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The BEST Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars – this is the best cheesecake bars recipe ever! It’s smooth and silky and has an easy Oreo crust, making these heavenly bars one of the best desserts ever.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
I’m so excited to bring you this Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bar recipe today because it comes my friend Jocelyn’s book, called Cheesecake Love. This book is full of fabulous CHEESECAKE recipes, including these bars.
- Cheesecake bars are easier to make – less finicky than regular cheesecake – and are easier to serve.
- It starts with an easy Oreo crust!
- It’s made in a 9×13-inch pan so it serves a crowd
- The cheesecake is silky smooth and creamy and FULL of chocolate!
Ingredients in Cheesecake Bars
- Oreo Cookies – for the crust; no need to remove the filling.
- Cream Cheese – It must be at room temperature to avoid lumps. Don’t use low-fat!
- Sour Cream – adds a nice creamy texture – make sure it’s also room temperature.
- Eggs – make sure they are room temperature also and add them one at a time, mixing between each.
- Mini Chocolate Chips – you can use regular-size chocolate chips as well, semi-sweet or milk chocolate.
How to make Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars
1. Mix together Oreo cookie crumbs and melted butter in a small bowl. When you process the Oreos, make sure to get a fine crumb; you do not need to remove the cream from the cookies.
2. Press the mixture into the bottom of a 9×13-inch baking pan. I line the pan with foil but you can also use parchment paper.
3. Beat cream cheese and sour cream until smooth; mix in sugar, then vanilla, then flour and eggs, one at a time. Mixture should be smooth and free of lumps if your ingredients were all room temperature.
4. Mix in chocolate chips then pour over crust and spread evenly. Bake using the steaming method (see below).
Tips for the perfect Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars:
- Be sure that your ingredients are at room temperature before you start. No one wants a lumpy cheesecake and the only way to avoid it is for not only your cream cheese to be room temperature but also your eggs and sour cream too!
- You can leave the filling in the Oreos when you make the crust. Who has time to take it out? Plus, the crust tastes better that way.
- Cheesecake often looks under-baked when it’s done. Once it’s golden around the edges and doesn’t look wet in the middle, it’s done, even if it’s still jiggly.
- You can substitute regular-sized chocolate chips if you don’t have minis, but I find that mini ones are better because they end up in every single bite.
- It’s tempting to want to dig in as soon as these come out of the oven but don’t skip the cooling and chilling steps. They are absolutely essential to a delicious end product!
FAQ
They will look set and no longer wet and only slightly jiggle once they are done baking.
You should store cheesecake bars in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Store in an airtight container.
You can freeze cream cheese bars in an airtight container for up to 2 months.
The BEST Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
Crust:
- 30 Oreo Cookies
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
Cheesecake:
- 3 8-ounce packages (678g) cream cheese , room temperature
- 1 ½ cups (300g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (61g) sour cream room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ cup (31g) all-purpose flour
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 1 1¼ cups mini chocolate chips divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a 9×13” baking pan with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
- Make the crust: crush the cookies, including the filling, in a food processor. Pulse until they become crumbs.
- Mix together the cookie crumbs and melted butter. Press into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for 10 minutes, then cool the crust for 20 minutes but keep the oven on.
- Place a large rimmed baking sheet on the very bottom rack of the oven and fill it halfway with water.
- Make the cheesecake: Beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the sugar, vanilla, and sour cream and beat until smooth.
- Add the flour and beat again.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Make sure the eggs are fully incorporated but don’t overmix. Stir in 1 cup of the chocolate chips.
- Pour the batter over the cooled crust and sprinkle the top of the cheesecake with the rest of the chocolate chips. Place the pan on the oven rack right above the pan of water and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the cheesecake is lightly browned around the edges and the center seems set.
- Remove the pan from the oven and cool for 1 hour at room temperature, then chill at least 4 hours before slicing.
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Perfect Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars are thick and creamy and really are the perfect cheesecake recipe with Oreo crust made in a 9×13 pan! These are so good – everyone loves how much chocolate there is!
I am confused about the amount of chocolate chips used. The recipe says 1 11/4 cups divided. Is this a total of 2.25 cups? So is that 1 cup for the filling and 1 1/4 (1.25) cups for topping?
It’s 1 cup in the filling and 1/4 cup for topping
I love this recipe!! To decorate it a bit for our 2 1/2 year old granddaughter I put M&M baking bits on top!! I know she will love that—
Can these be made ahead & frozen?
Yes! Just make sure they’re completely cooled. Freeze in a single layer in an airtight container or bag.
Can I substitute mint extract for vanilla?
Yes, but I recommend peppermint not mint. To me, mint tastes too much like toothpaste! And just use a bit, maybe 1/4 tsp
does this recipe use regular cream cheese or block cream cheese?
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