Julie Clark
Updated:
Cranberry Cream Cheese Bars
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Cranberry Cream Cheese Bars combine the sweetness of cream cheese with tart jellied cranberry sauce. The crust is also the streusel topping!
Do you love the flavor of tart cranberries or cranberry sauce? Even more than cranberry sauce, I love dessert recipes using jellied cranberry sauce.
What do you do if you have leftover cranberry sauce after the holidays? Make these Cranberry Cream Cheese Bars!
Why you’ll love Cranberry Cream Cheese Bars:
- Perfectly sweet and tart treats.
- Buttery crust which is also the topping.
- Uses leftover cranberry sauce.
- Makes just a small batch.
- Smooth and creamy cream cheese filling!
You’ll definitely want these cranberry cheesecake bars on your cookie tray this holiday season.
Buttery Shortbread Crust
One of my favorite things about this recipe is the crust, which doubles as the topping. It is a simple mixture of butter, brown sugar, flour and chopped walnuts. Make sure the butter is very soft so it is easy to mix in. You can also melt the butter if you’d like.
How to Make Cranberry Cream Cheese Bars
- Preheat the oven to 350º Fahrenheit. Spray an 8×8 baking dish with cooking spray.
- Cream together the butter and the brown sugar. Mix in the flour and the walnuts.
- Reserve one cup of this mixture for the topping (set it aside for later). Press the remaining mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake or 12 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, use an electric mixer to mix together the cream cheese, sugar, egg, milk, lemon juice and vanilla until well blended. Pour the cheesecake filling over the baked crust.
- Spoon teaspoonfuls of the jellied cranberry sauce over the top of the cream cheese mixture. Then take a knife and gently swirl the cranberry sauce into the cream cheese.
- Sprinkle the reserved crumb topping over the cream cheese layer. Bake for 25 minutes. Allow the bars to cool before cutting into squares.
Cranberry Bars Variations:
- Don’t want a dessert recipe that uses cranberry sauce? Try using your favorite jelly or jam.
- Use pecans instead of walnuts. Or add sliced almonds.
- Love white chocolate? Add ½ cup white chocolate chips to the cheesecake batter.
- Cranberry and orange go together. Add orange zest to the cheesecake filling and drizzle with an orange juice glaze.
- Double the recipe and use a 9×13 baking pan. You’ll have to watch the baking time. They’ll need to bake longer since they’ll be slightly thicker.
- Drizzle the top of the bars with a cream cheese frosting or powdered sugar glaze icing.
Do baked cream cheese bars need to be refrigerated?
Yes. Store the bars in an airtight container in the fridge. You can also freeze cream cheese bars for up to 8 weeks. Thaw the bars in the fridge.
Other Cranberry Recipes
Cranberry Cream Cheese Bars
Cranberry Cream Cheese Bars combine the sweetness of cream cheese with jellied cranberry sauce. The crust is also the streusel topping!
Servings 12
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup salted butter softened
- 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Cream Cheese Mixture:
- 8 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 2 tablespoons 2% milk room temperature
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup jellied cranberry sauce
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350º Fahrenheit. Spray an 8×8 baking pan with cooking spray.
- Cream together the butter and the brown sugar. Stir in the flour and the walnuts. ⅓ cup salted butter, ⅓ cup packed brown sugar, 1 cup all-purpose flour, ½ cup chopped walnuts
- Reserve one cup of this mixture for the topping (set it aside for later). Press the remaining mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake or 12 minutes.
- In a medium bowl using an electric mixer, mix together the cream cheese, sugar, egg, milk, lemon juice and vanilla until well blended. Pour this over the baked crust. 8 ounces cream cheese, ¼ cup granulated sugar, 1 large egg, 2 tablespoons 2% milk, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Spoon teaspoonfuls of the jellied cranberry sauce over the top of the cream cheese mixture. Then take a knife and gently swirl the cranberry sauce into the cream cheese. ¾ cup jellied cranberry sauce
- Sprinkle the reserved crumb mixture over the top. Bake for 25 minutes. Allow the bars to cool and cut into squares.
Notes
- Line the baking pan with parchment paper so the bars come out cleanly and easily if you’d like.
- Store the bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Nutrition
Calories: 253kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 50mg | Sodium: 119mg | Potassium: 80mg | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 440IU | Vitamin C: 0.8mg | Calcium: 37mg | Iron: 0.8mg
I thought these were great. I did use melted butter just because I didn’t have time to soften it, but the crust was delicious, so was the filling. Used for thanksgiving desert and it was great and a hit!
make sure you fix the recipe to melted butter not softened