Nutella, the chocolate spread from heaven. And cheesecake, the best dessert on earth. Combine both and you’ve got Nutella Cheesecake Bars. A dynamite dessert!
I was at my mom’s house making risotto the other day, when we realized we had nothing good for dessert. I mean, there was ice cream in the fridge, but after eating something as luxurious as Parmesan risotto, we really wanted a dessert that matched. Fancy desserts, huh? I knew I could come up with something to play the part.
I looked in her pantry and found Nutella. Perfect. That makes anything go from great to AWESOME!
Then I looked in the fridge and found cream cheese. Back to the pantry. YES! She had graham crackers. Nutella cheesecake it is.
But wait. That was gonna take forever. Like, too many hours after risotto forever. I had to figure out a way to shorten the wait time (as you can see, patience is not a strength of mine, especially in regards to waiting for food to be ready).
I looked in the pantry and saw some granola bars and thought, “BARS, DUH!” and set off to make these happen.
Why have I waited so long to start making my favorite desserts into bars? These are amazing!
(but like, are you looking that that glisening Nutella and crumbly crust? Ahhhhh.)
Anyway, back to the story…
From there, it was so simple. Mix some ingredients here, blend some there. Next thing you know, I had layers of graham crackers, cheesecake and Nutella all in a pan and it smelled divine. ahhhh. I popped it in the oven for 30 minutes and then straight into the freezer from there, although I really should have let it rest for 30 minutes, then place it in the fridge until it was chilled (told ya patience wasn’t high up there on “Sophie’s Strengths”). It was cold in less than 30 minutes and let me tell you. They were Ah-may-zing. Like, Cheesecake Factory good. Only better.
Yeah, these take the cake (or the cheesecake, ha!), on bars. I think I might make things like this more often. Easier to eat and no plate required. Win win!
Nutella Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
For the Base:
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 1/4 cup flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 stick butter melted
For the Nutella Cheesecake
- 8 oz Cream Cheese softened (use full fat, please. I'm begging you!!)
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- As much Nutella as your little heart desires but typically, about 1/2 cup.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease a 9x9 inch pan and then line with parchment paper being sure it comes up the sides, too!).
- Melt the butter in the microwave in a medium glass bowl. Once melted, stir in the sugar, flour and salt. Pour into baking pan and press down to compact the crust. Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly golden. Allow to cool.
- In a large bowl, beat all ingredients except Nutella until creamy. Pour into cooled crust.
- Microwave Nutella in 15 second intervals, stirring often until runny. Now drizzle over the cheesecake mixture and using a toothpick, swirl in. Bake for another 15-20 minutes or until the cheesecake is set.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool 30 minutes before placing it in the fridge to cool completely. Once cold, slice into bars and serve immediately. Refrigerate any leftovers in an airtight container.
Some more Nutella recipes you might enjoy:
