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Rhubarb Cheesecake Bars with Gingersnap Crust

4.20 Mitt(s) 5 Rating(s)5 votes, average: 4.20 out of 55 votes, average: 4.20 out of 55 votes, average: 4.20 out of 55 votes, average: 4.20 out of 55 votes, average: 4.20 out of 5

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Level: Easy

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Description

It is starting to take on a life of its own, this bowl of cooked rhubarb that sits in my fridge and urges me to dip in a spoon for a furtive, stolen slurp of its tangy and sweet nectar. This simple sauce willed me, with its provocative consistency and muted pink hue, to incorporate it into another sweet treat. The pleasing taste and silky texture ensures that these bars will make you a rock star in your own home.

Ingredients

  • FOR THE CRUST:
  • 3 whole Graham Crackers, Broken Into 1-inch Pieces
  • 12 whole Gingersnap Cookies, Broken Into 1-inch Pieces
  • 6 Tablespoons (3/4 Stick) Unsalted Butter, Melted And Cooled
  • 3 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons All-purpose Flour
  • ⅛ teaspoons Salt
  • _____
  • FOR THE FILLING:
  • 2 packages (8 Oz. Each) Cream Cheese, Softened
  • ⅔ cups Granulated Sugar
  • 2 whole Large Eggs
  • ¼ cups Sour Cream
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
  • _____
  • FOR THE TOPPING:
  • ½ cups Granulated Sugar
  • ½ cups Water
  • 1 pound Rhubarb, Trimmed & Cut Into 1/4-inch Pieces
  • 1 piece (1-inch) Fresh Ginger, Peeled

Preparation

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Prepare an 8-inch square baking pan by lining the pan with aluminum foil, leaving 3-4 inches of foil draping over the sides of the pan.

The Crust:
Place graham crackers and gingersnaps into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until the crackers form fine crumbs, about 30 seconds. To the crumbs, add butter, brown sugar, flour, and salt. Pulse until the ingredients are fully combined. Using the bottom of a measuring cup or your fingers, press the crumbs into the bottom of the prepared pan.

Bake until the crust is beginning to brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Let the crust cool on a cooling rack for about 30 minutes.

The filling:
In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until it is very smooth, about 3 minutes. Scrape the beaters and sides of the bowl frequently. Gradually beat in granulated sugar until the mixture is combined, about 1 minute. Beat in eggs, one a time, making sure that each is fully incorporated. Beat in sour cream and vanilla extract until fully combined, about 30 seconds. Scrape the cream cheese mixture into the baking pan, over top of the cooled crust. Spread evenly.

In a medium saucepan, combine 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 1/2 cup water. Simmer, stirring frequently, until the sugar dissolves. Add the chopped rhubarb and the piece of peeled ginger to the water and sugar syrup. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the rhubarb is very soft and falling apart, 7 to 10 minutes. Remove and discard the piece of ginger. Cool for about 10 minutes.

Using a teaspoon, spoon 1/2 cup dollops of the rhubarb mixture gently onto random places over the surface of the cheesecake. Using a small knife, gently swirl the rhubarb mixture into the cream cheese mixture.

Bake until the edges are set but the middle still jiggles slightly when the pan is shaken slightly, 35 to 40 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking.

Place the pan on a cooling rack and allow the bars to cool for 2 hours. Cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, and up to 24 hours.

Using the overhanging foil, lift the bars from the pan. Gently remove the foil and cut into 16 bars.

Top the bars with the remaining rhubarb sauce immediately before serving.

8 Comments

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Tom on 7.7.2011

I think the times indicated at the top are very misleading. Also, tangentially, I think the difficulty level should be higher than “easy”.

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Chloe on 6.16.2010

i want these right now! mmmmmm!

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staceycooks on 5.26.2010

This looks insanely tasty..

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jillpickle on 5.25.2010

Ahhh ok! I thought maybe you’d left something out or forgot an ingredient! lol (I do that) I’m going to try making this on the weekend for our anniversary dinner. My hubby is a fool for rhubarb! :)

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cookincanuck on 5.25.2010

Jill, good question. The answer is a lazy one. I needed a garnish for the top, but didn’t have any rhubarb left. Typically, I garnish with an ingredient that is in the dish, but this happened to be an exception.

5 Reviews

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camerapatty on 8.26.2011

These were rather tasty. Only complaint was that the crust was too hard to eat. I think because of how many gingersnap cookies that were used. Next time I will use more graham crackers and less gingersnaps. And the strawberries are a nice touch even though they were not mentioned in the recipe.

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juliefsu on 8.11.2010

I made this with the intention of sharing it with friends, but my husband wouldn’t let me share! A delicious combination of two of my favorite things–cheesecake and rhubarb. I skipped the ginger in the sauce, but I will add gingersnaps to my graham cracker crusts from now on–yum! I used the reduced fat cream cheese so my bars were a little softer, but still delicious. And this is about as pretty as rhubarb desserts get without adding strawberries. My only complaint was that I, too, found myself in a time crunch when I realized how long this needed to chill/cool. Perhaps revising the cooking time in the recipe would help?

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higs on 6.6.2010

Pros:
Brought this to a gourmet dinner party that I was nervous about attending because of the caliber of cooks there. It was a hit, I had requests to bring it every time I came over. It’s light and fruity with an interesting tang.

Cons:
When I made the bars I had some trouble with the crust being tough to cut through and made the bars a little messy looking. Maybe I pre – cooked the crust too long. Also, when I picked the this recipe, I choose it because the prep time was only an hour and I was making it for a dinner party that night. My mistake was not reading until the end until I was committed to the dish. The 5 hour cooling time really put me in a crunch.

I re-made this again in a 9 in spring form pan, using the same amount of filling and it made a wonderful thin cheese cake that you could see the swirling of rhubarb when you presented it… The sauce on top was perfect and it was a hit!

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kirstyanne on 5.24.2010

These were wonderful – everybody loved them! The ginger is deliciously unexpected and so complimentary to the rhubarb!

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julia2343 on 5.18.2010

the ginger is an amazing addition to the rhubarb. We served it with Haagen Daz ginger 5 ice cream :)

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