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Cranberry Streusel Cheesecake Bars make a festive holiday dessert. I can’t believe December is already here, with the Christmas baking, shopping, and whirlwind of activities. When I saw the Cranberry Streusel Cheesecake Bars on Peas and Crayons, I knew I had to make this recipe. It looked festive and awesome and relatively healthy. And since these are bars, they are super easy to make. It’s also a great way to use up leftover cranberry sauce.
These Cranberry Streusel Cheesecake Bars consist of a pecan streusel crust with a layer of sweet, creamy, cheesecake, a layer of cranberry sauce, and topped with the remaining streusel topping.
Actually, since I did not refrigerate the cheesecake layer before adding the cranberry sauce to it, they decided to mix together for more of a swirl. Either layered or swirled they taste fantastic.
I made a few changes to the original recipe by using pecans instead of walnuts and substituted light cream cheese for the original, and used lemon juice instead of orange zest in the cheesecake.
These bars looked pretty and tasted amazing! They will be a great addition to your holiday baking, and would be welcome at any get together. Happy Holidays!
If you like this recipe, try the Cranberry Orange Cookies, Pumpkin Magic Bars or my Best Brownies recipes.
Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup of old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup of white whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup of light brown sugar packed
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter
- 2/3 cup finely chopped unsalted pecans
- 1 [8 oz] package light cream cheese softened
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 cup cranberry sauce
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Either grease and flour or spray with baking spray a 9x9 baking pan.
- To make the streusel, in a medium bowl, stir in flour, oats, brown sugar, and salt. Cut cold butter into small pieces and add to the mixture. Using a pastry cutter or fork, combine the streusel mixture until it consists of small crumbs. Stir in the chopped pecans.
- Press 2 cups of the streusel mixture into the bottom of an 9x9 baking pan for the crust.
- In a separate bowl, beat the cream cheese and granulated sugar until smooth. Add the egg, vanilla, and lemon juice and mix to combine. Pour evenly over the crust. Spread the cranberry sauce over the top of the cheesecake layer.
- Sprinkle the remaining streusel mixture evenly over the top.
- Bake at 350F for about 25 - 30 minutes. Allow to cool completely before serving. These can be enjoyed immediately after cooling or, refrigerating for a few hours (recommended).
For another fruit dessert, try this light Strawberry Cream Pie from my friend at Renee’s Kitchen Adventures.
Hi, I’m Michele Feuerborn, a home cook with 25+ years experience, and former AllRecipes Allstar, creating bold & easy Southern, Mexican, Tex-Mex, and Instant Pot recipes. Featured in publications like Parade and BuzzFeed. Read More…
Mary Ellen says
Thanks for sharing these at Talking Tuesday Over the Fence! This looks delicious!!! Pinned for later….
Courtney @ Family Gone Healthy says
Wow! These cranberry cheesecake bars really look delicious!
Michele says
Hi Courtney, these are one of our favorites. I’m glad you like them. Thanks for visiting.
Marion@Life Tastes Good says
I’m looking forward to trying these bars! I love anything streusel!!
Pamela says
I also saw the recipe on ‘peas n crayons.’ I added nutmeg to the streusel and a dash of almond extract to the cream cheese. the differences you made were ones I was going to do also.