Ricotta Cheesecake Bars

These ricotta cheesecake bars are layered starting with the gingersnap cookie base followed by sour cherries and tangy cheesecake on top.

Smart shoppers—those who have a knack for saving—always seem to stock up in large quantities.

As a city-dwelling, storage-lacking household of three including a baby, a membership card to one of those warehouse stores just doesn’t make sense for us.

We have a hard enough time finishing off what we buy in standard grocery sizes, and I hate to throw away something when it is past its prime.

After making calzones the other day, I ended up with a partial tub of ricotta. The pressure was on in a race against the use-by date.

I whipped the ricotta with cream cheese I already had  and made ricotta cheesecake bars.

Keeping with the leftover theme, I used up the last of the sour cherries stashed in the freezer.

A simple gingersnap crumb crust was the perfect base for this tart and sweet treat.

Ricotta Cheesecake Bars

• Author: Paige Adams
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Total Time: 45 minutes
• Yield: 16 bars 1x

Print Recipe

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Description

These ricotta cheesecake bars are layered starting with the gingersnap cookie base followed by sour cherries and tangy cheesecake on top.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• For crust
• Butter for greasing pan
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1–1/2 cups gingersnap crumbs
• For cherries
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
• 3 cups sour cherries, fresh or frozen, pitted
• For filling
• 8 ounces part-skim ricotta, room temperature
• 6 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan with butter.
2. Combine the melted butter and the gingersnap crumbs. Press the mixture into the bottom of the baking pan.
3. In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine the sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and sour cherries.  Cook the cherries, stirring occasionally, until they soften and the juice thickens, about 10-15 minutes. Pour the cherries on top of the gingersnap crust.
4. Using an electric mixer beat the ricotta, cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time fully mixing after each addition. Stir in the vanilla extract. Pour the batter over the cherries using a spatula to spread in an even layer.
5. Bake for 30 minutes until the cheesecake has puffed up and is still slightly wobbly in the center. Cool to room temperature before covering and chilling in the refrigerator. Cut into 16 2-inch square bars and serve cold.

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