Monster Cookie Chocolate Cheesecake Bars are the ultimate combination of my grandmother’s Monster Cookies, turned into Monster Cookie Bars, and married to these Cheesecake Cookie Bars!
One bite of these cheesecake cookie bars will have you hooked and this recipe is likely to earn top ten dessert status in your house as well.
This recipe is from my friend Jocelyn’s beautiful cookbook, Cheesecake Love.
There are so many fantastic cheesecake flavor combinations in this book, the cheesecake lover in your life will never grow tired of these desserts. I’ve made a few of them myself and they never disappoint.
Cheesecake Cookie Bars start with a layer of Monster Cookie dough pressed into the bottom of the pan. Then a spatula licking delicious chocolate cheesecake batter is poured over that layer.
A top layer of cookie dough is dropped over that cheesecake layer before baking. The result is a crunchy, chewy, creamy, chocolate dessert that no one in my family could resist.
The cheesecake filled cookie bars are rich and sweet, loaded with peanut butter, chocolate chips, M&M’s, and cheesecake. I was able to cut them into very small pieces. This made them perfect for a sweet snack or a dessert.
I recommend cutting them into 24-36 pieces. I wound up cutting ours into about 48 pieces. We loved these bars straight from the refrigerator, but they were also great at room temperature.
Want a few more EASY cheesecake desserts to try? How about No-Bake Caramel Cheesecake Mousse? or a classically rich Turtle Cheesecake? This Layered Lemon Cheesecake will likely be my forever favorite lemon dessert. Raspberry Cheesecake Brownies and this Deep Fried Cheesecake both sound fantastic as well.
Kitchen Tip: I used this pan, this scoop, and this cookbook to make this recipe.
Monster Cookie Chocolate Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
- COOKIE INGREDIENTS
- ½ cup butter, room temperature
- ½ cup white sugar
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 cup quick cooking oats
- 2 tbsp milk
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup M&M’s candies, divided
- CHEESECAKE INGREDIENTS
- 16 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted
- 2 eggs
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9×13 pan with parchment paper or line with foil and grease with butter.
- FOR THE COOKIE CRUST: Beat the butter and both sugars together until fluffy. Add the peanut butter, eggs, and vanilla, and beat until smooth. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, salt, baking soda, and oats. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, and beat until combined. Add the milk and beat again.
- Stir in the chocolate chips and the M&M’s candies by hand, reserve about 2 tablespoons of M&M’s for topping. Press half the cookie dough into the bottom of the prepared pan. Set aside the pan and the remaining cookie dough.
- FOR THE CHEESECAKE: Beat the cream cheese until creamy. Add the sugar and beat until smooth. Add the chocolate and beat until creamy again. Add the eggs, beating well to make sure they are well incorporated, but do not overbeat the batter.
- Spread the cheesecake batter over the layer of cookie dough already in the pan. Drop the remaining cookie batter by scoops or spoonfuls over the cheesecake layer. Sprinkle the remaining M&M’s on top.
- Bake for 35 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack. Let cool for 1 hour, then refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or until completely chilled. Cut into 24-48 bars before serving. Enjoy!
Jocelyn @Inside BruCrew Life says
Woo hoo girl! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe and my cookbook! These were one of my favorite cheesecake bars! We totally cut them smaller after photos too because they are pretty rich! And cold from the fridge was my favorite way to eat them!