These indulgent cheesecake brownie bars are just plain irresistible. You’re going to love sinking your teeth into these beauties.
Sometimes inspiration can come from the strangest places. This time for me, it came from just plain laziness. When I was first trying to visualize this recipe for cheesecake brownie bars, I had thought of having a layer of baked brownies underneath a layer of baked cheesecake. I’ve done this before, and I know it’s delicious. However, this time, I was pretty tired. I didn’t feel like going through the trouble of baking the cheesecake on top of the brownies. Looking back, it wouldn’t have been that much more complicated, but I was feeling what I was feeling 😂.
So, I got the idea to do a no-bake cheesecake topping on the brownies instead. I definitely wasn’t sure if it would be a good idea or not because I’d never seen anything like this before. Turns out, this is one of my favorite ideas I’ve ever had. The combination of the rich, gooey brownie and the creamy, not-too-sweet cheesecake fluff is to die for! I wish I had thought of this salted caramel brownies recipe way sooner in life.
These homemade brownies from scratch are pretty much the dessert of my dreams. Vanilla cheesecake fluff slathered on top of a gooey brownie that’s topped with salty pretzels and drizzled with a homemade salted caramel sauce? I’m thinking yes.
This post is all about how to make cheesecake brownie bars.
Ingredients for Cheesecake Brownie Bars
This recipe has a few different components- the brownies, the cheesecake fluff, and the caramel sauce.
Brownies
- Flour- Flour- essential to every baked treat.
- Butter- What doesn’t butter make 10x better?
- Brown sugar- Brown sugar brings the gooeyness to brownies.
- White sugar- I like to combine brown and white sugar in brownies because of the texture.
- Eggs- I recommend using room-temperature eggs here.
- Vanilla- This brings the slightest hint of background flavor.
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips- I feel like using semi-sweet chips helps to balance the sweetness of this recipe.
- Cocoa powder- I used Dutch-processed cocoa powder.
- Baking powder- This helps to give the brownies a bit of lift.
- Pretzels- Using normal, crushed pretzels would be great for this recipe. Unfortunately, I accidentally bought garlic and onion pretzels when I was ingredient shopping 😂. Instead of going back to the store, I foolishly decided to wipe the garlic and onion off the pretzels, one by one, crevice by crevice. I’m not sure what was in my head because it took an ETERNITY. Just avoid this dilemma entirely and read the bag when you’re buying them in the first place 😂.
Cheesecake Fluff
- Cream cheese- I recommend using room-temperature cream cheese. It will make mixing a lot easier.
- Sugar- Not too much, not too little. That’s the key to keeping these cheesecake brownie bars from becoming overwhelmingly sweet.
- Sour cream- This brings a little extra tang to the cheesecake fluff.
- Vanilla- This brings a subtle flavor to the cream.
- Heavy cream- This helps to fluff up the cream and makes it airier.
Homemade Caramel Sauce
- White sugar- This is the base of the caramel sauce.
- Butter- This helps to make the sauce smooth and rich.
- Heavy cream- This helps the sauce to spread more easily. (It’s the liquid in the sauce.)
- Vanilla- It’s amazing all the things vanilla does.
- Salt- Why would you make caramel without salting it, though 🤤?
How to Make Cheesecake Brownie Bars
Step 1
Start by making the homemade caramel sauce. Put the sugar in a saucepan and turn the heat as low as it can go. Let the sugar start to melt. You have to be patient with this process. It will take a while before you even notice anything happening. If the sugar starts to clump, your heat was too high, and you should probably start over. I can’t stress enough how important it is for the heat to be low when making this.
Once the sugar has melted and is a nice caramel color, stir in the butter. When it’s incorporated, mix in the heavy cream. It will bubble up, but just keep stirring. Now that it looks like a sauce, add in the vanilla and salt. Let it simmer on low heat for just a couple of minutes longer. Turn off the heat, and let it cool.
Step 2
Preheat your oven to 350°F. Beat the white and brown sugars and the melted butter just until it’s fluffed up a little. Beat the vanilla and the eggs into the mixture, one at a time. Don’t overbeat the eggs. Melt the semi-sweet chocolate chips over a double boiler. After it’s melted stir the chocolate into the mixture with the sugar and eggs.
Step 3
In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, salt, cocoa powder, and baking powder. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients a little at a time and stir until incorporated. Be careful not to overmix this. Pour the batter into a baking-paper-lined 9×13 casserole dish. Drizzle half of the caramel sauce on top of the batter and sprinkle the crushed pretzels on top as well.
Step 4
Put the brownies into the preheated oven. Bake them for about 45 minutes or until the center doesn’t violently jiggle when shaken 😂. Take the brownies out of the oven and let them cool.
Step 5
While the brownies are cooling, beat the cream cheese with the sugar for the cream cheese fluff. Once fluffy, mix in the sour cream and the vanilla. Next, beat in the heavy cream, a little at a time. Make sure the cream has fluffed up before adding more. Don’t forget to make sure the content from the sides of the bowl is scraped down and mixed in. Refrigerate the cream until the brownies have cooled completely.
