These fall inspired cheesecake bars are filled with homemade cranberry sauce and orange. They're the perfect unique and delicious Thanksgiving dessert.
Want To Save This Article?
Enter your email below and we'll send it straight to your inbox. Plus, you'll receive new weekly recipe inspiration.
If you're a fan of cheesecake, you'll love these orange and cranberry cheesecake bars. They're perfect for the fall season or to end Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner.
These cheesecake bars are made with a brown butter graham cracker crust that's to die for! Plus the multi-colored batter (half of which is flavored cranberry sauce) gives the cheesecake a unique flavor and look.
If this is your first time baking cheesecake bars, don't worry! I'll walk you through all the important steps and some helpful tips and tricks.
Don't forget to check out salted caramel cheesecake bars if you love this recipe.
Jump to:
What You'll Learn In This Recipe
- A homemade cranberry sauce.
- How to make a graham cracker crust with brown butter.
- Tips for making swirled cheesecake batter.
Want to become an even better baker? Download my free eBook with 10 secrets to instantly level up your baking game!
Ingredients You Need
- Full-fat cream cheese: Don't be tempted to use lower-fat cream cheese. It's very important for the cream cheese to be fully at room temperature.
- Granulated sugar: We'll add sugar to the cranberry sauce and the cheesecake batter.
- Full-fat sour cream: This is another ingredient that needs to be at room temperature before baking.
- Vanilla extract: A high-quality vanilla extract will help enhance the flavor.
- Fine sea salt: It's best to use fine sea salt because it evenly distributes throughout the batter.
- Eggs: The eggs help to provide a rich texture and delicious flavor!
Check out the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and exact measurements.
How To Make This Recipe
There are a few different components to make for these cheesecake bars:
1. First, it's time to make some homemade cranberry sauce. Add the cranberries, sugar, orange peel, orange juice, and water to a large saucepan.
2. Cook over medium heat, stirring often. Reduce the heat as needed to avoid scorching until cranberries begin to burst and a dark red, syrupy juice forms. Continue to cook until the cranberry sauce reduces and thickens, which takes about 15 - 20 minutes.
Allow the cranberry sauce to cool to room temperature.
3. Next, it's time for the brown butter graham cracker crust. To make brown butter, cook the butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring continuously until there are golden brown flecks at the bottom of the saucepan and you smell a nutty aroma.
Be careful not to burn the butter or walk away from the pan while it's cooking.
4. Add graham crackers and brown sugar to a food processor. Pulse until a coarse crumb has formed.
5. Stream in brown butter while the food processor is running at low speed. Blend until the butter is well combined and a sand-like texture has formed. The crust should easily hold together when you press it between your fingers.
6. Place the crust in a parchment lined 9 x 9 inch (23 x 23 cm) metal pan. Press the crust evenly onto the bottom and sides of the pan using your hands. Then, go over the bottom and sides of the crust using the bottom of a small dry measuring cup to firmly and evenly pat the crust in place.
Bake for 7 - 10 minutes until the crust is set and has lightly browned around the edges. Allow the crust to cool to room temperature on a cooling rack.
7. Beat the cream cheese and granulated sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until smooth.
8. Add sour cream, vanilla extract, and fine sea salt then mix until combined. Next, mix in the eggs one at a time.
9. Evenly divide the cheesecake batter into two bowls (about 420 grams in each bowl). Add the cooled cranberry sauce to one batter, and stir with a silicone spatula until fully combined.
10. Using a small measuring cup, alternate pouring the regular cheesecake batter and cranberry batter into the cooled graham cracker crust. Optionally, drag a knife through the top of the batter to create swirls. Tap the pan on the counter a few times to release any air bubbles.
Bake for 40 - 45 minutes until the center is set and the edges are slightly browned. Transfer to a wire rack to fully cool. Before serving, refrigerate for an additional 3 - 4 hours until chilled or overnight.
Expert Tips
- It's really important for all of the ingredients to be at room temperature. I'd suggest placing all the ingredients on the counter 2 hours before you're ready to bake.
