I first read about nanaimo bars on Closet Cooking’s website a few years back… They looked great, but I didn’t think about them again until recently. I’m not sure where I stumbled across another picture of these bars, but then I was obsessed with the idea of making them. I read a bunch of recipes before settling on Seven Spoons and Closet Cooking for my models.

Instead of making them in a 9×9 pan, I made mine in a cupcake pan so I wouldn’t have to worry about cutting the bars. I also tweaked the recipes just a little bit to accomodate the ingredients I had on hand and I scaled back the sugar since I like my cheesecake a bit tart.

I’m a huge fan of cheesecake, so next time I would double the cheesecake and 1/2 the chocolate cookie crust. However, these little bites were truly delicious and I’m glad I made them!! (Even if I feel mildly ill from eating 3 of them in a row).

Cheesecake Nanaimo Bars (adapted from Seven Spoons and Closet Cooking)

Crust:

• 1 1/2 cups of sugar cookies, blitzed through a food processor (or smashed in a plastic bag with a rolling pin)
• 1/4 cup of chocolate cocoa
• 1/4 cup of granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup of shredded, unsweetened coconut
• 1/2 cup of almonds, blitzed through a food processor
• 8 tablespoons of melted unsalted butter

1. Preheat the oven to 350F
2. Mix the dry ingredients together, then drizzle the butter into the bowl until the ingredients come together
3. Press into the bottoms of cupcake liners. I used these adorable monkey ones from Reynolds. (Also… I have quite a bit extra cookie mixture leftover, so don’t be concerned if you also have left over)
4. Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until just browned.
5. While the cookie cups bake, start on the cheesecake filling

Cheesecake filling:

• 8 ounces of cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup of sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1. Whip the cream cheese with sugar until smooth
2. Add the egg and vanilla extract and continue whipping until smooth
3. Once the cookie cups have finished cookie, top each with about two tablespoons of cheesecake batter each
4. Tap on a flat surface to evenly distribute the batter in the cups
5. Bake for another 10 minutes, or until the cheesecake has set.

Chocolate ganache topping

• 7 ounces of dark chocolate
• 1/2 cup of heavy cream

1. As the cheesecake and cookie layers cool, make the ganache topping
2. In a double boiler (or a mixing bowl over boiling water), heat the chocolate and heavy cream. Once the chocolate has melted, whisk the mixture until smooth and glossy.
3. Put 1 to 2 tablespoons of ganache on top of each cheesecake/cookie cup, smooth the tops with a knife.

Put the whole pan in the fridge and let it set. These should keep for up to a week in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator.

Enjoy!!!

I used these Guittard chips for my chocolate ganache and I am impressed. They were deliciously dark and not overly sweet. Definitely a re-buy!