Kilroy's Kitchen | A healthy lifestyle blog

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars. Yep, you read that right. Today I’m combining two of the best desserts for an all-in-one cookie bar. And trust me when I say, you’re gonna wanna give these a try.

Chocolate chip cheesecake bar with emphasis on the cheesecake within one bar.

Um, hello! Do you see that little cheesecake river there? Gorgeous. Delicious.

I have made several attempts at chocolate chip cheesecake bars and none of them have panned out until now. Too much cheesecake. Too little cookie. Or just too much WORK! But I’ve finally done it.

I’ve perfected an ooey gooey bar that is loaded with chocolate chips and hints of creamy cheesecake bites. You’ll need about an hour of your time but most of that time is for baking. Throwing these bars together is easy, waiting to eat them is the hard part!

6 chocolate chip cheesecake bars arranged on a marbled background

If you’re making these for an event (and trust me – you should!!), you’re gonna want to prepare them at least a day in advance. Like with most cheesecake recipes, these bars will have to spend some time in the refrigerator.

A trick I’ve recently learned is to spray your baking dish with non-stick spray prior to lining with parchment paper. This is because parchment paper uh, doesn’t seem to want to stick and the non-stick spray acts as an adhesive of sorts. So, you should spray! Or you can clip (with a few binder clips) the edges of the parchment paper to the baking dish — just make sure you remove the clips before baking.

To store your chocolate chip cheesecake bars, cut into bars and store in a sealed container in the fridge. These bars should hold for about 5 days — but can you?! 😉

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars

Yield: 12 large bars, 24 small bars
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 40-45 minutes

Ingredients

For the chocolate chip portion:
1 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2-2 1/2 cups chocolate chips
For the cheesecake portion:
8 oz softened cream cheese (1 block from the grocery store)
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 9x13 inch pan with non-stick spray and then line with parchment paper.
In a large mixing bowl, whip together butter and both sugars. Once mixed well, add in the eggs and vanilla extract until creamy. Stop the mixer and add in your flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Turn mixer on and mix until just combined (about 30 seconds). Add in the chocolate chips and mix for another 20-30 seconds until chocolate chips are evenly distributed. Put your cookie dough in the fridge for the time being!
In a separate mixing bowl, cream together cream cheese, sugar, egg, and vanilla extract.
Create a layer of cookie dough on the bottom of your baking dish. Do your best to distribute evenly! After creating your cookie dough layer, pour the cheesecake mixture on top. Again, try to distribute evenly! With the remaining cookie dough, sprinkle (ok, plop) on top of the cheesecake mixture. You can use a toothpick to mix around and create a swirling effect. Or not. I didn't.
Bake for 40-45 minutes. After baking, the middle might still be a little jiggly and that's okay. Let cool on your counter or oven-top for 30 minutes. Then, continue cooling for at least 2 more hours in the refrigerator. Cut bars and serve!