Smart Choice Chocolate Berry Cheesecake Bars Recipes

BERRY & GANACHE CHEESECAKE BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a bowl, mix cracker crumbs, pecans and salt; stir in melted butter. Press onto bottom of a greased 13x9-in. baking pan. Bake until lightly browned, 8-10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack., In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in vanilla. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until blended. Spread over crust. Bake until center is almost set, 15-20 minutes. Cool 1 hour on a wire rack., Place chocolate chips in a small bowl. In a saucepan, bring cream just to a boil. Pour over chocolate; let stand 5 minutes. Stir with a whisk until smooth. Stir in vinegar and corn syrup; cool slightly, stirring occasionally. Pour over cheesecake layer; let stand 5 minutes. Top with berries., Refrigerate at least 3 hours, covering when completely cooled. Cut into bars.

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER CHEESECAKE BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line the bottom and sides of a 9×13-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the sides to lift the finished bars out (makes cutting easier!). Set aside.
• In a food processor or blender, pulse the Oreos (cookie AND cream filling) into a fine crumb. You should have about 3 cups (330g) of crumbs. Stir the cookie crumbs and melted butter together in a large bowl. Press tightly into the bottom of the lined baking pan. Pre-bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside. Leave oven on.
• Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and granulated sugar together on medium-high speed in a large bowl until the mixture is smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the sour cream and beat until fully combined. Then add the peanut butter, vanilla extract, and salt and beat until fully combined. On medium speed, add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition until just blended. After the 3rd egg is incorporated into the batter, stop mixing. A few small lumps can remain. Whisk the filling a few times by hand to rid any large lumps at the bottom of the bowl.
• Pour the cheesecake filling onto the crust. It's ok if the crust is still warm. Spread evenly on top with a rubber spatula or back of a spoon. (It will seem like a thick layer of cheesecake filling; that's ok.)
• Bake for 35-38 minutes or until the cheesecake appears set on top and the edges are browned. The edges may slightly crack. (Mine do!) The bars will be puffy, but will sink slightly down as they cool. Place pan on a wire rack. Cool for 1 hour at room temperature, then chill in the refrigerator for at least 3-4 hours (and up to 1 day) before topping with chocolate. If you're in a rush, place in the freezer for 2 hours (or until chilled throughout.) If you plan to chill the bars for longer than a few hours, loosely cover with aluminum foil after 3-4 hours of chilling.
• Cut the butter into Tablespoon-size pieces. Place into a heat-proof bowl. Pour chocolate chips on top. Place in the microwave and melt in 30-second increments until smooth, stopping and stirring after each. You can also melt together on the stove, stirring constantly until smooth. Let the mixture cool for 2-3 minutes, then pour and spread evenly over chilled cheesecake bars. The cheesecake bars usually have a lip around the border since the center slightly sinks down, so it's easy to spread the chocolate topping, stopping around the border/lip. If yours don't have a raised lip around the edges, don't worry and just spread the filling evenly all over the top.
• Chill in the refrigerator for 45-60 minutes or in the freezer for 30 minutes until the chocolate topping has set. If chilling for longer than 1 hour, loosely cover with aluminum foil after 1 hour of chilling. Chocolate topping must be completely set and solid on top of the cheesecake bars before slicing.
• To slice, lift the bars out of the pan as a whole using the parchment overhang on the sides. Cut into squares with a sharp knife. For extra neat squares, wipe the knife clean between each cut.
• Cover and store leftover cheesecake bars in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

BERRY CHEESECAKE BARS

Steps:

• HEAT oven to 350 degrees F. Coat 13x9-inch baking pan with no-stick spray.
• MIX together graham cracker crumbs and margarine with a fork until evenly moistened. Press evenly into bottom of prepared pan.
• BEAT cream cheese until smooth using an electric mixer. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk. Add eggs, lemon juice, vanilla and flour. Mix well. Pour over graham cracker crust.
• STIR jam until smooth. Drop by small spoonfuls over surface of filling. With a knife, swirl jam gently through filling to create marble effect.
• BAKE 25 to 30 minutes or until center is set. Cool to room temperature. Chill.

CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine cookie crumbs and sugar; stir in butter. Press onto the bottom of a greased 9-in. springform pan; set aside. In a microwave, melt chocolate chips; stir until smooth. Set aside., In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar and flour until smooth. Add eggs; beat on low just until combined. Stir in vanilla and melted chocolate just until blended. Pour filling over crust., Bake at 350° for 40-45 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer. Refrigerate overnight. , Garnish slices with strawberries and chocolate shavings if desired. Refrigerate leftovers.

CHOCOLATE-RASPBERRY CHEESECAKE BARS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). In large bowl, mix cake mix, butter, milk and 1 egg with spoon until dry ingredients are moistened. Spread in bottom of ungreased 15x10x1-inch pan. Spread raspberry pie filling over crust.
• In large bowl, beat cream cheese, sour cream, sugar and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add 2 eggs, one at a time, beating after each until mixed. On low speed, beat in flour. Pour over pie filling.
• Bake 30 to 38 minutes or until cheesecake filling is set. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
• In microwavable food-storage plastic bag, place chocolate chips and shortening; seal bag. Microwave on High 15 seconds; squeeze bag. Microwave about 15 seconds longer or until melted; squeeze bag until chocolate is smooth. Cut off tiny corner of bag; squeeze bag to drizzle chocolate over bars. For bars, cut into 8 rows by 6 rows. Refrigerate 30 minutes before serving. Top each bar with 1 fresh raspberry just before serving. Store covered in refrigerator.

CHOCOLATE-BERRY CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325°F. Grease or spray bottom only of 13x9-inch pan.
• In large bowl, beat dry cake mix and butter with electric mixer on low speed until crumbly; reserve 3/4 cup. Press remaining crumbly mixture in bottom of pan.
• In same bowl, beat cream cheese, yogurt and frosting on medium speed until smooth. Beat in eggs until blended. Pour over mixture in pan. Sprinkle with reserved crumbly mixture.
• Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until center is set. Cool 30 minutes. Refrigerate at least 2 hours until chilled. Just before serving, stir strawberries and blueberries into pie filling. Top each serving with berry mixture. Store covered in refrigerator.

WHITE CHOCOLATE BERRY CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Break the chocolate into a glass bowl, then put it over a pan of just simmering water to melt, making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn't touch the water. Line a lightly oiled 900g loaf tin with cling film.
• Whisk the cheese, cream and sugar together, preferably with electric beaters, then stir into the almost-cool melted white chocolate until well combined.
• Stir 50g raspberries with 2 tbsp of the jam. Spoon half the cheese mixture into the loaf tin, then spoon the jammy raspberries down the centre. Top with the rest of the cheese mixture, level the top, then press in the biscuits. Cover and chill for 6 hrs or overnight.
• Set aside about 6 strawberries. Halve the rest, then warm in a pan with the remaining jam until soft. Whizz in a food processor or with a hand blender, then rub through a sieve to remove the seeds and make a sauce. Add a drop of water if the sauce is too thick.
• To serve, carefully turn the tin onto a plate, lift it away and strip off the cling film. Halve the remaining strawberries, then arrange on top of the cake with the remaining raspberries and blueberries (if using). Pour over a little sauce and serve the rest separately for drizzling over.