Work and life have turned out to be quite stressful lately and I have been seriously craving chocolate. That’s not terribly unusual for me, but it’s really been a bit of an obsession for the past few weeks. All day every day I have been constantly thinking about dessert. These decadent nutella cheesecake bars really hit the spot. As if regular cheesecake wasn’t enough, these bars have an Oreo cookie base and are topped with plain cheesecake and then a nutella cheesecake layer. Oh, hello! Go big or go home, right? That’s pretty much my motto with desserts these days. I’ve also been looking for easy recipes lately and this really fits the bill. As long as you have a food processor, this recipe can be whipped up pretty quickly. Cookie base? Just pulse it in the food processor. Cheesecake layer? Just add everything to the food processor and press on. That’s really pretty much it. So if you too need an easy but over the top dessert, then treat yourself with these nutella cheesecake bars. These are really rich and super creamy and delicious and shouldn’t be missed.
NUTELLA CHEESECAKE BARS
INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups Newman-O’s/Oreo crumbs (about 25-27 cookies)
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 16 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup + 1½ tbsp heavy cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ⅔ cup nutella
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Line an 8 x 8 baking pan with parchment paper. You may want to spray the pan with baking spray first to get it to adhere well to the corners.
Place the cookies in a food processor and pulse until they turn into fine crumbs. Add the melted better and process until well mixed. Pour the crumbs into the pan and press evenly and firmly into the baking dish to form a crust. Bake for 12 minutes or until set.
While the crust is cooling, add the eggs, cream cheese, sugar, ¼ cup of heavy cream, and vanilla to the (cleaned out) food processor. Process the ingredients until creamy and smooth. Remove ⅔ of the mixture from the food processor and set aside in a bowl. Add the nutella and remaining 1 ½ tablespoons of heavy cream to the remaining cream cheese mixture and process until smooth.
When the crust is cool, carefully spread the plain cream cheese mixture over the crust. The crust may be a little loose, so you’ll want to do this carefully. I used an offset spatula to help. Place the nutella cream cheese mixture on top of the plain cream cheese. Use an offset spatula to help you carefully spread the nutella mixture and create a separate layer. I had some trouble with this, so if you get frustrated you can simply place the nutella mixture on top and use a butter knife to marble the layers.
Bake for about 35 minutes, or until the center is just slightly wobbly but is otherwise set. Cool completely and then refrigerate for at least 3 hours before eating. Cut into any many bars as you’d like and enjoy.
NOTES
Note: These make pretty soft cheesecake bars
Adapted from The Moonlight Baker via Tide and Thyme