Pecan Pie Cheesecake Bars is what happens when you combine two of my favorite desserts, pecan pie and cheesecake. These luscious three layer bars are truly amazing!
Pecan Pie And Cheesecake
Do I have a treat for you today! Pecan pie cheesecake bars, my friends. The best ever dessert, if you ask me, seeing that I love pecan pie and cheesecake is my all time favorite dessert. I mean just look at the photos of these bars, that perfect layer separation just begging for you to come over and take a nibble.
What can I say, I outdid myself this time, perfect little bites, maybe not so little, but delicious morsels perfect for any special occasion when you need that perfect dessert. They travel well too, so feel free to give them as gifts or maybe even snack on them in the car to go. Come on, we’ve all been there.
Pecan Pie Cheesecake Bars
We’re talking 3 layers of perfection. Each layer delicious on its own, but when combined together creates the most decadent dessert you can have. In the first layer we have a nice buttery graham cracker crust, then a creamy and smooth layer of cheesecake followed by an incredible layer of pecan pie filling. Together, it’s simply heavenly.
Ingredients In Pecan Pie Cheesecake Bars
Crust
- Graham crackers – These will be the binding ingredient in our crust and offer a great molasses flavor.
- Butter – Unsalted as always to control the sodium content of our dessert.
- Sugar – We want a nice clean flavor for our crust, white granulated sugar is your best bet.
Cheesecake
- Cream cheese – I used 2 packages of whole fat Philadelphia cream cheese. Reduced fat can also be used to cut calories.
- Sugar – Again granulated sugar is best for this cheesecake recipe.
- Eggs – Our key binding agent for this cake, eggs will allow it to bake properly.
- Vanilla extract – Without this, your dessert may taste a little flat.
- Salt – To season our cake, an important component.
Pecan pie layer
- Sugar – We want light brown sugar for this component of our dessert to give a bit of dimension and complexity.
- Corn syrup – Light corn syrup is best to form a cohesive layer that sticks together and is sinfully sweet.
- Cream – Heavy cream is what I used today to make this layer completely drool worthy and rich.
- Butter – Unsalted to control the sodium content.
- Vanilla extract – Without this your dessert may taste a little flat.
- Salt – To season our cake, an important component.
- Pecans – The star ingredient! Chopped up to be combined in this perfect little layer.
How To Make Pecan Pie Cheesecake Bars
Crust
- Prep your oven: Preheat your oven to 350 F degrees. Line a 9×9 inch baking dish with parchment paper, spray it first with some cooking spray so that the parchment paper will stick to it. Set aside.
- Form the crust: In a food processor, pulse the graham crackers with the sugar until fine crumbs form. Add in melted butter and pulse until well combined. Press this mixture into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. You can use your fingers, but I find it easier to just use the back of a spoon to make sure it’s pressed evenly. Set aside.
Cheesecake
- Combine the cheese cake: Add the cream cheese, sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and salt to the bowl of your mixer. Mix on medium using the whisk attachment until smooth, should take about 5 minutes. Pour this over graham crust and smooth it out as much as possible with a spatula. Set aside.
Pecan pie
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Combine the pie layer: Add the brown sugar, corn syrup, heavy cream, butter, salt and vanilla extract to a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Continue cooking for 1 more minute the remove from heat. Stir in the chopped pecans. Pour over the cheesecake layer, and smooth it out with a spatula if necessary.
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Bake the bars: Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 40 minutes, the pecan layer should start to get golden. Cool completely then cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
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Serve: Cut the cheesecake into slices before serving.
What’s The Best Cream Cheese To Use For Cheesecake
I prefer using Philadelphia cream cheese because it always makes a super silky cheesecake. However, if you can’t find the Philadelphia brand, use a cream cheese that is full fat for best results.
Can’t Find Any Corn Syrup?
The corn syrup can be replaced with 1/2 cup of sugar dissolved in 2 tbsp of water. It’ll be thick but hey, we’re trying to get syrup here!
What Can I Serve My Pecan Pie Cheesecake Bars With?
If you’re making this recipe for a crowd, for which it’s a great little hand held treat, whip up some of these to create a decadent spread!
- Mini Blueberry Galettes
- Churro Apple Pie Cookies
- Nanaimo Bars
- Hawaiian Cheesecake Bites
- Quick Apple Turnovers
- Polish Donuts
Storing Cheesecake
These little bars will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days. Just store in an airtight container or wrap them up tightly before popping them in.
Cooked cheesecake also freezes really well, just place the bars fully cooled and uncovered on a pan in the freezer and allow to freeze entirely. Remove them and wrap fully in plastic wrap and aluminum foil till ready to eat. This method should ensure the cheesecake bars lasts 3 months.
