Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake Bars Recipes

CHOCOLATE-PEANUT CHEESECAKE BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl combine the cookie mix and butter; stir in peanuts. Press onto the bottom of a greased 13x9-in. baking pan. Bake until edges are lightly browned, 10-12 minutes., Meanwhile, in a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla; beat on low speed just until combined. Pour over crust., Bake until center is almost set, 15-20 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours., Place chocolate in a small bowl. In a small saucepan, bring cream just to a boil. Pour over chocolate; whisk until smooth. Cool, stirring occasionally, to room temperature or until ganache reaches a spreading consistency, about 40 minutes. Spread over top. Refrigerate until firm. Cut into bars. Refrigerate leftovers.

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.

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER CHEESECAKE BARS

Steps:

• Preheat the to 350°F and prep a 13x9-inch pan with cooking spray (bottom only).
• Prepare 6 1-inch balls of dough and flatten on a cookie sheet.
• Press the rest of the cookie dough in the 9x13 pan. Bake the cookies and the crust for 10 minutes or until the cookies are just done. Cool both. Set the cookies aside.
• In small bowl, melt the chocolate chips and butter uncovered in the microwave on medium-high heat, stirring every 15 seconds until the chocolate is melted and combined with the butter. Spread on the crust. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes or until firm.
• Beat cream cheese, peanut butter, powdered sugar and cream until blended. Then, beat on high speed about 2 minutes or until light and fluffy. Spread over the chocolate layer.
• Crumble the reserved cookies coarsely. Sprinkle over the cream cheese layer and sort-of lightly press them into the cheese. Refrigerate another 30 minutes. Store in the refrigerator.