These Gingersnap Cheesecake Bars are an easy Christmas dessert made with a gingersnap crust and swirls of creamy cookie butter!
I think I bake more desserts during the holidays than any other time of year. I start my Christmas cookie baking right after Thanksgiving and continue right through the New Year. This year I’ve been busy trying out some new recipes and I’ve been kind of obsessed with ginger. From Gingersnap Cookies to Soft Gingerbread Cookies I’ve been experimenting with the flavors of ginger, cinnamon, and molasses. I loved the sweet, spiced flavor of the gingersnap cookies so much that I wanted to find more ways to use them and I ended up with these amazing Gingersnap Cheesecake Bars.
GINGERSNAP CHEESECAKE BARS
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These creamy cheesecake bars are simple to make and they look pretty enough for any Christmas dessert table. Those delicious swirls running through the cheesecake are Cookie Butter. If you’ve never had it Cookie Butter is a spread made from Speculoos cookies crumbs. Speculoos (pronounced “speck-you-lows”) cookies are a Belgium cookie that includes cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, and lots of butter. They are a lot like gingersnaps and the Cookie Butter flavor was perfect for these Gingersnap Cheesecake Bars.
The crust is made like a standard graham cracker crust expect instead of graham crackers you crush up gingersnap cookies. You mix the crushed cookies with melted butter and then press them into the bottom of a brownie pan to create a crust. On top of that, you pour your cheesecake batter. To make the Cookie Butter swirls you microwave the Cookie Butter for 10-20 seconds until it is a pourable consistency. Then you pour three line of Cookie Butter across the cheesecake batter and drag a knife through the lines to create swirls. After that, the pan goes into the oven for 35-40 minutes until the cheesecake has set and is just a little jiggly in the center.
These Gingersnap Cheesecake Bars are the perfect Christmas dessert. Easy to make, pretty to look at, and they taste like Christmas cookies!
Want more ginger dessert recipes?
- Perfect Soft & Chewy Gingersnap Cookies
- The Best Gingerbread Icing
- Gingerbread Bundts with Cinnamon Glaze
- Glazed Gingerbread Muffins
- Gingerbread Cookie Fudge
- More dessert recipes…
Tools used to make this Gingersnap Cheesecake Bars recipe
Stand Mixer: I don’t know what I’d do without my stand mixer. I use it for just about everything…and I mean everything! Cakes, cookies, mashed potatoes, and shredding chicken!
Mixing Bowl: These mixing bowls get used just about every day at my house. The grip handle makes them easy to hold and the pour spout makes them perfect for batters!
Baking Dish: This baking dish is a must-have for any home cook. I actually have 3 of them in my cupboard, and each dish comes with a lid for storing leftovers or taking your dishes on the go.
Cookie Butter: This sweet spread invokes toffee and gingersnap flavors that leave me weak in the knees!
Ingredients
- 1 ½ c Gingersnap cookies crushed (about 25-30 cookies)
- ¼ c Butter melted
- 32 oz Cream cheese
- 1 c granulated sugar
- 1 c Sour cream
- 1 tsp Vanilla
- 4 Eggs
- ½ c Cookie butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Grease and line a 9x13 inch baking pan.
- Place crushed gingersnap cookies in a bowl and pour in melted butter. Stir until the butter and crushed cookies are thoroughly mixed.
- Pour the crushed cookies into the baking pan and press them down firmly to create a bottom crust.
- In a large bowl add the cream cheese, vanilla, and sugar and mix until blended. Add sour cream and continue to mix.
- Add eggs one at a time until fully combined.
- Pour the cheesecake batter over the crust.
- Slightly heat the cookie butter in the microwave (about 10 seconds) and then drizzle over the batter running a knife through it to create swirls of cookie butter in the cheesecake batter.
- Place the pan in the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes or until the outer edge is set and the center is almost fully set.
- Remove from oven and let cool completely.
- Once the cheesecake has cooled to room temperature cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
- When ready to serve, remove the cheesecake from the pan and cut into squares.
Nutrition
Phil says
Wow great recipe, but whoever gave this recipe a 10 min prep time is out of their mind.
Mia says
BEST RECIPE EVER!! This recipe is the life-changing staple-in-our-house kind. It’s amazing!!!
Sheryl says
Delicious! I’m drooling just looking at the photos 🙂
Aubrey Cota says
Now you know how I feel!