Swirls of colors make these Red, White and Blue Cheesecake Bars a fun dessert to share at holiday parties this summer. Brighten your Memorial Day and 4th of July picnics with this easy patriotic recipe!
Add a batch of these Fireworks Cookies and Cream Cookies and your picnic will be perfect.
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Happy last day of school friends! Bye, bye routine and order and hello sleeping in and lazy summer days. This month has been a blur with all the end of the year school activities and life stuff.
Tonight our oldest graduates from high school. We are so proud of him for accomplishing this big milestone in his life. He is just ready to mark high school off his list.
We are planning a fun open house for him this weekend. Lots of food and desserts and friends to celebrate with were our only requirements.
Although, since it is a holiday weekend, we aren’t sure how many people will actually show up. That’s ok. That just means more M&M Blonde Brownies for me. Not going to complain if that happens!
Since we will probably have lots of leftovers from the party, I’m not sure what we will be doing for Memorial Day this year.
My guess is that we will be just relaxing in our backyard eating leftover Italian beef and Chocolate Cheesecake Pie Bites. After a busy weekend, that sounds like the perfect plan to me.
One of the desserts I was thinking about making for the party this weekend were these Rainbow Vanilla Cheesecake Bars. I love that they are so easy to customize for any party. You can make your swirl of color match any party theme.
I was totally planning on making them in our school colors. Until I got to the store and saw all kinds of red, white, and blue decorations. One of my favorite things to do for the holidays is to make a dessert that is fun and colorful.
I was looking through the 4th of July treats I have made over the years for the blog, and there was nothing red, white, and blue in the cheesecake section!
I am a sucker for fun holiday desserts, so I knew I had to make a red white and blue dessert right away. For testing purposes, of course!
Plus, my in-laws were coming early for the graduation festivities, and they both love cheesecake, so I had to have dessert. I knew they wouldn’t care that it was a holiday treat in the middle of a non-holiday week.
I’m glad they enjoyed the vanilla cheesecake bars, but I’m even happier that I had help eating the cheesecake because summer is here now. My shorts are begging me to lay off the sweets ASAP!
How to make Red, White and Blue Cheesecake Bars:
- Make sure you set your cream cheese out at least 30 minutes ahead of time. It’s much easier to beat it into the sugar if it is softened first.
- Crush the cookies and mix them with some butter. Press the mixture into a pan. I like to line my pans with foil first, then spray them with nonstick spray, but that’s not necessary.
- Bake and cool the crust.
- Once you get your cheesecake batter mixed together, decide what three colors you will be using. Divide the cheesecake evenly into three bowls, then color two of them red and blue. Gel food colors will give you more vibrant colors.
- Once you have all your colors mixed together, drop them by spoonfuls over the top of the cooled cookie crust in a grid.
- Use a butter knife and gently drag it through the colors. Go up and down and then back and forth. Make sure you do not pull the knife through the crust though!
- Bake over a steam bath. Cool completely before cutting into squares.
The longest part of making a cheesecake is the wait time after. Cheesecake has to chill for 4-6 hours, so that it has time to set up before you cut into it.
I suggest making your cheesecake bars the night before, so they can chill overnight. Plus, then you will have a sweet treat ready for breakfast.
Oh, wait. That probably isn’t the best idea if you want to wear your skinny shorts this summer! LOL!
How to bake cheesecake without cracks:
- Set out your ingredients ahead of time.
- Do not over beat the cheesecake batter. Beating too much and too long will add air bubbles to the batter which will result in cracks in the cheesecake as it bakes.
- Bake the cheesecake with a steam bath. My favorite way to bake cheesecake is with a pan of water on the bottom rack of the oven. The pan of cheesecake goes on the oven rack right above it.
- Do not over bake the cheesecake. The center of the cheesecake should still be a little jiggly like Jello when you pull it out. It will set up as it cools. If the whole dessert moves, go ahead and continue to bake it a little bit longer.
