Peanut Butter Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake Bars
- Preparation time: 10 minutes
- Cooking time: 20 minutes
- Total time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
Baking Pan:
- 9 x 13 oblong cake pan lined with parchment paper
Crust:
- 1¼ cups flour
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup butter, softened (1 stick salted)
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- ½ cup peanut butter
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Cheesecake Filling:
- 8-ounces softened cream cheese (One 8-ounce package)
- ½ cup dark brown sugar
- 2½ tablespoons peanut butter
- 1½ tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 eggs
- ¼ cup milk
Chocolate Mixture For Marbling:
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1½ teaspoons vegetable oil
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla
Ingredients
(serves 4)
Section
Instructions
-
Line a 9 x 13-inch rectangular baking pan with parchment paper so that the paper extends over the long sides of the pan by about 2-inches. This will allow you to remove the bars easily once baked. Set the prepared pan aside.
- For The Crust:
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
- In a separate work bowl cream the butter for the crust.
- Add brown sugar to the butter, beating until fluffy.
- Add peanut butter and mix to incorporate.
- Add the egg and vanilla and mix in.
- Add the whisked dry ingredients and mix to incorporate.
- Pat the dough evenly into the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking pan so that it covers the entire surface.
- Bake for about 15 minutes until golden in color. Note, the crust will be just barely firm to the touch. Remove from oven; set aside.
- For the Cheesecake Filling:
- In a large work bowl, mix cream cheese, brown sugar, peanut butter and flour until smooth.
- Add eggs one at a time, mixing to incorporate.
- With the mixer on medium low speed add the milk and mix until the batter is smooth.
- Set aside ½ cup of the batter in a separate bowl.
- Pour the rest of the batter over the prepared crust.
- For the Chocolate Batter:
- In a small bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder and sugar.
- Add the oil and vanilla to the cocoa powder mixture, whisking to incorporate.
- Add the ½ cup of cheesecake batter that was set aside to the cocoa mixture and whisk until well-blended.
- Spoon dollops of the chocolate batter on top of the plain batter in the pan.
- With a butter knife or spatula, gently swirl the chocolate into the plain batter to create a marbled effect.
- Bake at 350° for 10 minutes.
- Turn the oven temperature down to 250° and bake for 15 minutes. To avoid cracking the top should be just barely firm to the touch and the plain batter should not have any browning.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on a rack.
- Grasp the overlapping parchment paper and pull the cheesecake bars from the pan to a flat surface.
- Slice and serve.
Comments
Makes 18 bars.A delicious bite-sized treat that is just as elegant as a slice of cheesecake but not nearly so filling.
Unused portions can be refrigerated in an airtight container for 3 to 5 days.