or a bake sale or a school function but who am I to judge if you just really need a million brownies for a weekend wine and gab fest with some friends? 

These are classic chocolate brownies with no additions but, again, who am I to judge if you want to top with some nuts or sprinkles or chopped up chocolate bars, or marshmallows? Fill your boots. 

I have trouble cooking brownies - meaning I never can tell when they are cooked through. Brownies are supposed to be gooey but there is a fine line between gooey brownies and raw batter. These bars are a bit thinner because they are baked in a big pan so they are easier to tell when they are cooked! 

I cut them in fairly large pieces and got 4 dozen. If you were cutting them for, say a tea or the like, you would easily get 7 or 8 dozen pieces. 

Classic Chocolate Brownies (Big Batch)

Ingredients

Brownies

7 eggs

3 3/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 cup baking cocoa

2 tsp salt

1 tsp instant coffee granules

1 Tbsp vanilla

3 cups flour

2 cups butter, melted

1/2 cup milk

Frosting

4 cups icing sugar

2/3 cup baking cocoa

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/2 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

Directions

Prepare brownies - Preheat oven to 350. Lightly spray a 12 X 17 cookie sheet with cooking spray and then line with parchment paper. Set aside. (NOTE - you can also bake these in a 13 X 18 pan)

In a very large mixing bowl, beat the eggs for 1 minute.

Add in the sugar, cocoa, salt, coffee granules, and vanilla. Beat one minute.

Lastly, add in the flour, butter, and milk, and beat one more minute, scraping bowl as you go. Do not over mix. One minute of beating between each addition is plenty. 

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. 

Bake at 350 until brownie is set, approximately 25 minutes. 

Remove from heat and run a knife around the outside of the pan to loosen from edges. 

Let cool to room temperature. 

Once the brownie has cooled I like to gently flip it out of the pan onto another cookie sheet, peel off the parchment paper, and then flip it back onto a cutting board. 

Prepare frosting - Place all frosting ingredients into a mixing bowl and beat until well combined. 

Spread the frosting on the cooled brownies. Let sit until frosting crusts a bit. 

Slice into whatever size pieces you need!

So chocolatey! As you can see from the above photo my corner pieces look a bit dry along the edge. Nothing wrong with that! They just seem more "cake like" that way.

But, if you want moist brownies then just be sure you don't over bake them. 

In case you are in need of a big batch of something delicious; look no further! 

Cherry Pie Bars

Sue and I posted a few years back about our Cherry Streusel Bars (Recipe HERE) that turned into a family favorite. The only thing about that recipe is that is uses canned cherry pie filling and I wanted to come up with something that used some of the fresh cherries we have piling up around our house.

These Cherry Pie Bars are pretty close to the streusel bars but different enough that they warrant their own post. 

The crumbly topping and shortbread base go so well with the sweet cherry filling that I am sure this will become a family favorite for your family as well!

Cherry Pie Bars

Ingredients

Filling

2 cups cherries, pitted and halved

1 Tbsp cornstarch

1 Tbsp lemon juice

Crust

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 cup flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

pinch salt

Topping

Reserved 3/4 cup crust mixture

1/3 cup sliced almonds

1 tsp sugar

Directions

Stir together cherries, cornstarch, and lemon juice. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 375. Line an 8 X 8 pan with parchment paper and set aside.

Stir together melted butter and sugar. Add in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir with a fork until crumbly.  Scoop out 3/4 cup to use for the topping.

Press the crumbs firmly into the prepared pan. 

Spread the cherry mixture on top. 

Combine the reserved crust mixture and the almonds. Sprinkle over the cherries. Sprinkle with the 1 tsp of sugar.

Bake at 375 for 20 - 25 minutes, until golden brown on top.

Remove from heat and let sit on wire rack to cool. Be sure to let cool before cutting.

You can keep these in an airtight container on the counter for several days, or in the fridge. 

They also freeze pretty good. If you freeze them they lose a bit of their crispiness in the crust but they are still yummy. 

You don't have to line the pan with parchment paper, I just find it easier to cut this way. You can use the parchment paper to lift the bar out of the pan instead of trying to cut it in the pan. 

These squares are the perfect tea time treat. They add a lovely pop of color to any tray!