- Loosen the cheesecake from the edges of the pan about 5 minutes after you pull it out of the oven. As cheesecake cools, it will shrink and pull on the sides of the pan. If it is still attached, it will cause cracks in the center.
What should I do if my cheesecake cracks?
Eat it anyway. It will still taste delicious. Cover it with a fun topping like fruit, chocolate, or whipped cream, and no one will ever know.
More Fourth of July treats:
- Firecracker Cupcakes
- Patriotic Glazed Funfetti Donuts
- 4th of July Rice Krispie Treat Stars
- No Bake White Chocolate Cheesecake Parfaits
- Red White and Blue Bundt Cake
- Marshmallow Firecracker Pops
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Red, White and Blue Cheesecake Bars
Swirls of colors make these Red, White and Blue Cheesecake Bars a fun dessert to share at holiday parties or picnics this summer.
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 30 Oreo cookies
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
For the Cheesecake
- 3 - 8 ounce packages cream cheese, softened
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 3 large eggs
- red & blue gel food colors
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a 9x13 pan with foil.
- Place the cookies (cream included) in a food processor. Pulse until the cookies become crumbs.
- Stir in the butter until mixed in. Press the mixture evenly in the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove and cool.
- Place a large baking sheet on the bottom rack of the oven. Fill it halfway with water. Let the oven preheat again.
- Beat the cream cheese and sugar until creamy. Add the sour cream, vanilla, and flour and beat again.
- Add the eggs and beat until they are mixed in. Divide the batter evenly into 3 bowls. Use the food coloring to tint two of the bowls red and blue.
- Spoon the mixture evenly over the crust, alternating the colors. Drag a butter knife through the batter going up and down and back and forth until you get a good swirl pattern. Do not over mix.
- Place the pan on the oven rack above the pan of water. Bake for 45-50 minutes. Remove from the oven immediately and place on a wire rack.
- Let the cheesecake cool on the counter for 1 hour, then refrigerate for 4-6 hours.
- Cut into squares and serve with Cool Whip and sprinkles, if desired.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 24 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 251Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 58mgSodium: 155mgCarbohydrates: 26gFiber: 0gSugar: 20gProtein: 3g
Nutrition facts are an estimate and are not guaranteed to be accurate. If you need special diet advice, please see a registered dietician.
Do you cover the cheesecake once it’s cooled? Or can you just put it in refrigerator uncovered?
I usually loosely cover it before putting it in the fridge.
How did you make your red and blue so deep in color? My pan looks like a Easter egg haha
Did you use gel food coloring or liquid food coloring? The gel food coloring will always give you a much darker color if you use enough of it. I hope you still enjoy the cheesecake bars! Just add lots of Cool Whip and red and blue sprinkles and no one will realize they look like an Easter egg. LOL!
do you need to spray the foil with noncooking spary? will the bars stick to the foil?
Yes, I usually spray the foil lightly to keep them from sticking. The foil is optional though. I tend to do it so I can lift the bars out and make clean cuts for pictures. You can totally just spray your pan with nonstick cooking spray and you will be fine.
going to be making these delicious looking cheesecake bars for the first time our 4th of july picnic with my family. What do mean by preheat oven again after putting the cookie sheet in for the steam bath? thank you
You will put a sheet pan on the very bottom oven rack and fill it halfway with water. Turn your oven on to preheat while you make the rest of the recipe. When it is time to bake, place the cheesecake on the oven rack directly over the steaming pan of water. I hope that helps. If you have any other questions, feel free to message me. I hope you enjoy the bars!
Hey! That’s super delicious, I have a sweet tooth and I can’t stop drooling over this.
Do you think that it would be possible to make these ahead of time and freeze them for 2-3 days?
They should be fine to freeze. Make sure they are completely cool before freezing them though. If you are only making them a few days ahead, they should be ok in your refrigerator too. I hope you enjoy the cheesecake.