Step 6
I recommend topping the brownies right before they will be eaten. This will keep the pretzels from getting soggy. When you’re ready, spread the cheesecake fluff over the top of the brownies, cutting them into about 12 pieces. (I like to cut off the very edges of the brownies so that they’ll be more square.) Drizzle the remaining caramel sauce over the top of the cheesecake fluff, and you’re ready to go! Try not to dive in. I dare you.
Questions about Cheesecake Brownie Bars
Do cheesecake brownie bars need to be refrigerated?
I highly recommend refrigerating these cheesecake brownie bars. While the brownie part doesn’t actually need to be refrigerated for the first couple of days, the cheesecake fluff definitely needs to be in the fridge. You can pull the bars out of the fridge a few minutes before eating so that the brownie softens a bit.
How long do cheesecake brownie bars last?
I recommend not adding the cheesecake fluff to the top of the brownies if you won’t be eating them right away. If they are stored separately, these bars can definitely last 3-4 days in the fridge. If you add the cheesecake fluff too early in the game, you’ll have soggy pretzels. Make sure to add it right before eating.
Are cheesecake brownies served warm or cold?
Because of the nature of the cheesecake fluff, these brownies are best served cold. Nothing’s stopping you from sampling some of the brownies while they’re still warm though 😂.
If you are craving more delicious dessert recipes, you’ll wanna take a stroll through these.
Cheesecake Fluff with Lemon and Blueberries
Cheesecake Brownie Bars with Caramel
Ingredients
Homemade Caramel Sauce
- ½ cup White sugar
- 3 tbsp. Butter (softened)
- ⅓ cup Heavy cream (room-temperature)
- ½ tsp. Vanilla extract
- ¾ tsp. Salt
Brownies
- 1 cup Brown sugar
- 1 cup White sugar
- 10 tbsp. Butter (melted)
- 4 Eggs (room-temperature)
- 1 tsp. Vanilla extract
- 10 oz. Semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1¼ cup Flour
- ¼ cup Cocoa powder
- 1 tsp. Baking powder
- 1 tsp. Salt
- ¾ cup Pretzels (crushed)
Cheesecake Fluff
- 12 oz. Cream cheese (softened)
- ½ cup White sugar
- 2 tbsp. Sour cream
- ¾ tsp. Vanilla
- ¼ tsp. Heavy cream
Instructions
Caramel Sauce
- Put the ½ cup of sugar in a saucepan over very low heat. Let the sugar start to melt. You have to be patient with this process. It will take a while before you even notice anything happening. You might be tempted to stir, but don't. I can't stress enough how important it is for the heat to be low when making this.
- Once the sugar has melted and is a nice caramel color, stir in the 3 tbsp. of butter. When it’s incorporated, slowly mix in the ⅓ cup of heavy cream. It will bubble up, but just keep stirring. Now that it looks like a sauce, add in the ½ tsp. of vanilla and ¾ tsp. of salt. Let it simmer on low heat for just a couple of minutes longer. Turn off the heat, and let it cool.
Brownies
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Beat 1 cup of white and 1 cup of brown sugar and the 10 tbsp. of melted butter just until it's fluffed up a little. Beat the 1 tsp. of vanilla and the 4 eggs into the mixture, one at a time. Don't overbeat the eggs. Melt the 10 oz. of semi-sweet chocolate chips over a double boiler. After they're melted, stir the chocolate into the mixture with the sugar and eggs.
- In a separate bowl, stir together the 1¼ cup of flour, 1 tsp. of salt, ¼ cup of cocoa powder, and 1 tsp. of baking powder. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients a little at a time and stir until incorporated. Be careful not to overmix this. Pour the batter into a baking-paper-lined 9×13 casserole dish. Drizzle half of the homemade caramel sauce on top of the batter and sprinkle the ¾ cup of crushed pretzels on top as well.
- Put the brownies into the preheated oven. Bake them for about 45 minutes or until the center doesn't jiggle too much when shaken. Take the brownies out of the oven and let them cool.
Cheesecake Fluff
- While the brownies are cooling, beat the 12 oz. of cream cheese with the ½ cup of sugar. Once fluffy, mix in the 2 tsp. of sour cream and the ¾ tsp. of vanilla. Next, beat in the ¼ cup of heavy cream, a little at a time. Make sure the cream has fluffed up before adding more. Don't forget to make sure the content from the sides of the bowl is scraped down and mixed in. Refrigerate the cream until the brownies have cooled completely.
Assembly
- I recommend topping the brownies right before they will be eaten. This will keep the pretzels from getting soggy. When you're ready, spread the cheesecake fluff over the top of the brownies, cutting them into about 12 pieces. (I like to cut off the very edges of the brownies so that they'll be more square.) Drizzle the remaining caramel sauce over the top of the cheesecake fluff, and you're ready to go! Enjoy!
I hope you enjoy your cheesecake brownie bars!