Perfect for any occasion, these creamy New York cheesecake bars will impress your friends and family. Scaled to a smaller occasion but easy to double or freeze.
Introduction
Most of our gatherings we host are now smaller, so a huge amount of the sweet treat is a bit of a waste. This is a cut-down version of one of the most common cheesecake bar recipes on the internet.
I did my usual research and found lots of similar recipes. This is good since that means it's solid. I chose the King Author version to adapt since it was already smaller. A little change here and there—more cinnamon, less vanilla, made the lemon optional, and I had exactly what I wanted.
My Rating
Evil good. An excellent bar. Great for a gathering or the family.
📋Ingredients
Like all cheesecakes, things work much better at room temperature. So let the eggs and cream cheese rest at room temperature for an hour or so if possible.
The cream cheese should be of good quality and full fat. This is not health food, so don't try to save a few grams of fat.
I left the lemon juice as an option. You may also add ½ teaspoon of grated lemon peel.
👨🍳Recipe Size
This makes an 8 by 8 cake as written. It will make 16 small 2-inch squares, which are great at a party but small. I do a bit bigger and calculate 12 pieces.
A double recipe fits nicely in a 9 by 13 baking dish. A double batch will take about 10 minutes longer to bake.
Please use the parchment paper, or you will probably destroy the bars by removing them from the pan.
❄️Storage
Store refrigerated covered for up to 3 days. Or freeze for up to 3 months.
📖Party Treat Recipes
🖼️Step-by-Step Instructions
Note: all pictures are for a double batch. All instructions and recipe card are for a single batch.
Allow the cream cheese to rest at room temperature for several hours before starting. Preheat oven to 375°. Note: pictures are a double batch. The discussion and recipe card are for a single batch.
Prepare 8 by 8 baking dish by lining with parchment paper. Use two sheets and cut to fit in a crossing pattern. Use dots of butter in the corners of the dish to help them stay down. They need to hang over a little since you need them to remove the bars from the pan.
Crush 8 sheets of Graham crackers. Add 2 tablespoons powdered sugar, ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, and ⅛ teaspoon salt if using unsalted butter. Mix to combine. Melt 5 tablespoons butter and add.
Mix well and press into the bottom of the prepared dish and allow to run up the side about ¼ inch. Bake for 8-10 minutes to firm up. When done baking the crust, decrease the oven temperature to 325°.
With a hand mixer or stand mixer, combine 1 pound of cream cheese and 1 cup of sugar until smooth. Add in 3 eggs, ¼ cup sour cream, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Add optional lemon juice if using at this point. Mix well.
Pour into a baking dish.
Bake for 30-40 minutes until the edge is set and just starting to brown some. The center will still appear soft. You can check the temperature; it should be 180° about one inch from the edge.
Cool at room temperature for 30 minutes, then refrigerate until cold before cutting.
📖 Recipe
Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
Crust
- 8 sheets graham crackers
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- 5 tablespoons butter
- ⅛ teaspoon salt - only if using unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice - optional
Batter
- 1 pound cream cheese
- 1 cup sugar
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 3 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
Instructions
- Note: images are for a double batch. Allow the cream cheese to rest at room temperature for several hours before starting. Preheat oven to 375°.
- Prepare 8 by 8 baking dish by lining with parchment paper. Use two sheets and cut to fit in a crossing pattern. Use dots of butter in the corners of the dish to help them stay down. They need to hang over a little since you need them to remove the bars from the pan.
- Crush 8 sheets of Graham crackers. Add 2 tablespoons powdered sugar, ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, and ⅛ teaspoon salt if using unsalted butter. Mix to combine. Melt 5 tablespoons butter and add.
- Mix well and press into the bottom of the prepared dish and run up the side about ¼ inch. Bake for 8-10 minutes to firm up. Decrease the oven temperature to 325° when done.
- With a hand mixer or stand mixer, combine 1 pound of cream cheese and 1 cup of sugar until smooth. Add in 3 eggs, ¼ cup sour cream, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Mix well.