Hello Jocelyn! I found your blog while searching for recipes for a July roundup and would like to feature this recipe in the month of July on our blog as well as in our online publication, RUBY magazine. I will, of course, only include one image and link back here to the original post. We will encourage our readers and followers to visit you here for the complete recipe as well as for some of your other great recipes. Thanks for sharing your beautiful photography and recipes with everyone in the blogosphere! We’ll be sure to send our readers your way. Thanks so much, Nina @ RUBY magazine and community
Hi, Nina. Thank you so much for the sweet words. I’m so glad you loved this treat enough to want to share it. You can definitely share an image with a link back to the post for the recipe. I appreciate the support and that you asked! I also have a bunch of other fun 4th of July treats here if you need others. https://insidebrucrewlife.com/category/recipes/seasonal/4th-of-july/
Why in some recipes do you call for the cheesecake to be in the water bath and the red white and blue you say on the center rack above the water?
I don’t have any recipes that call for a water bath. I only use the steam method where you put the cheesecake on the rack above the water.
These are amazing, typical that I found this post on July 12, a week after independence day!!! Still, I think I might give it a try…might even do it in the Irish colours on St Patrick’s Day!
Made the Red, White, and Blue Cheesecake Bars for work for the 4th of July. They turned out so pretty; my coworkers loved them! ????
When I cool on wire rack for an hour, is it directly in the pan or lift out in foil?
Leave it in the pan while it’s cooling on the wire rack, then place the whole thing (pan included) in the fridge to chill. You do not want to lift it out until it has chilled all the way through. I hope you enjoy it!
How can I tell it’s done? I’ve only made cheesecake once, 8 years ago haha
This cheesecake will be done at 45-47 minutes. It should still jiggle in the center, but it should be the whole thing jiggling as a whole. Not like how the center of an under baked cake looks when you wiggle it. It also should start to brown ever so slightly on the edges. At this point, get it out because it’s in danger of being over baked. Cheesecake sets up as it cools and chills. I hope that helps!
What does the water help with?
The pan of water under the cheesecake creates a steam effect in your oven. The steam helps the cheesecake to bake evenly and stay moist and creamy without cracks. I wrote an entire book on cheesecake and have a lot of tips and tricks on the subject 🙂 https://insidebrucrewlife.com/cookbook/
Can I use double Stuf?
Yes, you can. You may need to cut the amount of butter back slightly because of the extra cream though. I hope you enjoy the cheesecake bars.
Hi there could I use Graham cracker crust instead? Does this have a regular cheesecake flavor? TIA
Yes, you can totally use a regular graham cracker crust and yes, it is just a basic vanilla cheesecake jazzed up with food coloring. Here is a link to a cake that I did with a graham cracker crust. Just use the ingredients for that crust and the cheesecake from this recipe. https://insidebrucrewlife.com/chocolate-smores-pudding-cake/
Large baking sheet with water? Like a pyrex?
No, you want to use a large baking sheet with a lip on it, like one you would bake cookies on. Does that make sense?
What do temp do you bake it?
You bake the crust and the cheesecake at 325 degrees. The temperature is located in step 1. I hope you enjoy the cheesecake bars!
Can I make them in a 8by8 glass pan so they will be thick
No, the recipe is written for a 9×13 pan. These are a decent thickness when made that way. If you want to do it in the 8×8 pan I would recommend cutting all your ingredients in half because it will not fit in the pan.
Can you make this gluten free?
Yes, you can use gluten free cookies for the crust and leave the flour out. The flour is in it to give the batter some support, so it doesn’t crack as it bakes, but it’s ok to leave it out. Or use a gluten free flour in its place. I hope that helps and you enjoy the cheesecake bars.
I want to make this but I want a graham cracker crust instead of chocolate cookie. Any advice on how to make the crust? I am very excited to try this for our 4th of July party.
Yes, you can definitely do a graham cracker crust. Here is a link to a cake that I did with a graham cracker crust. Use that in place of the chocolate cookie crust. I hope you enjoy the cheesecake bars. https://insidebrucrewlife.com/chocolate-smores-pudding-cake/
I made this and got a pink and green swirled cheesecake. I used a whole bottle each of gel food coloring. What did I do wrong????
