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Cherry cheesecake bars

Cherry Cheesecake Bars

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Prep Time:40 minutes
Cook Time:1 hour 30 minutes

Equipment

  • 1 Electric mixer
  • 1 Paddle Attachment
  • 1 9”x5” Baking Dish
  • 1 food processor
  • 1 Rolling Pin

Ingredients

Crust

  • 1 Cup Nilla Wafers crushed
  • 4 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
  • ¼ Cup Granulated Sugar
  • ½ Tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

Cheesecake Filling

  • 2 Cups Cream cheese
  • 1 Cup Granulated sugar
  • 1 Cup Heavy whipping cream
  • ½ Tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
  • 2 Eggs

Cherry Compote

  • 2 Cups Frozen Cherries
  • ½ Cup Orange Juice Pulp free
  • ½ Cup Granulated Sugar

Instructions

Crust

  • Use a food processor to finely grind the nilla wafer cookies
  • Melt butter
  • Mix ground nilla wafers with melted butter, sugar, and vanilla extract
  • Firmly press crust into a lined baking pan
  • Bake at 350 °F for approximately 15 minutes

Cheesecake Filling

  • Mix cream cheese with electric mixer on low speed until completely smooth
  • Add granulated sugar, and mix until fully incorporated
  • Add vanilla extract and heavy whipping cream
  • Mix on low speed
  • Add in eggs one at a tiime
  • Mix until combined
  • Pour cheesecake filling into baking dish with cooled crust
  • Place baking dish into a larger roasting pan
  • Pour boiling water into roasting pan until it reaches halfway up the sides
  • Bake at 325 °F for approximately 1 hour, or until the edges are set and the center is still slightly jiggly
  • Turn off oven and cool cheesecake inside of the oven for 30 minutes with door slightly open
  • Finish cooling cheesecake on wire rack

Cherry Compote

  • Add cherries, orange juice and sugar to a saucepan
  • Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer
  • Cook for approximately 10 minutes, or until cherries begin to soften
  • Remove from heat and cool
  • Top cooled cheesecake with cherry compote

Notes

  • Using a food processor to grind the Nilla wafers is optional, another option is to put the wafers into a food storage bag and crush them with a rolling pin
  • When grinding the Nilla wafers be sure there are no large chunks 
  • Line baking dish with parchment paper to make it easier to remove the cheesecake bars from the dish
  • Cool cherry cheesecake bars in the refrigerator overnight before slicing
  • When slicing cherry cheesecake bars dip knife into hot water after each cut to ensure clean and mess free slices 
  • Store cherry cheesecake bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator to maintain freshness
  • I used freshly squeezed orange juice for the cherry compote however store bought orange juice will work fine