Tiramisu Cheesecake Bars
May 17, 2011 | Print | E-mail | Filed under cheesecake, chocolate, coffee
Every Easter, I try to come up with a new dessert to serve the family. The first year we hosted, it was fruit tartlets. The second year, I believe it was Oreo truffles. After that, things get a little fuzzy and I can’t remember exactly what I made each year…but this year, it was these tiramisu cheesecake bars. I’m not going to lie, they take some time in the kitchen between all of the baking and cooling – but none of the steps are that hard, promise! The resulting bars are creamy and luscious, and well worth the time it takes to make them. I’ve made them for both friends and family, and I have yet to find a person who hasn’t enjoyed them. Of course, if you’re looking for an authentic tiramisu recipe, I’ve got one of those too…but I think these are a great “impressive but not TOO fancy” kind of dessert; perfect for anything from elegant parties to casual potlucks. Enjoy!
For the sugar cookie crust:
- 2 3/4 cups flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
- 1 egg
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Recipes for filling and topping adapted from here.
For the filling:
- 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened (I used reduced fat)
- 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 tbsp ground coffee or espresso
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips
For the topping:
- 6 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup whipping cream
- Shredded chocolate for decoration, if desired
To make the sugar cookie crust, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray the bottom and sides of a n 8×12″ pan with cooking spray. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add in the vanilla extract.
Gradually add in the dry ingredients until well-combined.
Press half of the dough into the pan and bake 15-18 minutes or until light golden brown. Let cool. (You don’t need the other half of the dough for this recipe, but that’s okay – just make sugar cookies! Roll the dough into 1″ balls and then either freeze them for baking later, or bake 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees.)
To make the filling, in a medium mixing bowl, beat the two packages of cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth. Add in the milk and beat until well-blended. Then, beat in the coffee, vanilla, and eggs.
Stir in chocolate chips and pour over the sugar cookie crust. Bake 35-40 minutes or until the edges are set (and the center is mostly set, but not completely). Cool at room temperature for 30 minutes, and then refrigerate another 30 minutes to cool completely.
To make the topping, in a small bowl, beat the whipping cream until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in the 6 ounces of cream cheese until fluffy. Spread the topping over the cooled bars and sprinkle with the shredded chocolate. Refrigerate about 2 hours or until chilled before cutting into bars. Store covered in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
May 17th, 2011 at 10:31 am
Mmm, I’m not a huge fan of tiramisu by itself, but the idea of it having a cookie crust and being a cheesecake sounds amazing to me.
May 17th, 2011 at 10:42 am
Oh man… freaking love tiramisu!
May 17th, 2011 at 10:54 am
Those look like heaven! I cannot wait to try this!!
May 17th, 2011 at 12:04 pm
Oh man, James is going to love these. Tiramisu in any form is his FAVORITE.
May 17th, 2011 at 12:52 pm
These look so fabulous I love tiramisu!
May 17th, 2011 at 1:34 pm
oh my gosh. I am looking for an excuse to make these right now! Seriously, next time I need to take treats somewhere, this is my recipe! love it!
May 17th, 2011 at 1:37 pm
These look amazing. My husband is a huge tiramisu fan…he would absolutely love these!
May 17th, 2011 at 2:19 pm
These look soooo yummy! I think I could eat a whole pan. I love that they don’t call for mascarpone, which is hard to find and expensive in my area
May 17th, 2011 at 3:31 pm
Wow is all I can say. This recipe looks simply fantastic!
May 17th, 2011 at 8:32 pm
What a great idea! Cheesecake and Tiramisu sound like a perfect pairing.
May 17th, 2011 at 8:39 pm
Oh wow, these look waaayy too good for me to be viewing right now. Crazy delicious!
May 17th, 2011 at 10:22 pm
Those look fabulous!
May 17th, 2011 at 11:41 pm
TIramisu and cheesecake – that is the collision of two amazing worlds. Wonderful recipe, Tracy!
May 18th, 2011 at 1:00 am
Oh these are screaming my name!!!
May 18th, 2011 at 1:42 am
These look amazing! I love how you took a picture of every step, very helpful.
May 18th, 2011 at 7:15 am
Each step made me want this more and more!
May 18th, 2011 at 10:51 am
Ohh, my husband will ask me to marry him all over again if I make this for him!! Looks delicious!
May 18th, 2011 at 12:46 pm
Wow, I love the idea of making bars with the tiramisu concept. Brilliant! Maybe I need to swing by these Easter family gatherings of yours (just long enough to snag a piece of whatever dessert you bring–I promise I wouldn’t interfere too much =).
May 18th, 2011 at 3:33 pm
Oh my goodness… These look just incredible, Tracy!
May 19th, 2011 at 9:01 am
num a num!!!! these sound divine. I would be whipping these up now except I need the sweetened condensed milk
Thank you for sharing!
May 19th, 2011 at 9:02 am
These look amazing! What a genius recipe!
May 19th, 2011 at 9:04 am
These look AMAZING! I can’t try this recipe because I’m afraid I’ll eat them all!
May 19th, 2011 at 12:19 pm
Love cheesecake. Love tiramisu. This looks like it would be an absolute dream. I also love that this is in “bar” form!
May 19th, 2011 at 1:09 pm
Seriously? You had to go there? Yum. Must try.
May 19th, 2011 at 3:21 pm
obsessed. you’re a genius!
May 19th, 2011 at 4:39 pm
oh MAN do these look super tasty!!
May 20th, 2011 at 7:44 am
This is perfection! MY husband will love this…bookmarking for Father’s Day!
May 20th, 2011 at 8:02 am
Hi, nice photography! You have a lovely collection of recipes. Please visit http://cosmopolitancurrymania.blogspot.com for a shower of AWARDS for you!
May 20th, 2011 at 3:02 pm
Amazing!!! I want this now!
May 20th, 2011 at 3:12 pm
Wow, I love the idea of tiramisu in a bar! And cheesecake combined with all of that too is just heaven
May 22nd, 2011 at 1:31 am
AMAZING! I can not wait to try this!
May 22nd, 2011 at 7:36 pm
I made these…ohmygoodness. I have been eating big fork fulls right out of the pan all afternoon. I will definitely be making this recipe again!
May 31st, 2011 at 12:21 am
where’s the rum in the recipe?
June 3rd, 2011 at 12:25 pm
Kaelin – There’s no rum in this recipe. Hope that helps!
September 10th, 2011 at 6:00 pm
Why does the top layer look “chocolatey”‘ yet it is just whipping cream & cream cheese?
September 10th, 2011 at 7:06 pm
Kathy – I sprinkled the top with shredded chocolate. Hope that helps!
January 23rd, 2012 at 8:16 pm
How come you couldn’t just make half of the crust instead ?
January 24th, 2012 at 10:35 am
Anita – You certainly can, if you want a thinner crust! Hope that helps!