Vanilla Cheesecake Bars

I was looking forward to making these Vanilla Cheesecake Bars for quite some time and finally got around to making them last night. They were very easy to put together and really tasted like a regular cheesecake without the extra work.

After letting them sit, uncut, in the refrigerator overnight, I did have some trouble getting them out of the pan. I let them sit at room temperature for a while and that seemed to help. I read online that if you cut them before they've completely cooled, they're easier to get out.

While I love the simple vanilla flavor, the next time I make these, I'll spruce them up a bit with one or more additions. Not that I've thought about this at all, but here are 15 or so random ideas...add lemon zest to the filling, add a little cinnamon to the crust, stir in mini semi sweet chocolate chips or even toffee chips into the filling, add a little Bailey's to the filling, drizzle fruit puree or chocolate over the top, serve with fresh fruit on top...basically any way you've seen Cheesecake Factory do it, you can do it too.

Super easy...endless options...great dessert...

Vanilla Bean Cheesecake Bars

Baking Bites

Crust

1/3 cup sugar or vanilla sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 tsp salt

Filling

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup half & half/light cream

2 (8-oz) packages plain cream cheese, room temperature

3 large eggs, room temperature

1/2 vanilla bean or 2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan. Begin by making the crust. In a large bowl, cream together sugar and butter, until smooth and fluffy. Working at a low speed, gradually beat in flour and salt until mixture is crumbly. Press evenly into prepared pan and bake for 15-17 minutes.

While the crust bakes, combine sugar, half & half and cream cheese in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. Add in eggs one at a time, waiting until each in incorporated before adding the next. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the mixture (or add extract) and add the flour. Pulse until smooth.

Pour the filling over the hot crust when it has finished baking. Return pan to oven and bake for 23-26 minutes, until the filling is set (baking time should be reduced slightly if using a 9×13-inch, as the filling will be slightly thinner) and not jiggly. Cool completely before slicing (don’t be alarmed if the cheesecake appears to deflate somewhat as it cools), or refrigerate until ready to serve. Makes 20-24 bars.

My notes: I used one package of regular cream cheese and one package of reduced fat cream cheese, simply because that's what I had on hand. I added a teaspoon of vanilla extract to the crust and used half of a vanilla bean for the cheesecake filling.