Cranberry Cheesecake Bars

These cranberry cheesecake bars have a graham cracker crust, creamy vanilla cheesecake filling with a fresh cranberry sauce swirled throughout, and a crumble topping. These bars are an easy dessert for your holiday table and can be made the day before!

 

When it comes to the holidays, cranberries I think need to be used as much as possible. The tart cranberries I think pair so well in so many baked goods. Like my cranberry bundt cake, or my cranberry orange scones, and my quick cranberry orange bread. I can never resist a cranberry dessert!

And this time I think I’ve created the best cranberry dessert ever for the holiday season – these cranberry cream cheese bars made with a buttery graham cracker crust, simple cranberry sauce swirled into the filling, and a brown sugar crumble sprinkled over the top. Let’s just say I could not stop eating these!

I started with my traditional cheesecake bars as the base and swirled in the quick cranberry sauce I made on the stovetop. 

You could skip the crumble, but why would you? It’s the best! So if you’re looking for a dessert that’s easy to make, that you can also make in advance – these cranberry cheesecake bars are it!

Why This Recipe Works

• Great way to use up leftover cranberry sauce!
• Creamy cheesecake filling that’s a breeze to make in the mixer
• Quick graham cracker crust you can make in your food processor
• A crumble topping that’s mixed up in minutes and sprinkled on top
• Perfect holiday dessert to make ahead to ease the holiday stress

Ingredients Needed

• Water
• Granulated Sugar
• Fresh cranberries – Or you can use frozen cranberries
• Orange – I used the zest of one orange, but you could also use lemon zest.
• Graham crackers – If you can’t find graham crackers, you can use digestive biscuits or Nilla wafers. 
• Brown sugar – I used light brown sugar for the graham cracker crust but granulated sugar or dark brown sugar will also work. If you don’t have try making your own homemade brown sugar.
• Butter – I used unsalted butter but salted butter will also work. 
• Cream cheese – Make sure your cream cheese is softened so it blends up smoothly. And use full-fat cream cheese in the blocks for best texture. Read my full tutorial on how to soften cream cheese.
• Sour cream – I used full-fat sour cream but a plain full fat Greek yogurt will also work.
• Large Eggs – Use room temperature eggs. Read my full tutorial on how to bring eggs to room temperature fast.
• Vanilla extract 

How To Make These Cheesecake Bars

Make the cranberry sauce:

In a saucepan, combine the sugar, water, cranberries and orange zest. 

Cook over medium high heat and bring to a boil. 

Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 8-10 minutes until the cranberries have burst and sauce has broken down and thickened. Remove from the heat and aside to cool.

Make the crumble topping:

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. 

Stir in melted butter until a crumbly mixture forms. Set aside

Make crust: 

Preheat the oven to 350^oF (180^oC). Line a 9×9-inch square baking pan with tin foil or parchment paper. Spray with cooking spray. Set aside.

In a small mixing bowl, stir together the graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar and melted butter until a crumbly mixture forms. 

Press the graham cracker mixture into the bottom and slightly up the sides of the prepared pan. 

Bake the graham cracker crust for 8 to 10 minutes, until set. Remove from the oven cool. Lower the oven temperature to 325°F (160^oC).

Make cheesecake batter: 

In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or you can do this in a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer) beat the cream cheese and sugar together one medium speed until smooth. 

Add in the sour cream, eggs, and vanilla extract and beat on low speed until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. 

Pour the filling on top of the crust. Spread the cranberry sauce on top of the filling and swirl throughout with the tip of a knife.

Top the cheesecake batter with the streusel on top evenly.

Bake in the preheated 325^oF (160^oC) oven, for 40 to 45 minutes, until the edges are set but the middle of the bars are still soft in the center. The bars will continue to firm up as they cool. 

Remove the bars from the oven, and cool at room temperature for 30 minutes. Refrigerate for 4 hours or until firm. Cut into bars and serve. 

Recipe Variations 

• Use leftover cranberry sauce. In this recipe I make a quick homemade cranberry sauce on the stovetop, but you could easily use leftover sauce from Thanksgiving!
• Gingersnap crust – You could also swap out the graham crackers and use gingerbread cookies instead like I did for my pumpkin cheesecake!
• Add more orange. I only added it to the cranberry sauce, but you could easily add some a few tablespoons of orange juice or orange zest into the cheesecake batter.
• Use canned sauce – You could also use a can of cranberry sauce. I would recommend whole berry cranberry sauce for some texture!

Serving Suggestions

• Whipped cream – I love serving with a dollop of whipped cream on top of each bar to make these a complete dessert. Or try my cinnamon whipped cream!
• Ice cream – You can also serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side with each bar!
• Top with sugared cranberries for a pretty edible garnish.

Storage Instructions

You want to store these cheesecake bars in an airtight container in your fridge for up to 4 days. For longer storage, I recommend freezing them.

You can freeze for up to 3 months. I like to wrap any bars in plastic wrap or aluminum foil and store in plastic bag. Thaw overnight in the fridge before serving. I did find that the crust and topping will soften slightly.

Recipe FAQS

More Recipes To Try

If you are craving more cheesecake, then be sure to try easy no bake strawberry cream cheese pie baked in a pie plate! It’s everything you love about a cheesecake but in a pie. No water bath needed!

In the summertime, I love making my peach cobbler cheesecake! Made with fresh cinnamon peaches, and a crumble topping in the middle and on top of the cheesecake.