These easy cranberry gingerbread cheesecake bars have a soft molasses cookie crust and creamy traditional cheesecake layer topped with swirled cranberry sauce.
They are on of my favorite holiday recipes! I love that this cheesecake recipe is low maintenance and doesn’t require a slow cooling or a hot water bath. Much less fussy than a regular cheesecake.
Quick Tips
- Line the pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper for easier removal.
- Chill the bars in the refrigerator overnight for the best consistency.
- Boil the cranberry sauce to reduce it for the perfect swirl texture.
Equipment
- 13×9-inch baking pan (I love this one!)
- hand mixer or stand mixer
- silicone spatula – makes it much easier to scrape down the bowls
Ingredient Notes
Here are some important notes on a few of the ingredients for this recipe.
- Butter-flavored shortening – Helps the crust to be tender and moist. You can also use a 1:1 substitution of softened butter.
- Molasses – Adds a sweetness and gives the crust a darker gingerbread color. Want more molasses? Check out these Molasses Cookies.
- Ground cloves – make sure that these are ground, not whole.
- Ground ginger – For that gingerbread flavor!
- Cream cheese – Make sure to take your cream cheese out ahead of time to allow it to soften.
- Jellied cranberry sauce – People have mixed feelings on serving canned cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving, but in this recipe it makes the perfect cranberry swirl!
Recipe Tips
These gingerbread cookie cheesecake bars make the perfect holiday dessert! This cheesecake is super low maintenance and doesn’t require a slow cooling or water bath since it is in bar form. Just assemble it and throw it into the oven.
This recipe is in 3 parts:
- Molasses cookie crust
- Cheesecake filling
- Cranberry swirl
Looking for other holiday desserts?
How to make molasses gingerbread cookie crust
I love making cheesecake with this delicious crust because it tastes like gingerbread cookies! The combination of warm spices and molasses makes these bars taste like the holiday season.
For the gingerbread layer, line a 9×13 inch baking pan with aluminum foil or a sheet of parchment paper and set aside. You can also spray the pan with nonstick spray. This will help make removing the bars a lot easier for cutting them. Trim away any excess paper.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or using a hand mixer, cream the shortening and sugar for 2-3 minutes on medium speed.
Next add in molasses and egg and mix well.
In a separate medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, ground cloves, ginger, cinnamon, salt).
Sprinkle the dry ingredients (flour mixture) over the wet ingredients, about ½-1 cup at a time, mixing in between.
Gently press a thin layer of cookie dough on the bottom of the prepared pan. Spread the mixture up to the sides of the pan. You will not use all of the dough.
Bake the crust for 18-20 minutes in the preheated oven or until the center appears cooked. Set aside to cool.
How to make cheesecake filling
While your gingersnap crust is baking, you can work on the cheesecake filling.
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with a hand electric mixer, beat the softened room temp cream cheese until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula once complete.
Add sugar, vanilla extract, flour, and salt. Beat on medium speed until smooth. Do not over beat, as this will cause the cheesecake to have a crumbly texture rather than smooth. Scrape down the sides of bowl.
Next add in egg and beat on low until just combined. Do not over beat.
How to make cranberry swirl
Remove the cranberry sauce from the can and pour it into a small sauce pan. Use a fork to stir well, and boil for 5-8 minutes on medium-low heat or until the sauce has thickened. Using the sauce right out of the can will result in a watery texture once baked.
Allow the cranberry sauce to cool to room temperature (place in fridge or freezer for a few minutes to quicken the cooling)
Pour the cheesecake batter over cookie crust and spread evenly.
Evenly spoon the reduced cranberry over the cheesecake batter (evenly space 12-16 small spoonfuls, or until you have used all of the mixture).
Use a fork or the end of a spoon/fork to swirl the batter together.
Bake bars for 40-45 minutes or until the center has little to no jiggle. Remove from oven and let cool to room temperature.
Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 6 hours or overnight before serving. Once the gingerbread bars have cooled, you can remove from the pan and cut them.
Can I make this ahead of time?
Yes! You can make these gingerbread bars ahead of time. They are actually better the next day.
How to store leftovers?
Store leftover bars in an airtight container or cover with plastic wrap for a few days in the refrigerator.
Variations/substitutions
- You can save some time if you don’t want to make your own crust. Substitute for gingersnap cookies pulsed in a food processor mixed with brown sugar and melted butter.
- You can substitute butter 1:1 with the shortening if desired. I just prefer shortening because it leads to a softer crust!
- Modify this recipe to make mini cheesecakes by using mini pie pans.
- Drizzle the top with melted white chocolate for an extra decoration.
FAQs
Yes! This recipe makes 24 bars, but if you want to only make 12-16 you can halve the recipe and use an 8×8 or 9×9 baking dish instead. Half everything in the recipe except keep the 1 egg and use 1 cup PLUS 2 tablespoons of flour in the gingerbread crust and use 1 egg for the cheesecake layer. Halving the recipe may reduce your cook time.
Yes. First cut the bars and wrap them in parchment or foil, then store in an airtight container. They will keep about 3 months in the freezer.
Happy baking!
Cranberry Gingerbread Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
For the molasses cookie crust
- ¾ cup butter-flavored shortening
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup molasses full flavor
- 1 egg
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon cloves ground
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
For the cheesecake filling
- 32 ounces cream cheese 4 bricks, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 eggs
For the cranberry swirl
- 1 can jellied cranberry sauce 14 ounces
Instructions
To make the molasses cookie crust
- Line a 9×13-inch pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Using a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the shortening and 1 cup of sugar for 2-3 minutes on medium speed.
- Add molasses and egg. Mix well.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, cloves, ginger, cinnamon, salt).
- Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, ½-1 cup at a time. Mix until combined.
- Gently press a thin layer of cookie dough throughout the bottom of the lined 9×13 pan. You will not use all of the dough.
- Bake the crust for 18-20 minutes or until the center appears cooked. Set aside to cool.
To make the cheesecake & cranberry filling
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a hand mixer, beat the softened cream cheese until smooth. Scrape down the bowl once complete.
- Add sugar, vanilla extract, flour and salt. Beat on medium until smooth. Do not over beat. Scrape down the bowl once complete.
- Add in egg and beat on low until just combined. Do not over beat.
- Remove the cranberry sauce from the can and pour it into a small sauce pan. Use a fork to stir well, and boil for 5-8 minutes or until the sauce has thickened.
- Allow the cranberry sauce to cool to room temperature (place in fridge or freezer for a few minutes to quicken the cooling).
- Pour the cheesecake batter over the cookie crust and spread evenly.
- Evenly spoon the reduced cranberry over the cheesecake batter (evenly space 12-16 small spoonfuls, or until you have used all of the mixture).
- Use a fork or the end of a spoon/fork to swirl the batter together.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the center has little to no jiggle. Remove from oven and let cool to room temperature.
- Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 6 hours – overnight before serving.
MaryAnn Brown says
These were so good – I loved the flavor of the gingerbread crust with the cranberry cheesecake. And it actually got better with time as the crust got a little softer and the flavors really developed.
Jackie says
Thank you so much for your comment, MaryAnn! I’m so glad that you liked them 🙂