- Pour into a baking dish.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes until edge is set and just starting to brown a bit. The center will still appear soft. You can check the temperature; it should be 180° about one inch from the edge.
- Cool at room temperature for 30 minutes then refrigerate until cold before cutting.
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips
- This uses an 8X8 pan but 6X9 will be fine.
- A double recipe fits in a cake pan size dish of 9X13. This will take about 10 minutes longer to cook.
- Your cooking time will vary by your oven and the pan used so watch for the end points discussed.
- This work much better if the eggs and cream cheese are room temperature.
- It will be near impossible to get out of pan in good shape without the parchment paper. I like to use longer pieces so I can lift it out of the pan when done.
- A few dots of butter in the pan will hold the parchment in place and prevent shifting while you assemble this.
- Great to top with a little fruit of your choice.
- Cool at room temperature first helps prevent cracking.
- Good refrigerated covered for about 3 days and frozen for 3 months.
To adjust the recipe size:
You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.
Nutrition
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Editor's Note: Originally Published April 4, 2017. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
Stephanie
Hi! I'm looking forward to making these today but I have only graham cracker crumbs, not sheets. Also, there's not really a standard size so some manufacturers make them smaller than others. Do you know how many cups/grahams/oz of crumbs I need? Thanks. Your recipes are great. For Christmas tomorrow, I'm making cinnamon roll cake. 🤩
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Stephanie,
8 sheets of Graham crackers will make about 1 cup of crumbs.
Enjoy the cheesecake bars and have a good holiday.
Dan
Carla Johnson
I really don't like graham cracker crust - could I cut it in half and make a really thin crust? I would definitely use the parchment paper to get the cheesecake out of the pan. I haven't made the bars yet.
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Carla,
Welcome to the blog. There are many ways to make a crust. I suggest checking the crust with oreo cookies at this post. https://www.101cookingfortwo.com/easy-chocolate-chip-cheesecake/ You also could use other cookies like snickerdoodles. That entire crust would be the perfect fit for this recipe in an 8 by 8 pan (Both are about 64 sq inches).
Thinner is probably not a good idea since most will be using these as finger food and it will fall apart.
Enjoy you cheesecake.
Dan
Jamie
Dr. Dan, I am curious, could this recipe be doubled to make a half sheet sized cheesecake?
Thanks!
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Jamie,
Welcome to the blog.
I don't think I would but it probably would work. I'm thinking of the distance of the center to the edge increasing from 4 1/2 to 6 1/2 inches and it may not get done. But it is thin so in all probability, it would work. If you do it, please post and let me know. But I would do two pans instead.
Dan
Joanna
Hi Dr. Dan,
Just finished making cheesecake and it puffed up a lot, almost to where it might overflow. I followed instructions exactly. Also top got really brown ( baked on 375 for 45 min). Did I do something wrong? Whip the eggs to long? Thanks for all your recipes! Also just made the mango pineapple salsa and that turned out great!
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Joanna,
Welcome to the blog.
Sorry you had an issue. You probably answered your own question. The filling is just mixed until combined. The whipping adds air and will make things fluffy. And air expands with heat so just mix well.
We are having mango salsa for the game also....
Dan
Carol
Hi Joanna, I noticed that you said you baked this at 375. That may be the reason the top got so brown. The recipe says to bake at 325. Just the crust gets baked at 375. Hope this helps. That is a really great recipe and I've made it many times.
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Carol,
Thanks for the "catch". I should reread recipes before replying.
Have a great holiday.
Dan
Halfadime7
An ABSOLUTE success, Doc! BINGO, spot on and wonderful. My husband LOVES cheesecake and couldn't wait to try this. I made it last night so it had to be in the fridge overnight. When I got up this morning he'd already been at it. He said it's the best cheesecake he's ever had, and he's from NY. You've given us another WINNER!
Darlene
Your instructions say sour cheese but I'm assuming you meant sour cream instead.
DrDan
Yep, fixed and thanks for the proof read.
Dan
Laura Pasquale
Dr Dan, These look great I cannot wait to make them!