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These Apple Cheesecake Bars have a crunchy cookie crust with a delicious apple cheesecake filling and crunchy crumble topping. They’re so good and perfect for fall baking!
The BEST Apple Cheesecake Bars
Fall is one of my favorite times of year, and the best way to get into the fall spirit is with these apple bars that have a great cheesecake layer. It starts with a graham cracker and Nilla wafer crust, then they have a soft and gooey cheesecake center and the bars finish off with a streusel topping – the perfect fall dessert.
Ingredients Needed
- Apples: Use whatever apples you love best. We typically use Granny Smith for baking, but you could use gala, fuji, or honeycrisp apples too. You’ll need to peel and dice them small.
- Graham Cracker and Nilla Wafers: The perfect combination for a thick cookie crust. You can use all of one or the other if you prefer.
- Butter: I use unsalted butter but you can use salted if that’s all you have.
- Sugar: This recipe calls for both granulated sugar and brown sugar for the cheesecake and the topping.
- Cream Cheese: Make sure your cream cheese is room temperature to avoid lumps.
- Sour Cream: Make sure it’s room temperature to avoid lumps; regular or low fat can be used (don’t use fat free).
- Eggs: Room temperature is key!
- Oats: I use quick oats in the crumble topping.
How to make Cheesecake Bars
- I line my pan with foil or parchment paper for easy removal. Pulse graham crackers and Nilla Wafer cookies in a food processor until they are fine crumbs then stir in melted butter and cinnamon and press into pan.
- Heat apples in the microwave to soften, then toss with cinnamon and sugar. Cool. Beat cream cheese, eggs, sour cream, sugar, and vanilla until smooth, then fold in apples.
- Make the topping by mixing all topping ingredients in a medium bowl with a hand mixer on medium speed. Mixture will be crumbly.
- Spread cheesecake mixture over crust then sprinkle crumble evenly over the top.
- Bake until the edges are golden and the center is set. These need to cool to room temperature and then chill before slicing.
Expert Tips
- Using an electric mixer or stand mixer for this recipe will make your life a lot easier and help get out the lumps.
- Your ingredients need to be room temperature to avoid lumps.
- Don’t skip the chilling and cooling steps; cheesecake needs the time to rest and chill.
- To add some more fall flavors, make these caramel apple cheesecake bars by taking caramel sauce to drizzle over top!
Storing and Freezing
Store in an airtight container in the fridge or at room temperature for up to 5 days, or freezer these bars in the freezer and cover them with plastic wrap. They can stay in the freezer for 3 months.
Apple Cheesecake Bars Recipe
These Apple Cheesecake Bars are the perfect Fall dessert with a crunchy cookie crust, creamy cheesecake and apple filling and crumble topping.
Recipe Video
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 45 minutes
Cooling Time 4 hours
Total Time 5 hours 45 minutes
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 12 Graham Cracker Sheets (184g)
- 50 (184g) Nilla Wafer Cookies
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 12 tablespoons 170g) unsalted butter , melted
For the Cheesecake
- 2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, room temperature
- 2 large eggs , room temperature
- ½ cup (124g) sour cream , room temperature
- ½ cup (50g) granulated sugar plus 2 tablespoons (25g), divided
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 Granny Smith apples peeled, cored, and finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
For the Topping:
- 1 cup (200g) packed light brown sugar
- 1 cup (124g) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (50g) quick cooking oats
- ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter , softened
Instructions
- Line a 9×13” pan with foil and spray with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Make the Crust: Pulse graham crackers and Nilla Wafer cookies in a food processor until they are fine crumbs. Place in a bowl and stir in cinnamon and melted butter. Press into prepared pan.
- Beat cream cheese, eggs, sour cream, sugar, and vanilla with a hand held or stand mixer. Place apples in a small bowl and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons sugar and cinnamon. Stir apples with cream cheese mixture. Pour over crust in pan.
- Make the topping by mixing all topping ingredients in a medium bowl with a hand mixer. Mixture will be crumbly.
- Sprinkle crumble evenly over the cheesecake mixture. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the cheesecake seems set. Cool to room temperature and then chill for at least 4 hours before cutting.
Recipe Notes
- Be sure to cool to room temperature before chilling.
- Bars should be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container. They can also be frozen.
Recipe Nutrition
Serving: 1bar | Calories: 171kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 29mg | Sodium: 57mg | Potassium: 48mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 237IU | Vitamin C: 0.5mg | Calcium: 16mg | Iron: 0.4mg
Nutritional information not guaranteed to be accurate
Dorothy,
Can this be made in a springform pan? Same temperature and for how long. Love your baking recipes
I have never made this as a full cheesecake. If you try it let me know – it should work, the amounts fit. I usually use a water bath though for full baked cheesecakes so I’m not sure how that will work.
Delicious 😋
I don’t have vanilla wafers where I live now. Can I double up on the Graham crackers? (No American Graham crackers either, they are tea biscuits)
Yes those should work!
I made this for a neighborhood party and it got rave reviews. It is basically a delicious mashup of apple crisp and cheesecake.
I do have some feedback thoughts to share that I think could help future bakers.
1. I think the foil is unnecessary. I used it, but would 100% skip it next time and just make sure I greased the pan really well. There’s a lot of butter in the crust to get you by too.
2. I would suggest getting all the parts prepped before the crust goes in the oven. I didn’t read far enough ahead to see that the filling was to go on top of the hot crust and I was still making it when the crust was done. Honestly, I think re-ordering the recipe with the crust instructions last might help folks like me (the people who didn’t prepare well. Lol!).
3. If you’re not used to making cheesecake, knowing when it is done might not be intuitive. It should be set around the edges, but still jiggle in the middle.
4. This took much longer to cool (and thus, set) than I expected. I was pushing it for my gathering. If you’re making it for an occasion the same day you’re baking it, I would suggest starting VERY early in the day, or do the day before. Leftovers held up beautifully in my fridge for a few days so I don’t think you’re going to have any less of a “wow, this is amazing” reaction from your audience.
5. I didn’t have Granny Smith apples so I used 3 smaller Haralsons that we picked at the orchard. Still delicious.
6. This might be guilding the lily, but I think serving it with a little drizzle of caramel ice cream topping would be delicious.
Make this dessert. It is so good!
These are so good! I brought them into work and everyone went crazy over them and wanted the recipe. Don’t be intimidated by the steps, they are so worth it
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