What kind of food coloring did you use? I always use the Wilton gel colors because they are more concentrated and give a better color. Plus, you don’t have to use as much to get a good color. I’m not quite sure how you would have gotten a green swirl though if you used blue food coloring?
All purpose flour or self-rising flour?
All my recipes are all purpose flour unless otherwise marked. I hope you enjoy the cheesecake bars!
Love love this idea. But I’m curious could I add strawberries and blueberries to the batter? Would it change the cooking time or consistency?
Do you mean you want to add fresh strawberries and blueberries to the batter instead of the food coloring? It shouldn’t really add too much extra time to the baking. Here is another version of these cheesecake bars that I did with pie filling and the baking time was about the same. https://insidebrucrewlife.com/blueberry-key-lime-cheesecake-bars/
Yeah thank you very much. Making it tonight can’t wait!
Do you think I can make these in a mini silicone star pan for the 4th?
Thank you in advance
You definitely could do that. The only thing that would change would be the baking time. I’m not quite sure how long to tell you because I haven’t made this recipe in a different pan, but when I do cupcake cheesecakes I usually bake them anywhere from 18-22 minutes depending on what I’m making.
Thank you very much for this recipe! I just made one in a springform pan for the Fourth of July and am so pleased with how it turned out! The Oreo cookie crust is delicious.
Just made this tonight and will be taking it to a picnic tomorrow. It looks beautiful! Question: do I cover it with plastic wrap when I put it in the fridge to chill?
I usually cover cheesecake lightly with tin foil or plastic wrap when I refrigerate it. I hope you enjoy the cheesecake bars!!!
Do you have to use gel food coloring?
You can use any food coloring. I just prefer the gel colors because they don’t add as much liquid to your batter. Either way works though! I hope you enjoy the cheesecake.
These cheesecake bars are perfect for the upcoming 4th of July celebration. I was wondering what the purpose if for lining the cake pan with aluminum foil?
It’s not necessary, but I like to use it because you can get the bars out of the pan much easier. Then it is easier to cut the bars into nice neat squares!
Would you be able to use box cheesecake instead of making it from scratch?
I’m not sure I understand what you are wanting to use. Do you mean a box of NO BAKE cheesecake? If so, yes, you could make that and tint the batter different colors and swirl them together.
Oh my goodness, these look delicious! I love baking with my children for the 4th of July it is one of our favorite traditions. That and creating my Grandma’s favorite cherry pie and patriotic sugar cookies. I love how this turned out. Great post! 🙂
Do you think that it would be possible to make these ahead of time and freeze them for 2-3 days?
Thanks!
You can definitely make these ahead of time. They will keep for a few days in the refrigerator if you do them ahead of time. Or you can freeze them. Just make sure to wrap them tightly and freeze completely. Then to thaw them, unwrap them and place in the refrigerator overnight. I hope you enjoy the bars!
Can you make it in a cheesecake springform pan? How would it change cooking time?
You could bake it in a springform pan, but it is going to increase your bake time quite a bit. My guess is probably about 45 minutes to an hour, but I can’t say for sure because I didn’t bake it that way.
My husband’s step-mom made this after seeing it on my FB page and it was amazing!! I’m lucky enough to have stole a piece 🙂
You think I can use Greek yogurt instead of the sour cream? I’ve already started making it and realized I forgot sour cream at the store but I do have the yogurt! ????
I’m sure you already made this, but yes, you can sub Greek yogurt for the sour cream instead. I hope you enjoyed the cheesecake bars!
Congratulations!!!!! These look like the absolute perfect celebratory treat.
Aww congrats!!! Such an exciting time for you guys 🙂 And I can’t think of a better way for your family to celebrate, than with cheesecake, 🙂
This looks gorgeous, so delicious and very creative!
Hey, your idea sounds interesting because you can make it anytime and even for special events (USA Independence Day for example). Colorful desserts always make everyone feel joyful and attractive!