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These Creme Brulee Cheesecake Bars are part cheesecake, part cookie, and are all good!
Before we start today, I’d like to thank you all for the overwhelming outpouring of support after my post on Friday night. I never ever in a million years think I’d get so many comments, messages, and emails, many of which had me in tears. So, thank you for your support, for your advice and kind words, and for sharing your experiences with me. I heart all of you, and I’m so glad we have each other.
Now, it’s kind of hard to segue from body-image issues into delicious creme brûlée cheesecake bars, but hey, that’s life, right? Actually, working on this blog, building relationships with all of you, and baking make me happy. When I’m doing this job; when I’m in the kitchen creating, I’m enjoying myself quite a bit, regardless of how I feel when I eat what I’m making.
So, we’re still going to talk sugar, okay? Because that’s what I do. I ply you with sugar and talk your ear off. It’s who I am, and I think I’m pretty good at it!
It’s a job, and someone has to do it! 🙂
Last week I posted on Facebook about cheesecake. I asked what kind I should make, and one of the suggestions was creme brulee. And man, my mouth watered for that!
Now, I still have a cheesecake up my sleeve, but when I started thinking about what would make a good creme brûlée cheesecake, I found these bars. And I wanted to make my version of them.
The reason I asked about cheesecake in the first place is because I had an idea, one that I still have to try. I took a baby step with these bars: I used some Chobani Greek Yogurt mixed with the cream cheese.
I am in love with greek yogurt lately. I eat it every day in a breakfast smoothie, and I’ve been trying to substitute it for oil or butter more often in baking. Cheesecake was just the next logical step. And guess what?
It totally worked. According to this Chobani graphic, you can substitute greek yogurt equally for cream cheese. I used 4 ounces of cream cheese and 1 cup of nonfat plain greek yogurt for these bars. And the texture of the cheesecake is exactly how I would have expected it to be.
It kind of blew my mind a little.
The base of the bars is a variation of my sugar cookie recipe. I actually have a new one for you soon, one that Jordan helped me make. It includes a box of vanilla pudding, which I think makes every cookie 100x better immediately. The cookie base is pressed into a 9″ square pan and topped with the cheesecake filling.
A quick note about your pan. I used a 9″ square metal cake pan, that I’d lined with foil and spray, as I always do. The bottom of the bars cooked too much (not a really noticeable amount and they taste fine, but they’re too done for me). Normally I use a glass pan and for some reason reached for a metal pan. I have noted in the recipe that you should use a glass pan for best results.
Once the bars are baked, you immediately top them with some crushed toffee bits. The heat of the bars melts the toffee bits to the top, and gives it a little caramel crunch, much like you would get when eating a creme brulee. These are SO good. The cheesecake is creamy and perfect. Paired with the cookie base and toffee crunch, these are one of my new favorites!
I think I need to ask Facebook what they want more often. Y’all have some awesome ideas!! 🙂
Creme Brulee Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
- For the cookie base
- 1/4 cup butter softened
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 box 3.4 ounces instant vanilla pudding mix (not sugar-free)
- 1 cup flour
- For the cheesecake and topping
- 4 ounces low-fat cream cheese you can use regular fat too, softened
- 1 cup non-fat plain Chobani Greek Yogurt
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1/2 cup toffee bits semi-crushed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9” square glass pan with foil and spray with cooking spray. I do not suggest using a dark or coated pan for these bars!
- Make the cookie base: Beat butter and sugars with a mixer until fluffy. Beat in egg, vanilla, and baking soda. Mix in pudding mix and flour. Press into prepared pan.
- Make the cheesecake: beat cream cheese and yogurt until no lumps remain. Beat in egg, sugar, vanilla extract, and flour. Mix until smooth. Pour and spread over cookie base.
- Bake bars for about 27-30 minutes. They will lose their sheen around the edges, but still wiggle a little in the middle. Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle with toffee bits. Let cool to room temperature and then chill until set, at least 3 hours or overnight. Slice into bars.
Non-Alcoholic Baileys Cheesecake Pie
Peanut Butter Cookie Cheesecake Bars
Sweets from friends:
Brownie Stuffed Cheesecake with a Peanut Butter Cookie Crust by Back for Seconds
Mini Heath Bar Cheesecakes By Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts
Favorite Cheesecake by Something Swanky
While Chobani sent me product to play with, this post is not sponsored. I just love their product, and wanted to share!
Last Updated on May 13, 2020
Creme Brulee is one of my all-time favorite desserts. And making with cheesecake is pure genius! This is on my list of yummy sweet things to make! 🙂
Thanks Sheila!! Enjoy!
These look crazy amazing! Creme brulee is one of my favorites – your bars always look so picture perfect 🙂
Thanks Jennifer! Sometimes I pray when I cut them, lol.
Creme brulee and cheesecake in one delicious dessert!? Yes please. 🙂 These look gorgeous and tasty!
Thanks Tina!
Woohoo – can’t WAIT to try these out! I was keeping my fingers crossed you pull something like this together to share with us all, so THANK YOU!!! Going out to by the ingredients today for sure 😀
Enjoy!! Thanks Danielle!
A recipe perfect for me and my family. I just made one small change, I add some hemp seeds, we learned to put it almost in every dish.
I’m glad you liked them! I’ve never used hemp seeds. Are they for nutritional benefits? I’ll have to do some research!
What?! There is greek yogurt in those? They look so delish! I eat Fage 2% every single morning, so I hear ya on the obessession. I have been slow to embrace substituting greek yogurt for oil or cream cheese in dessert, but now that it has your blessing, I feel totally confident that it will taste amazing!
Totally try it Lindsey! It does change the texture, so you have to do baby steps (do some oil, some yogurt to start with) and change up the ratio as you go. I love that it adds some protein, and takes out all the bad fats!
Alright you’ve convinced me! I think I should probably just start with your cheescake recipe above so that I know it will taste great! Baby steps!
It’s so good Lindsey!! Enjoy!
1. I heart you too!! 2. You are BRILLIANT at this job!! Like soul mates. 3. Holy crap do these look amazing (pinned!!) 4. Greek Yogurt for cream cheese!!?!?!?! What the what?? Mind totally blown.
1. Will you be my BFF? 2. Thanks, you make me cry a little. 3. Thank you! 4. I KNOW, RIGHT? *mind blown*
Dorothy – these look fabulous! Love the toffee bits for the perfect caramel crunch – so yummy! You know I love baking with Greek yogurt; this recipe is definitely a winner!
I am so addicted to baking with greek yogurt!!
oh my gosh these bars sound heavenly. I love the cookie base! I have get try this Greek yogurt thing. I bought a couple just to eat but I couldn’t get into it. I should try baking with it though/
Yeah, I’m not a fan of just eating it. But then again, I don’t like eating any yogurt. But I love cooking and baking with it and putting it in smoothies!!
creme bruee is my all time favorite dessert, and I LOVE that you did this with yogurt. I made cheesecake with yogurt this weekend too 🙂
YUM! I can’t wait. A cheesecake is totally on my list.
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