Cranberry Cream Cheese Bars
Cranberry Cream Cheese Bars are perfect for your Thanksgiving dessert buffet. Or wait until after the holiday, and use leftover cranberry sauce to make them for your holiday cookie exchange in December.
Thanksgiving Recipes
Besides recipes for Thanksgiving Day, you’ll want recipes for Thanksgiving leftovers! At Chez Berg, turkey tetrazzini and turkey sandwiches are a given, but by day three, I need some inspiration. If you happened to buy an extra can of whole berry cranberry sauce, though, I can help. You’ll love these cranberry cream cheese bars!
Cranberry Cream Cheese Bars
This is the time of year to stock up on canned pumpkin, an extra turkey for your freezer, and cranberry sauce. With sales rampant, it just makes sense. One the few fruits native to North America, the cranberry, is nearly always associated with Thanksgiving dinner.
When my parents would visit for the holiday, I’d always grab a can of cranberry sauce, my dad’s preference…while my mom and I favored the freshly ground relish, which also graced our table. But sitting on our lazy susan, behind a cupboard door, that can of jelled cranberries would often get forgotten due to all the craziness in the kitchen. These cranberry cheesecake bars can help take care of any leftover cranberry sauce after Thanksgiving!
So if you have a memory lapse like me or spot an extra can in your pantry, I hope you’ll try this Cranberry Cream Cheese Bars dessert recipe.
An oatmeal crust is topped with a cheesecake-like layer, followed by slightly sweetened cranberry sauce and an oat streusel. Sounds divine, doesn’t it?
Tips for Making Cranberry Cream Cheese Bars:
I love making layered bar cookies. They’re an ideal way to serve a crowd with very little effort. One-pan can serve 24 people if you cut the dessert into 4 bars across the short side, then 6 bars across the long side.
- To make these bars easy to release from the pan, line it with non-stick aluminum foil. The foil will act as a sling and you can remove the bars to a cutting board for easier slicing.
- PRO-Tip: Chill the bars well before cutting to make the neatest slices. Check out my post on How to Cut Perfect Cookie Bars for details.
- To make nice even layers, I use a flat bottomed meat mallet or measuring cup to smooth out the surface after patting the crust into the pan with my fingers.
- Then I use an offset spatula to smooth the sauce and cheesecake layers.
- Have your butter and cream cheese at room temperature for the best results. Both will be much easier to incorporate if not cold from the refrigerator.
- Set these cranberry cheesecake bars out on the counter at least an hour before you begin baking. If you need to help them along, gently microwave for just 15-20 seconds. Remove the foil wrap on the cream cheese first.
More Thanksgiving Recipes:
- 12 Thanksgiving Leftover Recipes from A Spicy Perspective
- Best Recipes Made from Thanksgiving Leftovers from A Family Feast
- 25 Recipes for Thanksgiving Leftovers from Real Housemoms
- Best Thanksgiving Dessert Recipes
- 25+ Thanksgiving Recipes
- Classic Pumpkin Pie
- Cranberry Salad
- Cranberry Brie en Croute
- Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes
- The Best Holiday Pies
- More Holiday Recipes
Cranberry Cream Cheese Bars
A terrific bar cookie for when you have that extra can of cranberry sauce on hand after Thanksgiving! Recipe adapted from my friend, Chezz
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 1 1/2 cups quick oats
- 3/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon brown sugar, divided
- 1 cup butter, at room temperature
- 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 (16 ounces) can whole berry cranberry sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven 350°. Line a 13 x 9 baking pan with non-stick foil.
- In large bowl combine flour, oats, 3/4 cup sugar and butter; mix until crumbly. Set aside 1 1/2 cups crumbs for topping, and press the rest into the prepared pan. Bake 15 minutes. Cool completely.
- In large bowl beat cream cheese until fluffy, gradually mix in condensed milk, lemon juice, and vanilla until smooth. Spread over crust. In small bowl combine remaining 1 tablespoon brown sugar, cornstarch and cranberry sauce. Spoon over cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle reserved crumb mixture over top.
- Bake 40 minutes. Let cool completely on wire rack, then chill before cutting. Store in refrigerator.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
24Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 183Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 30mgSodium: 105mgCarbohydrates: 18gFiber: 1gSugar: 6gProtein: 3g
61 Comments on “Cranberry Cream Cheese Bars”
Oh wow these look fabulous Liz! A nice sweet treat to snack on and you use up that leftover cranberry sauce!
These look great! Will definitely pull this one out if we end up with some leftover cranberry sauce!
OMGeeee!! These look fabulous! Totally wanna try this one! YUMMMM! Great idea for leftover cranberry sauce!
Perfection by Liz! Delicious layers.
No surprise these tasty looking bars got picked for foodgawker, they look so good!
Grrrrreat and delicious idea, Liz! Thank you for the keeper recipe…Glad I’m not the only one who buys a special condiment or something and then forgets to serve it!
What pretty bars, Liz. I do love cranberries but for us (as we sadly don’t have Thanksgiving), it’s all about Christmas. I’m hoping to be able to buy frozen cranberries (no such thing as fresh) so I can make my own cranberry sauce xx
Love this, Liz. I bet the tartness off the cranberry is perfect against the richness of the cheesecake layer.
You are a dessert queen, Liz. I love esp. the cookies and bars you have baked…these cranberry cheesecake bars look heavenly!
these look like a delicious way to use cranberry sauce!
Oh I love this recipe. Great way to use up leftover sauce. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.
Phew! What a great number of links leftover turkey. Wow, that was a lot of work, I’m sure. You’re amazing! These squares are perfectly festive for the Thanksgiving dessert table.
Why have I never thought of the cranberry and cheesecake combo before? These look amazing!
You already know I’m going to tell you I love this, especially since a cheesecake no-bake bar I made yesterday went horribly awry. Well, I LOVE these. Such clean cuts! Definitely a level of patience I’m still working up to 😉
Lizzy,
I love all your desserts. This one doesn’t disappoint. We always forget to bring out one or two things when we have everyone over. Many times it’s the jellied cranberry sauce. Happy Thanksgiving!
Annamaria
These are such pretty bars, Liz! Love those layers!
I like make cranberry crumb bars from leftover cranberry sauce – but I need to make these next time. That cream cheese layer looks like heaven!
Absolutely delicious and a wonderful celebration of cranberries!
I haven’t thought about these for years but my mother made something very similar every Christmas. That was before I thought cream cheese was something worth eating. Let’s call that my Bill phase. 🙂
These look yummy.
Liz, these bars are absolutely gorgeous. They look scrumptious.