Salted Chocolate Cheesecake Bars are decadent and rich, beyond delicious, with the perfect contrast of pink Himalayan sea salt.
Ok. So, let me tell you about these bars.
Y’all know by now I don’t care much about sweets, but my M.O. is to blog one or two every few months.
For fun. And for my family.
And for you, of course.
When I was younger I loved sweets, especially chocolate. I had an affinity for cheesecake and key lime pie. As a matter of fact, my husband gave me a key lime pie a few weeks ago on my birthday (yes, I turned 21 again) even though he knew I probably wouldn’t eat it – but he brought it home because he knew it was my favorite.
Anyway, truth is, every now and then I like a *bite* of something sweet. Like a miniature Crackle Bar, or a Hershey Kiss. Or two, maybe. Ok, fine, more depending on the time of the month but typically that’s not the case.
Then I’m done and I’m ready for something hot.
And cheesy.
And salty.
What are Salted Chocolate Cheesecake Bars?
These are layered cheesecake bars with a chocolate layer, topped with melted caramel and sprinkled with pink Himalayan salt. They have a good crumbly oat crust that’s simple to make. These overall are pretty straightforward to put together. Probably the most difficult aspect of this recipe is allowing it to set in the refrigerator for three hours. However, it is a must so they can be uniform and become one bar and you’ll be glad you did.
I have decided, however, that I will be making an adjustment to the crust. I’m not sure exactly how, but I am definitely going to tweak it some. Should I have done that before I posted them? Probably. But I have no patience, so here we are. I love them so much I had to go ahead and share them with you.
I LOVE what the salt adds to the taste and texture of these. The salt I used is very coarse and crunchy.
And pink. How cute is that? If you don’t have Himalayan salt, any coarse finishing salt like Maldon flakes will work just as well. Maldon also makes smoked sea salt if you’re feeling extra bougie.
My suggestion to you as far as chocolate is Ghirardelli. It is hands down the best chocolate for dessert making, along with Chocoley chocolate.
Here’s your printable –
Salted Chocolate Cheesecake Bars
A decadent layered cheesecake dessert bar with chocolate, topped with melted caramel and Himalayan sea salt.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup oats
- 1/2 cup pecans
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 stick cold butter, dice
- 1 block cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 3/4 cup jarred caramel
- 3/4 cup milk chocolate chips
- 1 tbsp Crisco shortening
- Pink Himalayan Sea Salt*
Instructions
- Spray a small rectangular dish (7x5x1.5) with cooking spray.
- In a food processor blend together the oats, pecans and sugar until very crumby. Add butter and pulse until it forms a ball.
- Add crumb mixture to prepared dish and press to form a crust. Refrigerate for an hour.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350°. Add cream cheese through vanilla to your food processor bowl; pulse until smooth.
- Remove crust from fridge and pour filling on top. Bake for 40 minutes, or until slightly golden brown and starting to crack at the edges. Remove and cool for at least an hour.
- Microwave the caramel for 30 seconds at a time on 75% heat, stirring in between, until warm.
- Pour the caramel over the cheesecake, let sit for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile in a glass bowl, microwave the chocolate chips and Crisco just like you did the caramel, until melted.
- Pour chocolate over the caramel layer and sprinkle with sea salt.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight.
Notes
*Regular coarse sea salt or Maldon Salt Flakes will work if you don't have Pink Himalayan Salt.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 231Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 31mgSodium: 155mgCarbohydrates: 29gFiber: 1gSugar: 25gProtein: 3g
The provided nutrition calculated may not always be accurate.
This Post Has 14 Comments
So, I just want to start with OMG!!! Yummmm!! I’m just wondering where the egg goes? I just made these & I’m guessing the egg goes in with the sugar & cream cheese mixture, so that’s what I did, they are in the oven now:-) There just aren’t any instructions as to what to do with the egg.
These look fabulous & I cannot wait to put them in my mouth!! Thanks so much for the recipe!
And the vanilla!! What do we do with the vanilla?
Sorry Mindy! I’ll change that instruction – vanilla goes in with the sugar/cream cheese mixture. Thanks for bringing that to my attention!!
I. Am. Drooling. Good thing bathing suit season is almost over — I’m all about this recipe! Stopping in from LOBS. Thanks for sharing!
I. Am. Drooling. Good thing bathing suit season is almost over — I’m all about this recipe!
These look absolutely GORGEOUS! I love the salty/sweet combination and the fact that you wrap it all up in a delicious bar is just awesome. Stopping by from Whimsy Wednesdays 🙂
OMG!!! These look insanely awesome!!! YES! Thanks for the link up on the Frugal, Crafty, Home blog hop! We appreciate your participation and inspiration!
xoxo, Jordan
http://www.lilywhite-designs.com/2013/08/frugal-crafty-home-36.html
Oh wow, that looks like a salty/sweet slice of heaven!
I love Himalayan sea salt! I pull it out whenever possible. And salted caramel…you can’t go wrong with that! These look delicious!
Would love to feature your recipe, but I don’t see a link back to my party within your post. They look delicious!
I will make the coffee if you will bring over this cheesecake!! YUM-O! Seriously just pinned it, gotta have it!! Love the salt!
Hugs
Hope to see you at Let’s Get Social Sunday
I love salted caramel! What a great idea to combine it in a cheesecake! Oh and re key lime pie, I have always wanted to try it but here in Australia it’s hard to come by, until I went to an American restaurant and they had it on the menu, the only problem was I when it came out it was this horrible slime/gak colour and was quite bitter, is the bitterness normal (so I know weather to give it another chance if I ever see it on a menu again?)
Commence drooling….
These are amazing! I love the pink salt, of course! Pinning!
Wow! This looks deee-licious! We’d love to have you share the recipe at our Saturday Link Party! Deb @ madefrompinterest.net