Nutella Cheesecake Bars

When I saw this delicious Nutella cheesecake layer bar recipe by The Moonlight Baker on Pinterest, I knew I needed to try them! I love anything cheesecake and my boyfriend is obsessed with Nutella, so I knew these would be a perfect match for us. :) He said that these were "the best things I've ever made...even better than cupcakes!" While I'm not sure I agree with him 100%, I do think that these were absolutely delicious and I could not stop eating them!

I had to modify the recipe a bit because it called for an 8x8" pan and I only had a 9x13" pan...you gotta make do with what you have! :) I also used my standing mixer to make the cheesecake portion instead of a food processor because I wanted to make sure it was light and fluffy and not too heavy. That turned out to be a great decision - they were fabulous and not too rich at all. They were a little messy, so I recommend eating them with a fork. The pictures really don't do them justice - I need to get better at photographing food!

(click to enlarge)

Nutella Cheesecake Layer Bars
adapted from The Moonlight Baker

Makes about 24 bars

Ingredients...

• 12-14 sheets of chocolate graham crackers
• 1 stick unsalted butter, melted
• 4 8oz packages of cream cheese, room temperature
• 4 eggs, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 plus 2 tbsp heavy cream
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup Nutella

Directions...

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Spray an 9x13 baking pan with cooking spray and line with parchment paper, making sure that the parchment is well pressed in the corners. Set aside. 
3. In a food processor, pulse chocolate graham crackers until they become crumbs. Add in melted butter and pulse until moistened. Press graham cracker mixture evenly into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Bake crust in the center of the oven until set, about 12 minutes. Set aside and cool. 
4. In the bowl if your standing mixer, beat cream cheese, eggs, sugar, 1/2 cup heavy cream and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth. Put a little more than half of the cream cheese mixture in a bowl and set aside.
5. Add Nutella and 2 tbsp of heavy cream to remaining cream cheese mixture in the mixer. Mix until smooth. 
6. To assemble, spread the vanilla cheesecake mixture over the cooled graham cracker base, being careful not to disturb the crust. (I definitely had trouble with this which made them look a little messy...oops!)  Pour Nutella cheesecake layer on top of vanilla layer and spread evenly. Bake on the center rack of the oven for about 35 minutes, or until the center jiggles slightly.
7. Remove from the oven and cool completely on a cooling rack. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours. 
8. When ready to serve, lift bars out of the pan by lifting up the parchment paper (it should release easily). Slice into 24 squares and serve.  Keep refrigerated when not eating them.

(click to enlarge)