More Must Try Recipes:
- Best Ever Pecan Pie Bars
- Pecan Pie Cheesecake
- Matcha Mini Cheesecakes with White Chocolate Covered Strawberries
- Mini Tiramisu Cheesecakes
- Hawaiian Cheesecake Bites
- Creme Brûlée Cheesecake Bars
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake Pops
- Tiramisu
- Chocolate Fudge
- Chocolate Swiss Roll Cake
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Pecan Pie Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
- 1/4 cup sugar granulated
- 1/2 cup butter unsalted, melted
For the Cheesecake
- 16 oz cream cheese at room temperature (2 pkg, 8 oz each)
- 3/4 cup sugar granulated
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/8 tsp salt
For the Pecan Pie Layer
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed
- 1/2 cup light corn syrup
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup butter unsalted
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups pecans chopped
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 F degrees. Line a 9x9 inch baking dish with parchment paper, spray it first with some cooking spray so that the parchment paper will stick to it. Set aside.
For the Crust
- In a food processor, pulse the graham crackers with the sugar until fine crumbs form. Add in melted butter and pulse until well combined. Press this mixture into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. You can use your fingers, but I find it easier to just use the back of a spoon to make sure it's pressed evenly. Set aside.
For the Cheesecake
- Add the cream cheese, sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and salt to the bowl of your mixer. Mix on medium using the whisk attachment until smooth, should take about 5 minutes. Pour this over graham crust and smooth it out as much as possible with a spatula. Set aside.
For the Pecan Pie Layer
- Add the brown sugar, corn syrup, heavy cream, butter, salt and vanilla extract to a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Continue cooking for 1 more minute the remove from heat. Stir in the chopped pecans. Pour over the cheesecake layer, and smooth it out with a spatula if necessary.
- Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 40 minutes, the pecan layer should start to get golden. Cool completely then cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
- Cut the cheesecake into slices before serving.
Recipe Notes
- The corn syrup can be replaced with 1/2 cup of sugar dissolved in 2 tbsp of water.
- These little bars will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days. Just store in an airtight container or wrap them up tightly before popping them in.
- Cooked cheesecake also freezes really well, just place the bars fully cooled and uncovered on a pan in the freezer and allow to freeze entirely. Remove them and wrap fully in plastic wrap and aluminum foil till ready to eat. This method should ensure the cheesecake bars lasts 3 months.
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
Diane RV says
I used a 9×13 instead of a 9×9. They were still quite big. I think a 9×9 would have been too thick.
susan says
hi there I was wondering how I can make these without the eggs Please let me know if you have any thoughts?
Jo Cooks Team says
You can give this eggless pecan pie filling a try. As you can see from the photos, without egg to bind it will end up a bit runnier.
Barbara Motsinger says
Try a light drizzle of dark chocolate over the top! Yum!!
lexzavia burnett says
How long will this last in the fridge?
Nicole Beaulieu says
3-4 days in the fridge and 2 months in the freezer 🙂
Vicky says
Wow! Not a big dessert fan, but this was truly amazing. My husband who is a cheesecake fan and also pecan pie fan, thought he died and went to heaven, yep, it’s that good!
Chelsea says
I definitely think this recipe should have you bake the cheesecake layer before added the pecan layer… the pecans fall right through and mix in with the cheesecake. It didnt look nearly as pretty as your pics, but it definitely still tasted great and got rave reviews.
Nicole Beaulieu says
I don’t think it would be a good idea to bake the cheesecake first because the pecan pie layer will need to full 40 minutes to cook all the way through, your cheesecake layer will be overdone. What you can do, though, is set the cheesecake layer aside in the fridge to have it set a bit more before adding the pecan layer. Go slow, use small spoonfuls, and yours will turn out perfect!
Christy Caasi says
I made these for Thanksgiving.
It was hatd to share after the taste test this morning but I brought 2 plates full to our big dinner. They were so DELICIOUS and super easy to make following your instructions.
For Christmas my sister suggested we make them again then we got to talking about adding coconut cheesecake layer. I’ll update at Christmas to let everyone know how that turns out!! Happy Holidays & thank you for sharing your recipe!! 5 stars hands down.
Nicole Beaulieu says
What a great idea! You definitely have to let us know how that turns out. These bars are borderline addictive!
Megan Corngold says
So to make this in a 9×13 pan I would just need to double ingredients, would I need to change the baking time/temperature?
Nicole Beaulieu says
I would add about 5-10 minutes to the baking time. Keep a close eye on it.
Tatyana Pashnyak says
Follow up — I was able to get bars out, phew…. just could not salvage one side of each pan, just a few. Lesson learned — line bottom and sides. Bars are delicious!!!