A very Festive Christmas Cookie! Very Merry Cherry Cheesecake Bars have cheesecake filling mixed with red and green glaze’ cherries on a buttery shortbread crust. Top them with streusel crumbs and bake for a Christmas cookie that’s easy and takes minutes to put together

Very Merry Cherry Cheesecake Bars

Cheesecake is a staple in my house! This new welcomed addition of Very Merry Cherry Cheesecake Bars have put a jingle in my step and I am sure they will make your bells ring too. They will make your Holiday the hap, hap, happiest Christmas since Bing Crosby tap-danced with Danny Kaye. Can you tell which is my favorite Christmas Movie?

Yup! That and Charlie Brown Christmas.

Look at these delicious bars, creamy filling with chopped red and green cherries on a buttery shortbread crust. Top with buttery Crumbs

Holidays are special times and memory making times.  What happens when you get that first scent of pine or hear Jingle Bells? Or for me the first snowfall of the year whether I am ready or not? What happens when you wake up and look out side and see the freshly fallen snow as it twinkles in the sunlight like glitter that fancied up the World?

Childhood memories of Christmas for me are going to bed excited and having a hard time falling asleep, getting pajamas for a gift on Christmas morning, which must have been a rule back then, everyone got them. Candy canes were hung on the tree that gradually disappeared,  and Gingerbread men that were oddly decorated by little hands. Cinnamon Rolls in the oven, tinsel on the decorated tree, and my first year of marriage we went Christmas Caroling from the back of a pickup truck.  In Michigan. While the snow was falling. I will never forget that night. It was the happiness of being together and doing something different. And Singing. And laughing.

Songs bring back memories that take me back in time.

These days Christmas has much more meaning to me, different than my youth. It’s no longer about a decorated tree, or the smell of pine, or cookies, or presents. It is to me about the gift I have everyday to live another day, the right way. Now it’s being thankful for the little things. And the big things. Things I used to take for granted.

Things like being thankful to open my eyes each morning and trust in something way greater than me to guide me and protect me throughout each day. Faith. True faith. Faith gets me through every day. Everyday I remind myself to be thankful for things we normally don’t notice. A roof over my head and the warmth of my home. Food in my cupboards, and fridge.  Clothes I wear everyday. A mind able to think soundly and have peace in my soul.  Joy in my soul that no one or nothing can steal. Thankful to live today.  That’s all I have, no guarantees of tomorrow. And though we plan and live in light of tomorrow, today matters. Today I live, and am thankful.  For many things, and, for tomorrow if I open my eyes again I will do the same.

Pretty deep stuff to write about making cheesecake bars.  Bu that is what is on my heart this Holiday season. I am reminiscing because I recently found an old cookbook that was my Mother’s. I look through it at times trying to decide what to make .These Merry Cherry Cheesecake bars looked yummy so I thought I would try them, and I’m glad I did.  The crust is like shortbread. The middle has a cheesecake center decorated with Holiday green and red glazed cherries and it is topped with streusel crumbs.  That’s why I renamed them Very Merry Cheesecake Bars. Because they are!

I wondered if adding the glazed cherries would make them too sweet. But they don’t. Since they are chopped in pieces they are not overpowering. Just perfect.

Now isn’t that easy and delicious?

Print Recipe

Very Merry Cherry Cheesecake Bars

Easy and delicious cheesecake bars filled with chewy cherries on top of shortbread crust

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time30 mins

Total Time40 mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: shortbread bars wirh cherrys in a cheesecake filling, easy very merry cherry cheesecake bars, chesecake bars, holiday cheesecake bars

Servings: 12 bars

Calories: 207kcal

Ingredients

• Crust Ingredients
• 1/3 cup salted butter cold
• 1/3 cup brown sugar firmly packed
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• Filling ingredients
• 1 8 ounce cream cheese softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/3 cup glazed red cherries of a cup of chopped
• 1/3 cup green cherries of a cup of chopped

Instructions

• Pre-heat oven to 350°
• In mixing bowl, cut butter in chunks. Add brown sugar, and flour, and mix on low speed.
• Increase speed to medium scraping sides of bowl often until well mixed.
• Reserve 1/2 cup of crumb mixture for toppings.
• Press remaining mixture into 8 inch baking pan.
• Bake in center of oven for 10 to 12 minutes.
• To prepare the filling:
• In mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, egg, and lemon juice, at medium speed until light and fluffy (about 1 to 2 minutes).
• Stir in cherries. Spread filling over Crust
• Sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture. Continue baking 18 to 20 minutes or until filling is set and top is lightly golden brown.
• Cool. Store in refrigerator. Makes about 12 bars

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 207kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 31mg | Sodium: 54mg | Potassium: 26mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 27g | Vitamin A: 183IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 11mg | Iron: 1mg

WELCOME!

My name is Mary. Here at The Recipe Patch you will find a garden full of recipes to make life easy and delicious. I hope you find a new recipe to share with your friends and family. There is something for every occasion…. Let’s get to work… or play!

Check out some other great recipes to try 

Chocolate Cinnabon Skillet Cake  Christmas Gingerbread Cheesecake  Chocolate Chip Bundt cake

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