Oh Me Oh My! These gingersnap crust cheesecake bars are to die for! You are asking, "Isn't gingersnap celebrated more during the holiday season?" Nope, July 1st is the national holiday for gingersnaps! Creamy cheesecake bars that are layered on top of a gingersnap crust and then drizzled with a salted caramel sauce. A little piece of heaven in every bite! Don' t miss out on these bars, they are simply magical!
National Gingersnap day!
When looking up the national food holidays, it was a surprise to see that gingersnaps were celebrated in July rather than December. However, I was wrong. And my excitement to make these bars was through the roof! Nonetheless, the 4th with be celebrated with a bang and some extra calories on my hips!
Gingersnap day is to celebrate the common dunk into the tea, Gingersnap cookies. Reported to be originated in Germany or England, the combination of sweet and savory taste was never disliked probably by any of us and thus becomes a snack food in our daily routine life. The main ingredients are flour, ginger, and cinnamon. The widely used other ingredients are shortening, sugar, dark molasses, egg etc… There are varieties of flavors and recipes available.
Jacob, my 2 yr old wasn't a fan of the gingersnap cookies alone, but didn't waste anytime gobbling up the cheesecake bar!
Ingredients
- 1 bag of Stauffer's
- Cream Cheese
- Granulated sugar
- Unsalted butter
- Sour cream
- Vanilla extract
- Large eggs
- Light brown sugar
- Heavy cream
- Salt
Step by step instructions
Cheesecake bars
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13x9 cake pan. Set aside.
- In a food processor, pulse gingersnap cookies until you have a fine cookie mixture. Pour melted butter on top and fold with spatula until crumbs are just moistened.
- Pour into 13x9 cake pan and press cookie mixture firmly to the bottom of the pan to form a crust.
- In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, mix the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla extract and sour cream until fully combined. NOTE: Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Add in one egg at a time until completely blended.
- Pour cream cheese mixture on top of crust and set aside.
Salted Caramel sauce
- In a medium sauce pan, add in the light brown sugar, salt, vanilla extract, butter and heavy cream. Cook on medium heat while whisking gently, until thickened (5-8 minutes). Let it cool for a couple of minutes.
- Drizzle over the cheesecake batter running a knife through it to create swirls of salted caramel into the cheesecake batter.
Baking time of cheesecake bars
- Place the pan in the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes or until the outer edge is set and the center is almost set.
- Remove from oven and cool completely. Once the cheesecake has cooled to room temperature cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
- When ready to serve, remove the cheesecake from the pan and cut into squares.
Substitutions and variations
- Make pumpkin cheesecake filling versus the caramel swirled
- Make into a full cheesecake versus the bars
- Make your own homemade gingersnap cookies if you are feeling ambitious
Frequently asked questions
You simply take your gingersnap cookies and crush them up in a food processor and add melted butter to the mixture. This crust can be used in pies as well as bars. It is much like the graham cracker crust in my toasted coconut key lime pie.
These bars will last for up to 3 days in the refrigerator if covered with aluminum foil or plastic wrap. They will last for up to 3 months in the freezer if stored in ziplock bags.
Gingersnap crust cheesecake bars
Equipment
- Kitchenaid stand mixer with paddle attachment
- Food processor
- Home Decor
- Measuring cups and spoons
- spatula
- 9x13 baking/cake pan
- Medium saucepan
Ingredients
Cheesecake Bars
- 3 cups gingersnap cookies crushed
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted
- 32 oz cream cheese softened to room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 4 large eggs
Salted caramel sauce
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- 4 tablespoon salted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
Cheesecake bars
- Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease your 9x13 cake pan. Put gingersnap cookies into food processor (whole package) and pulse until you get a fine cookie mixture.
- Melt the ½ cup of butter in the microwave and pour over cookie mixture. Fold with spatula until just moistened. Put mixture in 9x13 pan and press down firmly to create a bottom crust.
- In the kitchenaid stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and sour cream until completely blended.
- Add in the eggs one at a time until combined.
- Pour the cheesecake mixture over the crust.
Salted caramel sauce
- In a medium sauce pan, mix the brown sugar, heavy cream, butter, vanilla and salt over medium-medium-low. Cook while whisking gently, until thickened, about 5-8 minutes.
- Let cook for a couple of minutes and then drizzle over the batter running a knife through it to create swirls of salted caramel in the cheesecake batter.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the outer edge is set and the center is almost fully set.
- Remove from the oven and let cool completely.
- Once the cheesecake has cooled to room temperature cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
- When ready to serve, remove the cheesecake from the pan and cut into squares.
Nutrition
Delish recipes
- Red White and Blue cheesecake
- Snickerdoodle cheesecake stuffed cookies
- Vanilla cupcakes with maple buttercream frosting
- Blueberry Orange shortbread cake
Fun fact of the day!
Did you know that ginger can be used to treat motion sickness, can reduce inflammation cause by arthritis, and stimulated the circulation of the blood?
Maybe that is why my mom always gave me ginger ale when I had the stomach bug!
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