Gingerbread Cheesecake Bars may just be the perfect 5 ingredient holiday dessert. Rich and creamy cheesecake bars with a gingerbread cookie dough crust and the cutest mini gingerbread cookies on top! They are so cute and easy to make. It's the perfect combination of cheesecake and gingerbread cookies!
Gingerbread Cheesecake Bars Recipe
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When it comes to holiday entertaining we love making fun and festive desserts. But we don't love spending hours in the kitchen baking! That's why we are known for our shortcut, less ingredients, less prep desserts. They are flavor packed, look so impressive, and are always a fan favorite without needing to stress about a complicated recipe.
We just love shortcut treats for the holidays! Gingerbread is one of our favorite holiday flavors and our shortcut Gingerbread Truffles are also always a fan favorite! My Mom has been making her famous Chocolate Chip Cookie Cheesecake Bars for years so we knew we had to come up with a fun festive version with gingerbread cookies!
What are Gingerbread Cheesecake Bars
These bars are a shortcut dessert perfect for holiday entertaining. A store bought tube of gingerbread cookie dough is used to make the crust for the bars. The crust is topped with a creamy cheesecake layer and then mini gingerbread cookies are placed on top of the cheesecake layer. Baked until golden brown they are simply divine! The gingerbread cookies are tender and sweet, and the cheesecake is oh so rich and creamy. It's the perfect 5 ingredient holiday dessert!
More Festive Treats
- Nutella Pastry Christmas Trees
- Peanut Butter Reindeer Cookies
- Holiday Nutella Pastries
- Reindeer Rice Krispie Treats
Ingredients
- Gingerbread Cookie Dough - to make this recipe super quick and easy we love to use a store bought package of gingerbread cookie dough (ex. Pillsbury). It's already rolled into a log and all you need to do is slice it up into thin slices to create the crust and topping for the bars.
- You can definitely use homemade gingerbread cookie dough instead and you will need approximately 1 pound of cookie dough (450-460 grams or enough dough to make about 16 cookies).
- Cream Cheese - be sure your cream cheese is at room temperature for best results. Leave the cream cheese on the kitchen counter while you prep the cookie dough or you can microwave for 15 second.
- Eggs and Flour - mixed into the cheesecake layer so that the cheesecake firms up when baking. You want the cheesecake to be nice and thick so that the bars hold up when getting sliced.
- Sugar - this is added into the cream cheese layer to give the cheesecake layer some sweetness.
How to Make Gingerbread Cheesecake Bars
Full Printable Recipe at Bottom of page
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease 9”x13” baking dish.
- In a small bowl beat cream cheese and eggs with a handheld mixer on medium speed.
- Add sugar and flour. Continue mixing thoroughly until light and fluffy and set aside.
- Using ¾ of the prepared cookie dough slice into thin slices. Press each piece of the dough into the greased baking dish to evenly cover the entire bottom to create the crust for the bars.
- Pour and evenly spread the cream cheese mixture over the cookie dough.
- Slice remaining cookie dough into small pieces or use a mini gingerbread cookie cutter or other cookie cutter shape to create small cookie shapes. Scatter the cookies on top of the entire cream cheese layer. They should not form a complete layer and should have some spacing between pieces.
- Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until the cheesecake starts to turn light golden brown and the cookie dough on top is cooked through. Cool 30 minutes before cutting and serving. Optional: after cooling, refrigerate 2 hours until fully chilled for easier cutting.
- Slice into squares and serve. Bars must be stored in fridge overnight. Serve at room temperature or chilled from fridge. Enjoy!
Tips for the Best Cheesecake Bars
- Filling - to get that extra creamy and smooth cheesecake layer start with room temperature cream cheese. Leave your cream cheese on the counter while you prepare the cookie dough. Room temperature cream cheese will blend into the eggs smoother and there will be no lumps. If you forget to take your cream cheese out of the fridge before prepping this dessert, place the cream cheese on a microwave safe plate and microwave for 5 seconds. Flip and microwave for another 5 seconds.
- Cookie Dough - you can use store bought or homemade cookie dough for this recipe. We love using a tube of Pillsbury gingerbread cookie dough for this recipe as it's super quick and easy. If making homemade cookie dough you will need about 450-460 grams of cookie dough, or enough dough to make 16 cookies.
- Decorating - our favorite part about these bars are the cute mini gingerbread cookies on top! We make them using mini Christmas cookie cutters. You can get creative with different color sprinkles and frostings to decorate the cookies. It's a fun way to make the bars even more festive and cute!
FAQ
These bars are best served at room temperature or chilled.
Store in an air tight container or Ziploc bag in the fridge for 4-5 days or freeze following above directions. Before serving, allow the bars to come to room temperature or serve chilled.
Yes! These are a freezer friendly recipe. Just follow the recipe as usual, allow the bars to fully cool at room temperature and then transfer to a freezer safe container or Ziploc bag. Freeze for up to 3 months. Tip: if you need to stack the bars in a container, place a piece of parchment paper between each bar to prevent sticking. If using a freezer safe Ziploc bag you can first wrap each bar in plastic wrap to prevent sticking. They are also a great grab and go treat from the freezer as they thaw very quickly.
Yes! These are a great make ahead dessert or treat. Simply follow the recipe as usual and store the cooled baked bars in an air tight container or Ziploc bag in the fridge for 4-5 days.
More Easy Sweets
Enjoy!
- Sab
Gingerbread Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
- 1 package gingerbread cookie dough (16.5 oz, ex. Pillsbury tube)
- 1 brick cream cheese (8 ounces, 250 grams, at room temperature)
- 2 eggs (at room temperature)
- ½ cup sugar (granulated white sugar or cane sugar)
- 4 tablespoon flour
Decorations (Optional)
- Sprinkles
- Sugar Cookie Frosting
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease 9”x13” baking dish.
- In a small bowl beat 1 brick cream cheese and 2 eggs with a handheld mixer on medium speed.
- Add ½ cup sugar and 4 tablespoon flour. Continue mixing thoroughly until light and fluffy and set aside.
- Using ¾ of the 1 package gingerbread cookie dough slice into thin slices. Press each piece of the dough into the greased baking dish to evenly cover the entire bottom to create the crust for the bars.
- Pour and evenly spread the cream cheese mixture over the cookie dough.
- Slice remaining cookie dough into small pieces or use a mini gingerbread cookie cutter or other cookie cutter shape to create small cookie shapes. Scatter the cookies on top of the entire cream cheese layer. They should not form a complete layer and should have some spacing between pieces.
- Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until the cheesecake starts to turn light golden brown and the cookie dough on top is cooked through. Remove from the oven and place the baking tray on a wire cooling rack.
- Cool minimum 30 minutes before cutting and serving. After cooling, refrigerate 2 hours until fully chilled for easier and cleaner cuts. You can also run the knife under warm water to get clean cuts and wipe the knife clean after each cut,
- Optional: you can decorate the gingerbread cookies with Sprinkles or Sugar Cookie Frosting.
- Slice into squares and serve. Bars must be stored in fridge overnight. Serve at room temperature or chilled from fridge. Enjoy!
Nutrition
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