These cranberry dessert bars are rich, creamy, and full of fall flavor. With a graham cracker crust, cheesecake filling, and a sweet and tart cranberry orange sauce on top, these bars are perfect for the holidays. That being said, there’s nothing wrong with making them any time of year!
Cranberries and oranges are a classic flavor combination you’ll find on the table at Thanksgiving, Christmas, and even Easter. The thing is, most of us use this amazing combo as the base for cranberry sauce, and stop there. I think this sweet and tangy flavor profile can and should be used for so much more.
I’ve taken the sweet, tangy flavors of cranberries and oranges and combined them with an easy, no-bake cheesecake bar recipe to make a fruity cheesecake bar recipe that will have everyone combing back for more. I’ve been serving these bars at holiday parties for years, and everyone always loves them. I think you will, too!
Why You’ll Love These Cranberry Cheesecake Bars
- Simple Ingredients: Every ingredient in this recipe is a basic one, and you can find them all at your local grocery store.
- No-Bake: This is a no-bake recipe, which means no water baths or complex cooling instructions.
- Easy: A little mixing and chilling is all it takes to make this recipe.
- A Taste of the Holidays: With rich, sweet cheesecake and a sweet and tangy cranberry orange topping, every bite of these bars is a taste of the holidays.
Ingredients
- Graham Cracker Crumbs: Graham cracker crumbs, butter, and sugar make the easy crust.
- Cream Cheese and Cool Whip: Cream cheese and Cool Whip create a sweet and tangy base for the cheesecake layer that’s light and silky.
- Cranberries: Cranberries add classic, tart holiday flavor to the sauce.
- Oranges: The sweet and acidic flavor of oranges balances the other flavors in the bars.
For a full list of ingredients and their exact measurements, see the recipe card at the end of the post.
Flavor Variations
- Graham Crackers: You can use your favorite flavors of graham crackers to create different crust flavors.
- Fresh Cranberries: Frozen cranberries can be used in the topping, so you can make this dessert any time of year.
- Cranberry Sauce: Use whole berry cranberry sauce for a semi-homemade version of this recipe.
- Cinnamon: Add cinnamon to the cranberry topping for more flavor and a little warmth.
How to Make This Cranberry Dessert
- Step 1: Combine the cranberry topping ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring frequently, until thickened and set aside.
- Step 2: Mix the graham cracker crust ingredients in a medium mixing bowl until combined.
- Step 3: Press the mixture firmly into an even layer in the bottom of a prepared 9×13 glass baking dish.
- Step 4: Beat the cream cheese until light and fluffy, ten add the powdered sugar and beat again. Finally, fold in the Cool Whip. Spread the mixture evenly over the crust.
- Step 5: Top the cheesecake with the cranberry sauce, cover, and chill for at least 4 hours.
- Step 6: Slice and enjoy!
Hint
It’s important to fully soften your cream cheese for the best cheesecake texture and to avoid little bits of raw cream cheese in the filling.
Storage
Refrigerate these cranberry dessert bars for up to 5 days in an air-tight container. For longer storage, wrap individual bars in plastic wrap and freeze them for up to a month in an air-tight, freezer-safe container or heavy-duty freezer bag with as much air removed as possible. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
What to Serve with These Cranberry Bars
These bars are the perfect sweet treat to add to a holiday dessert table with other seasonal favorites like gingerbread cake, Christmas sugar cookies, or Easter Bunny Chow.
For a sweet dessert any time of year, pair the sweet and tangy flavors of these bars with savory main courses like crock pot pot roast, sheet pan chicken and potatoes, or slow cooker pork tenderloin.
Tips
- 4 hours is the minimum chilling time for these cheesecake bars. Overnight is even better!
- Crush your graham crackers into crumbs, but don’t pulverize them into powder. They need to have enough body to stick together and create a crust.
- Fold the Cool Whip into the cream cheese mixture. Don’t stir it. Folding helps combine the ingredients while keeping them light and airy.
Frequently Asked Questions
This stopping is similar to cranberry sauce. It has fewer ingredients, but they’re pretty similar.
Cranberries and oranges work so well together because they’re two sides of the same coin. Both cranberries and oranges are tart, however, the acidity and extra sweetness of the orange helps balance out the extreme, mouth-puckering tartness of cranberries.
Cranberries were most likely eaten at the first Thanksgiving, which is one reason they’re associated with the holiday season. Another, and likelier bigger, reason is that cranberries come into season at just about the start of the holiday season, making them widely available.
Technically speaking, no-bake cheesecake is actually a mousse. However, its flavor will forever firmly plant it in the cheesecake category.
Yes, they are. Cheesecake bars are nothing more than cheesecake that’s been baked in a square or rectangular dish and then cut into squares. The same holds true for no-bake varieties of cheesecake bars.
Try These Delicious Cranberry Dessert Bars
These cranberry dessert bars are a fusion of no-bake cheesecake bars and the deliciously sweet and tangy flavor of cranberry topping. They create a sweet treat that explodes with holiday flavor in every bite. With a sweet graham cracker crust, rich and creamy cheesecake layer, and cranberry orange topping, these dessert bars are everything you ever loved about the holidays in one easy-to-make dish. Give them a try, and I know you’ll be making them again and again.
More Delicious Cranberry Dessert Recipes You’ll Enjoy
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Cranberry Dessert Bars
Ingredients
Cranberry Orange Topping
- 12 ounce fresh cranberries
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- ¼ cup orange juice
- 2 tablespoon cornstarch
Graham Cracker Crust
- 1 ¾ cup graham cracker crumbs
- ½ cup butter, melted
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
Cream Cheese Filling
- 8 ounce cream cheese
- 8 ounce container cool whip
- 1 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and lightly spray a 9×13 glass baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside.
Cranberry Orange Topping
- In a medium saucepan add cranberries, sugar, brown sugar, orange zest, orange juice, and cornstarch. Stir to combine and bring to a boil over medium heat. Once the cranberries start to burst and thicken up remove from the heat and let cool.
Graham Cracker Crust
- Using a medium mixing bowl, stir graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter together until combined.
- Spread mixture into prepared baking dish, and press into an even layer.
Cream Cheese Filling
- In a medium mixing bowl, beat cream cheese for approximately 2-3 minutes until it is light and fluffy.
- Add powdered sugar and beat until combined then fold in cool whip and stir until incorporated.
- Once the crust has cooled completely, spread the cream cheese mixture in an even layer over the crust.
- Spread the cranberry sauce on top of the cream cheese mixture and spread evenly.
- Cover with foil or plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4+ hours or overnight.
Notes
Tips
-
- 4 hours is the minimum chilling time for these cheesecake bars. Overnight is even better!
-
- Crush your graham crackers into crumbs, but don’t pulverize them into powder. They need to have enough body to stick together and create a crust.
-
- Fold the Cool Whip into the cream cheese mixture. Don’t stir it. Folding helps combine the ingredients while keeping them light and airy.
- Baking the crust for 10 minutes brings out the buttery flavor. However, it is not necessary if you want a no-bake dessert.
Nutrition
