White Chocolate Cranberry Cheesecake Bars

Homemade crumb crust topped with cheesecake filling prepared from cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk. Filling topped with mixture of cranberry juice, cranberry sauce, and cornstarch. Cheesecake garnished with white chocolate chips, pecans and baked until crust is golden brown. Cheesecake is chilled until firm and cut into bars for serving.

Ingredients -
2 cups All-Purpose Flour
1-1/2 cups regular Rolled Oats
3/4 cup packed Brown Sugar
1 cup Butter, softened
1-1/2 cups chopped Pecans, divided
1 (8 ounces) package Cream Cheese, softened
1 (14 ounces) can Sweetened Condensed Milk (not evaporated milk)
1/4 cup Cranberry Juice
1 (16 ounces) can Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce
2 tablespoons Cornstarch
1-1/2 cups White Chocolate Baking Pieces
 
Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. In medium bowl, beat flour, oats, brown sugar, and butter with electric mixer until crumbly. Stir in 1/2 cup chopped pecans.

3. Reserve 1-1/2 cups of the flour mixture. Press the remaining mixture in the bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking pan that has been lightly coated with non-stick cooking spray. Bake 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

4. In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk until smooth and fluffy. Spread the mixture over baked crust.

5. In a small bowl, combine cranberry juice, cranberry sauce, and cornstarch. Evenly spoon the cranberry mixture over cream cheese layer.

6. Stir together white chocolate chips, remaining chopped pecans, and reserved crust mixture.

7. Evenly sprinkle over cranberry layer.

8. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes in 350 degree oven, until golden brown.

9. Cool and cut into bars. Refrigerate leftovers.

 



Cheesecake Making Tips -
Cream Cheese

Cream cheese was developed over a century ago. The name is derived from the creamy texture the cheese exhibits. Cream cheese is made from cow’s milk and must contain at 33 percent milk fat.


Cheesecake Making Tips -
Brown Sugar

Brown sugar is refined white sugar crystals that have been coated with a thin layer of molasses. There are two main types of brown sugar, light and dark, indicating how much molasses has been added to the outside of the crystals.