- To speed up the cooling process with the cranberry sauce, place it in the fridge. Don't let it firm up completely or it will be hard to mix into the cheesecake batter. And, don't be tempted to mix it into the cheesecake batter while it's still warm.
- For clean slices of cheesecake, use a sharp knife and clean the blade after each cut.
Recipe FAQs
Nope, unlike traditional cheesecake, typically cheesecake bars don't require a water bath. Just bake them in a metal baking pan (no water required).
Tear off a piece of parchment paper and place it underneath your baking pan. Using scissors, cut out the corners of the parchment paper. Then, the parchment should perfectly fit inside your baking pan.
Place the cheesecake bars on a parchment-lined pan. Once the cheesecake is frozen, you can place it in an airtight container in between pieces of parchment paper. When you're ready to serve the cheesecake bars, allow them to thaw in the fridge.
More Dessert Recipes
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating in the recipe card below. Don't forget to follow along on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Pinterest for more recipes.
Cranberry Cheesecake Bars
Equipment
- saucepan
- 9 x 9 inch (23 x 23 cm) metal baking pan
- dry measuring cup
- stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or electric mixer
- knife
Ingredients
Cranberry Sauce
- 1 ½ cups fresh or frozen cranberries (about 6 ounces)
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated orange peel
- juice of 2 oranges (about ⅓ cup)
- ¼ cup water
Graham Cracker Crust
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 9 crackers graham crackers
- ¼ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
Cheesecake Bars
- 16 ounces full fat cream cheese completely softened to room temperature
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup full fat sour cream room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 3 large eggs room temperature
Instructions
For Cranberry Sauce
- Add cranberries, sugar, orange peel, orange juice, and water to a large saucepan.
- Cook over medium heat, stirring often. Reduce the heat as needed to avoid scorching until cranberries begin to burst and a dark red, syrupy juice forms. Continue to cook until the cranberry sauce reduces and thickens, about 15 - 20 minutes.
- Allow cranberry sauce to cool to room temperature.
For Graham Cracker Crust
- Heat oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Heat butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring continuously until there are golden brown flecks at the bottom of the saucepan and you smell a nutty aroma, about 4 - 8 minutes. Be sure to watch the butter throughout the entire browning process to ensure the butter does not burn. As the butter melts down, foam will begin to form. As soon as you can see golden brown flecks, remove the butter from the heat and transfer to a bowl to stop cooking.
- Add graham crackers and brown sugar to a food processor. Pulse until a coarse crumb has formed. Stream in brown butter while the food processor is running at low speed. Blend until the butter is well combined and a sand-like texture has formed. The crust should easily hold together when you press it between your fingers.
- Place the crust in a parchment lined 9 x 9 inch (23 x 23 cm) metal pan. Press the crust evenly onto the bottom of the pan using your hands. Then, go over the bottom of the crust using the bottom of a small dry measuring cup to firmly and evenly pat the crust in place.
- Bake for 7 - 10 minutes until the crust is set and has lightly browned around the edges. Allow crust to cool to room temperature on a cooling rack.
- Reduce oven temperature to 325°F (160°C).
For Cheesecake Bars
- Beat cream cheese and granulated sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or with an electric mixer on medium high speed until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add sour cream, vanilla extract, and fine sea salt; mix until combined. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition until fully combined.
- Evenly divide the cheesecake batter into two bowls (about 420 grams in each bowl). Add the cranberry sauce to one batter, and stir with a silicone spatula until fully combined.
- Using a small measuring cup, alternate pouring the regular cheesecake batter and cranberry batter into the cooled graham cracker crust. Optionally, drag a knife through the top of the batter to create swirls. Tap the pan on the counter a few times to release any air bubbles.
- Bake for 40 - 45 minutes until the center is set and the edges are slightly browned. Transfer to a wire rack to fully cool.
- Before serving refrigerate for an additional 3 - 4 hours until chilled or overnight.
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Jenni
I made these for a work potluck and they were such a hit! Thanks for the recipe! 🙂
Jessica Mode
So glad you guys enjoyed them 🙂