Snickerdoodle Cheesecake Bars
I have another holiday treat you will absolutely love! Snickerdoodle Cheesecake Bars. Yes, these fantastic bars are so drool worthy, every time you get a whiff of them you will be like Pavlov’s dogs–salivating! Seriously, these brownie-type cookies are everything you’ve ever dreamed of in a cookie.
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We baked thousands of cookies this year for our Christmas Cookie Extravaganza. This cookie was one of them – and boy did I ever get a lot of positive feedback about them. One gal in our neighborhood told me they were to die for! 🙂 I personally thought they were all you could want in a cookie with a luscious cheesecake layer sandwiched between Snickerdoodle dough. They were awesome, indeed.
I love a good Snickerdoodle. I even have a peach version of this cookie. I have a fabulous Cinnamon Frosted Snickerdoodle Blondie with cinnamon chips in the dough. I also have a Snickerdoodle Blondie that’s glazed with icing that we love. I’ve made Snickerdoodles in muffins, cake and two kinds of bread. Did I say I love Snickerdoodles? Yes, yes, yes!
I started with my original Snickerdoodles recipe. But rather than rolling the cookie dough in cinnamon sugar, I pressed part of the cookie dough (without cinnamon-sugar) in the bottom of a large baking sheet. Then I added a cheesecake layer, topped with the remaining Snickerdoodle dough. After that, I sprinkled a cinnamon-sugar mixture on top of everything. The cinnamon sugar baked into the crumble layer and the cheesecake layer so it was absolutely terrific.
Let me say this: I made about 8 double batches of this recipe. Each recipe was baked in an 18×26″ cookie sheet so it will bake differently and take much longer than a regular 10×15″ cookie sheet or 9×13″ baking dish. Most of my cookie dough was not completely cooked until I had cooked them 1 hour and 30 minutes! No lie, it took that long. One pan I actually had to put back in the oven after it cooled because it had not baked enough. (It still turned out wonderfully, yay!)
If you’re baking in a smaller cookie sheet or dish, you will have to adjust your time considerably. I would start checking after 35 minutes. Once a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, you should be good to go. This recipe is a little more involved than a lot of cookie recipes, but it is soooo worth it.
Give these cookies a try this holiday season and wow your family, friends, co-workers and neighbors with these delicious Snickerdoodle Cheesecake Bars. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Everyone will drool over these bars and you’ll be lucky if you’re left with a smidgeon to eat.
Snickerdoodle Cheesecake Bars are awesome.
You will be salivating like Pavlov’s dogs over these scrumptious goodies.
Every bite of Snickerdoodle Cheesecake Bars will have you drooling.
Here’s what I did.
I used these ingredients for the Snickerdoodle layer.
Don’t be overwhelmed by the ingredients. I made eight double batches or sixteen batches of the original recipe for my holiday baking this year.
Place Crisco shortening in a mixing bowl. Add sugar, eggs, salt, baking powder and cream of tartar.
Mix ingredients with an electric mixer until creamy.
Add UNBLEACHED all-purpose flour. Bleached flour toughens baked goods.
Stir ingredients with a heavy spoon until very well combined.
Spread between one-half and two-thirds of the cookie dough into the bottom of a greased 11×17″ jelly roll pan. I spread this double batch into an 18×26″ cookie sheet.
You can bake this in a 9×13″ glass baking dish but it will be deeper and cook differently than if you put it in a shallow pan.
Next, make cheesecake layer: I used these ingredients to make the cheesecake layer.
Soften cream cheese.
Add sugar, eggs and vanilla.
Cream with an electric mixer until mostly smooth. You may not get all of the cream cheese smoothed out unless your cream cheese is really soft. Don’t worry about it. The cheese melts as it bakes in the oven and smooths out.
Smooth the cream cheese layer over top of the Snickerdoodle crust.
Crumble remaining Snickerdoodle dough over top of the cheesecake layer.
I used these ingredients for the cinnamon-sugar layer.
Stir ingredients well to combine.
Sprinkle cinnamon-sugar mixture evenly over top of crumbled Snickerdoodle layer.
Bake at 350. For a regular 11×17″ jelly roll pan, start checking after 30 minutes. When a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, the cookie is done.
For a 9×13″ glass baking dish, the recipe may take 45-60 minutes. This was an 18×26″ cookie sheet and it took about one hour thirty minutes for these to be done.
I baked four cookie sheets at a time and rotated the cookie sheets on the rack every 15 minutes.
Allow cookies to cool completely before cutting into bars. Mine took over an hour to cool sufficiently.
Snickerdoodle Cheesecake Bars have a luscious cheesecake layer in the middle that makes these cookies so rich and decadent.
If you love Snickerdoodles, you’ll go over the moon after eating one of these addictive treats.
Here’s the recipe.
