Cherry Cheesecake Bars with White Chocolate Drizzle

Easy, on-hand ingredients made these cheesecake bars a cinch to make for our church supper yesterday!

 

 

Cherry Cheesecake Bars

 

Shortbread Crust and Topping

1 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup powdered sugar

2 cups all purpose flour

 

1 (21 ounce) can cherry pie filling

4 ounces white chocolate chips

 

Cheesecake Filling

3 (8 oz) packages cream cheese

3/4 cup sugar

3 eggs

3 tablespoons all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with non-stick baking spray. 

Prepare crust.  In a medium sized bowl, beat together softened butter and powdered sugar.  Add flour and mix until flour is mostly incorporated.  Mixture will be crumbly.  Remove 3/4 cups of crust mixture and set aside.  Press remaining crust mixture into prepared 9 x 13 inch pan.  Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

 

Prepare filling while crust is baking.  In the same mixing bowl (no need to wash!), beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth.  Add eggs and vanilla and beat well.  Add flour.  Pour over hot crust and spread to the edges.   Spoon cherry pie filling over cream cheese mixture, arranging cherries as evenly as possible.   Sprinkle reserved crust mixture over top of cherries.

 

Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes or until set.  Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.   Melt white chocolate chips in the microwave and drizzle over cheesecake bars.  Refrigerate to set the chocolate.

Cut into 24 bars.  Serve and enjoy!

 

 

 

** The cheesecake portion of this recipe is adapted from the Almond-Streusel-Cherry Cheesecake Bar recipe from Betty Crocker.

**The shortbread crust recipe is adapted from a recipe found on allrecipes.com.