Description
Creamy cheesecake bars on a simple graham cracker crust with a thick Nutella swirl.
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 and 1/2 cups (180g) graham cracker crumbs (12 full-sheet graham crackers)
- 6 Tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
Filling
- 16 ounces (452g) full-fat brick cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup (100g) Nutella, slightly warmed*
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil with enough overhang on the sides. Set aside.
- Make the crust: Using a food processor or blender, grind the graham crackers into a fine crumb. Pour into a medium bowl and mix with melted butter and sugar. Press into the lined pan. Bake for 5 minutes. Allow to cool as you prepare the filling.
- Make the filling: Beat cream cheese, egg, sugar, and vanilla extract together with a hand or stand mixer until smooth and creamy, about 3 full minutes. Spoon filling onto the crust. Drop large spoonfuls of Nutella on top of filling and swirl gently with a knife.
- Bake for 30–35 minutes, or until the cheesecake has set up and the edges are lightly browned. The bars will be very puffy, but will sink slightly down as they cool. Allow to cool for 30 minutes at room temperature on a wire rack and then chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours. Lift the foil out of the pan and cut into squares.
- Store bars in a covered container for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.
Notes
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 8-inch Square Baking Pan | Food Processor (for graham crackers) | Glass Mixing Bowl | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Cooling Rack
- Nutella: To make the Nutella easy to swirl, try this: (1) Simply measure 1/3 cup of it into a small bowl and microwave for about 15 seconds. (2) Alternatively, you can sit the entire jar of Nutella into a large bowl of warm water for about 15 minutes.
- Double Batch: Recipe can easily be doubled and baked in a 9×13-inch pan; baking time will vary—about 45–55 minutes.
- Non-US Readers: Don’t have graham crackers where you live? Use 200g ground digestive biscuits instead (about 13–14 biscuits), the same amount of butter, and add a bit more sugar (about 1/3 cup, or 67g). You may need to add a few extra minutes to the pre-baking time, as digestive biscuits are not quite as crispy-crunchy as graham crackers. And from what I understand, spreadable cream cheese sold in a tub in countries outside of the US is a little different from the spreadable cream cheese in the US. It’s thicker, sturdier, and more solid and should be OK to make cheesecake. I have no experience with it, but this is what I’ve heard from other non-US readers.