SNICKERDOODLE CHEESECAKE BARS
(My own concoction)
Snickerdoodle Cheesecake Bars
Equipment
- 1 11x17" jelly roll pan
- 2 large mixing bowls
- 1 small mixing bowl
- 1 electric mixer
- 1 wooden spoon
- 1 spatula
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
Ingredients
SNICKERDOODLE MIXTURE:
- 1 cup Crisco shortening (no substitutes)
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 3/4 cup UNBLEACHED all-purpose flour (bleached flour toughens baked goods)
- 2 tsp. cream of tartar
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1/4 tsp. sea salt
CHEESECAKE LAYER:
- 16 oz. pkg. cream cheese softened (two 8-ounce blocks)
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 cup granulated sugar
CINNAMON-SUGAR MIXTURE:
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp. cinnamon
Instructions
SNICKERDOODLE MIXTURE:
- Cream shortening, sugar, eggs, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt, beating well.
- Add flour and stir well with a wooden spoon.
- Press about one-half of the mixture into a greased 11x17” jelly-roll pan.
- Top with cheesecake layer spreading to edges.
- Sprinkle remaining Snickerdoodle mixture over top.
- Sprinkle cinnamon-sugar mixture over top of cookie dough.
- Bake at 350° about 45-60 minutes or until mixture is set and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
- Allow bars to cool completely before cutting.
CHEESECAKE LAYER:
- Soften cream cheese.
- Add eggs, vanilla and granulated sugar and mix with an electric mixer until smooth.
- Pour over top of Snickerdoodle crust layer as directed above.
CINNAMON-SUGAR MIXTURE:
- Combine ingredients and set aside.
- Sprinkle over top of bars as directed above.
Notes
© Can’t Stay Out of the Kitchen
Nutrition
Snickerdoodle Cheesecake Bars are perfect for holiday parties, Christmas Cookie Exchanges and potlucks. Everyone will rave over them.
These lovely brownie-type cookies are great for tailgating parties and birthdays, too.
You may also enjoy these delicious recipes!
Cinnamon Frosted Snickerdoodle Blondies
Snickerdoodle Cheesecake Bars
Equipment
- 1 11×17" jelly roll pan
- 2 large mixing bowls
- 1 small mixing bowl
- 1 electric mixer
- 1 wooden spoon
- 1 spatula
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
Ingredients
SNICKERDOODLE MIXTURE:
- 1 cup Crisco shortening (no substitutes)
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 3/4 cup UNBLEACHED all-purpose flour (bleached flour toughens baked goods)
- 2 tsp. cream of tartar
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1/4 tsp. sea salt
CHEESECAKE LAYER:
- 16 oz. pkg. cream cheese softened (two 8-ounce blocks)
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 cup granulated sugar
CINNAMON-SUGAR MIXTURE:
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp. cinnamon
Instructions
SNICKERDOODLE MIXTURE:
- Cream shortening, sugar, eggs, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt, beating well.
- Add flour and stir well with a wooden spoon.
- Press about one-half of the mixture into a greased 11×17” jelly-roll pan.
- Top with cheesecake layer spreading to edges.
- Sprinkle remaining Snickerdoodle mixture over top.
- Sprinkle cinnamon-sugar mixture over top of cookie dough.
- Bake at 350° about 45-60 minutes or until mixture is set and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
- Allow bars to cool completely before cutting.
CHEESECAKE LAYER:
- Soften cream cheese.
- Add eggs, vanilla and granulated sugar and mix with an electric mixer until smooth.
- Pour over top of Snickerdoodle crust layer as directed above.
CINNAMON-SUGAR MIXTURE:
- Combine ingredients and set aside.
- Sprinkle over top of bars as directed above.
6 Comments
Cheryl
May 29, 2019 at 12:27 am
I made these a second time but made these changes. I used butter in the cookie dough, and 1 tsp cream of tartar. In the cheesecake filling I used 2 and 1/2 pkgs cream cheese, 3/4 c sugar and 1 tsp vanilla and the eggs. Followed the rest of the recipe. Baked them for 30 minutes and this time they turned out perfectly!
Tasted much better also!!
Teresa
May 29, 2019 at 6:13 pm
Hey, Cheryl. I’m so glad you fiddled with the recipe and got it to your liking. I really like the idea of using butter in the cookie dough instead of Crisco. But for cookies it will make them come out flat unless other ingredient amounts are also changed. I’m also glad you cooked them less to get the taste you wanted. My oven runs slow, plus I rotate racks frequently (which also brings the temperature down). So my cookies and brownies seem to always take longer than anyone else’s. Anyway, I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe with those changes. Thanks for letting me know.
Cheryl L Lubratovic
May 12, 2019 at 7:21 pm
I made these tonight and followed the recipe exactly. The cookie part on the bottom was dry and crumbly. The cheesecake filling was too sweet with a cup of sugar. And overall it didn’t taste anything like a snickerdoodle cookie or cheesecake.
Teresa
May 13, 2019 at 6:45 am
Sorry you didn’t like them Cheryl. These are a rave whenever I serve them. If the cookie part on the bottom was dry and crumbly your oven may be hotter than mine and they might not need to be baked quite as long. Have a great week.
Joanne
December 15, 2017 at 4:54 pm
How long can these bars be left out, and do they need to stay refrigerated?
Teresa
December 16, 2017 at 9:55 am
Hi, Joanne. You can leave them out for several hours, but I would refrigerate them after that.