Celebrate Valentine’s Day with some Chocolate Cheesecake Bars! Your friends and family will adore you all the more for sharing these on the special occasion! The creamy chocolate cream cheese layer is topped with a delicious chocolate ganache and sandwiched between the most incredible graham cracker pretzel crust! You’re going to fall in love with these!
My husband asked me the other day what kind of dessert I wanted for Valentine’s Day and I of course said chocolate cheesecake. I don’t know why he even needed to ask. I mean, after almost 14 years of marriage, he should just know that, lol! Or he could at least use his mind-reading capabilities (that you acquire after a certain number of years with a person) to deduce it.
There’s just something about Valentine’s Day that makes me crave cheesecake! Last year I shared these heavenly Tuxedo Cheesecake Bars and a little before that I graced the blog with these Ghirardelli Turtle Cheesecake Squares.
I think it’s safe to say that Valentine’s Day and cheesecake go together like peanut butter and jelly, at least in my book! Do you feel the same way?
Whenever we go to the Cheesecake Factory, I find myself ordering some kind of chocolate cheesecake. Out of all the cheesecakes out there, I choose chocolate! But, I have to say, the cheapskate in me cringes when we pay that hefty sum for a single slice when I know I can make an entire cheesecake at home for that price!
And why settle for one slice when you can have a whole cheesecake? That’s my philosophy, anyway.
These Chocolate Cheesecake Bars are the perfect sharing size, although I won’t blame you one bit if you hide them in the back corner of the fridge and enjoy them all to yourself. 🙂
My kids were really good the other day, so I decided they deserved a bar when they got home from school. Anyone who knows me knows that I don’t share my most treasured treats with just anyone. So they should feel loved. 🙂
The graham cracker pretzel crust is out of this world! It’s probably my most favorite cheesecake crust ever! I think the combo is absolute perfection! A little sweet with a little salty and crunchy. And the semi-sweet chocolate in this is a must! It’s just the right amount of sweet without being over the top.
Promise me you’ll top this with the chocolate ganache! “Oh wow, that was just too much chocolate,” said no one ever!
I didn’t have any issues with the top of my cheesecake cracking, but if you’re concerned about that, you can certainly place a water bath in the rack underneath it while it’s baking. To me, cheesecake is a little tricky to bake, just because it’s hard to know when it’s done. The way I decide is if the center is super jiggly, it still needs some time. Mine was still slightly jiggly when I removed it from the oven, but not extremely. It also puffs up as it bakes and the center is usually the last part to puff up, once done. Just a few tips, although use your best judgement. I baked mine for somewhere between one hour and one hour fifteen minutes.
Chocolate Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
- Crust:
- 1 c. finely crushed graham cracker crumbs
- 1 c. finely crushed pretzels
- 3 Tbsp. sugar
- 1/2 c. butter melted
- Cream Cheese Layer:
- 2 blocks 16 oz. cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 c. sour cream full fat
- 3/4 c. sugar
- 1/2 Tbsp. vanilla
- 1 large egg
- 3/4 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips melted
- Chocolate Ganache:
- 1/4 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/4 c. heavy cream or just enough to bring it to the drizzling consistency
Instructions
- Line an 8"x8" pan with parchment paper so it hangs over the edges slightly. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
- For the crust, stir together crushed graham cracker crumbs, crushed pretzels, 3 Tbsp. sugar and melted butter until all of the mixture is moistened. Press it firmly into the bottom of the parchment-lined pan. Bake for 9 to 10 minutes.
- While it's baking, prepare the cheesecake layer by first beating softened cream cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer until smooth and no lumps remain. Add sour cream and mix until smooth. Add 3/4 c. sugar, vanilla and egg and mix until smooth, scraping down the sides in between. Add melted semi-sweet chocolate and mix until smooth and creamy.
- Pour over baked crust and return to the oven. Bake for approximately 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes. Check it often. It will puff up as it bakes. It will still be slightly jiggly when it's done, but not extremely jiggly. The top will form a film.
- Allow it to cool completely at room temperature, then cover with foil and place in the fridge to chill overnight. Just before serving, make the ganache by stirring together semi-sweet chocolate chips and heavy cream in a small pan over medium-low heat on the stove top (don't add the full amount of heavy cream at first). Stir constantly as chocolate chips melt. Add more heavy cream to thin out the mixture as necessary, while stirring over the heat, until it's nice and smooth and reaches a drizzling consistency. Let the chocolate on top set, then slice and serve.
I hope you get to bake these up just in time for Valentine’s Day tomorrow! You’ll thank yourself!
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