Cranberry Cheesecake Dream Bars

These Cranberry Cheesecake Dream Bars with an Almond Shortbread Crust are amazing. A buttery almond crust topped with a creamy no-bake vanilla cheesecake layer. And all crowned by a festively tart cranberry topping. So lovely. So seasonal. And, great for the holidays.

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Please let me know if you have any questions about this recipe. I read all the comments myself and I try to help as soon as I can. I have readers from all levels of comfort and experience in the kitchen on my site, and I’ve tried to answer some of your questions already in the post. But if I’ve missed anything, please feel free to leave a comment and ask.

Cream the butter and sugar

When I was a kid baking recipes all started with, “cream the butter and sugar”, which, I think many bakers still understand that to mean, “mix the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy”. 

But somewhere along the way the wording changed.

I also think how we “cream the butter and sugar” changed. My mom always handed me a big bowl with the butter and sugar in it, and a nice sturdy fork. It was my job to mix those bad boys together until they were light and fluffy.

Sure, no one had a fancy stand mixer in those days. We did, however, have a hand-held mixer, but we never used it for simply mixing the butter and sugar together.

How to cream the butter and sugar

Here we are many years later, and I still prefer to cream the butter and sugar with a nice sturdy fork in a big ol’ bowl.

Maybe I’m old-fashioned. I just like to get to know my food. And I like the little bit of exercise/arm workout that I get from doing it by hand.

But, if you don’t care to do it by hand, that’s just fine too.

I know some people who love to cook, but have arthritis in their hands, so it hurts too much to do it by hand. The stand mixer is perfect for them.

Or, maybe you just like the speed and quickness that the power tools give. 

And, I’d like to remind everyone that most cookie recipes are just like this one – use the tool you prefer for this type of mixing.

A stand mixer, a hand-held mixer, a sturdy fork – they’re all good for almost all cookie recipes.

More cranberry recipes

You’ll also want to check out my recipes for Cranberry Rosemary Cornbread, Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad, and Roasted Cranberry Sauce.

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Recipe

Cranberry Cheesecake Dream Bars

Debi

Cranberry Cheesecake Dream Bars with an Almond Shortbread Crust. Festive. Lovely. Just the right balance of sweet and tart. Creamy. Luscious! And comes together pretty quickly for such an impressive dessert; it helps that the cheesecake part is no-bake!

5 from 2 votes

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Cook ModePrevent your screen from going to sleep.

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

resting time 4 hours hrs

Total Time 4 hours hrs 40 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 16 bars

Calories 245 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

Crust

• ½ cup unsalted butter
• ¼ cup powdered sugar
• 1 ½ cups almond flour
• ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon fine grain sea salt

Cranberry layer

• 2 cups fresh cranberries
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• ¼ cup water

Cheesecake layer

• 8 ounces cream cheese softened to room temperature
• ½ cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ cup sour cream
• 1/3 cup cold heavy cream

Instructions

 

Make the crust

• Preheat the oven to 350° F. Butter a 9×9-inch baking pan, and set aside. Using a sturdy fork, a stand-mixer, or a hand-held mixer, beat the butter and sugar until very fluffy and well blended. Gradually stir in the almond flour, flour, and salt until well combined. Press the mixture into the bottom of the buttered 9×9 dish, trying to get it as level as possible. Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, or until lightly golden and fragrant. Set aside to cool completely.
  ½ cup unsalted butter, ¼ cup powdered sugar, 1 ½ cups almond flour, ¾ cup all-purpose flour, ¼ teaspoon fine grain sea salt

Make the cranberry layer

• Place cranberries, sugar, and water in a small saucepan, and cook over medium heat until cranberries have softened and popped, and mixture has thickened, about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.
  2 cups fresh cranberries, ¼ cup granulated sugar, ¼ cup water

Make the Cheesecake layer

• In a large bowl, using an electric hand held mixer or an electric stand mixer, mix the softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt until smooth, about 2-3 minutes. Add the sour cream and cream, and continue to mix until the mixture is thickened about, 4-5 minutes. Spread the cheesecake mixture over the top of the completely cooled crust, use an offset spatula to help smooth it out.
  8 ounces cream cheese, ½ cup powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ cup sour cream, 1/3 cup cold heavy cream
• Gently spoon the cranberries over the top of the cheesecake. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours or up to overnight (if you can wait that long!).

Nutrition

Calories: 245kcalCarbohydrates: 18gProtein: 4gFat: 18gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 37mgSodium: 121mgPotassium: 46mgFiber: 2gSugar: 10gVitamin A: 471IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 47mgIron: 1mg

Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations, and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.

Keyword cheesecake, cookies, cranberry

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