Incredible baked Eggnog Cheesecake Bars with a buttery cardamom graham crumb crust and a creamy cheesecake rich with eggnog flavours of rum, nutmeg, and vanilla.
Need to find a good dessert to bring to a gathering this Christmas? This is just the one! These cheesecake bars are utterly festive and perfect for sharing! Cut them into small pieces for an event with multiple desserts or larger pieces for events when you are the one on dessert duty. These Butter Tarts are also a great option for when you need small-bite desserts!
Like my Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars, these bars are smooth, creamy, and irresistible! And the buttery/crunchy crust - don't even get me started. This graham cracker crust is sweetened with brown sugar for a sweeter cookie-like crust. A little bit of cardamom is added for an extra flavour dimension, like the cinnamon in the crust of my Banana Cream Pie.
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⭐️ Why You Need to Make This Recipe
- Rich, eggnog goodness. These bars are filled with cozy flavour notes of rum, vanilla, and spices.
- Quick & Easy. You can whip this recipe up in very little hands-on time and all that's left is baking and chilling time.
- No water bath is required! That's right, no fussing with a pan of water to bake the cheesecake in - it just bakes right in the pan!
🧈 Ingredients
Here are the ingredients needed to make these cheesecake bars.
- Graham Cracker Crumbs and Brown Sugar - Graham crackers aren't very sweet so I like to add sugar to most crusts I make with them. This recipe calls for a full ¼ cup which seems like a lot but the cheesecake batter isn't very sweet so it balances well.
- Cardamom - If you don't like the cardamom flavour or don't have it, you could use cinnamon instead.
- Melted Butter - I use salted butter for a slightly salty/sweet crust.
- Cream Cheese - Softened to room temperature before adding to the batter to ensure it mixes smoothly.
- Brown Sugar - Brings in a caramel-like sweetness that goes well with the tangy cheesecake and cozy eggnog flavours.
- Eggs - Most baked cheesecake recipes call for eggs for structure.
- Nutmeg - Of course! Nutmeg is the most prominent spice in eggnog.
- Salt - A little salt helps to make the flavours pop!
- Extracts - Both vanilla and rum extract are added to enhance the eggnog flavours.
- Eggnog - Yes, this recipe does contain real eggnog!
See the recipe card for measurements.
📃 Instructions
Step 1: Stir together the graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, cardamom, and melted butter.
Step 2: Press into a 9x9-inch baking pan lined with parchment paper. Bake for 10 minutes while preparing the cheesecake batter.
Step 3: Whip the softened cream cheese and brown sugar together for 1 minute until fluffy.
Step 4: Add the eggs, nutmeg, salt, vanilla, and rum extract. Blend until incorporated.
Step 5: Pour in the eggnog.
Step 6: Mix just until combined and smooth.
Step 7: Pour on top of the baked crust.
Step 8: Bake for 35-40 minutes or until just a little jiggly in the center. Let cool to room temperature before refrigerating for at least 3 hours before serving.
Hint: These bars are amazing served with whipped cream!
📝 Substitutions
Here are some possible substitutions for this recipe.
- Salted Butter - You could use unsalted butter with ⅛ teaspoon of salt.
- Cardamom - If you don't like or have cardamom, you can replace it with cinnamon or omit it completely.
❄️ Storage
Store the cheesecake bars covered or in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
I have not tested freezing these cheesecake bars.
💡 Top tip
When slicing the cheesecake bars after they chill, use a sharp knife and rinse it off with hot water and wipe dry between each cut. This will keep the edges of the bars clean.
❓ FAQ
Cheesecake can be safely stored in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
While I have not tested it, I think you could make this recipe gluten-free with a GF substitute for the graham cracker crumbs!
🧀 More Cheesecake Recipes
Looking for other cheesecake recipes? Try these:
If you tried these baked Eggnog Cheesecake Bars or any other recipe on my website, please leave a ⭐️ star rating and write a little note telling me how it went in the comments below. Thank you!!
📖 Recipe
Baked Eggnog Cheesecake Bars
Equipment
- 9x9-inch baking pan
- parchment paper
- mixing bowls
- measuring cups & spoons
- electric handheld mixer
Ingredients
For the crust:
- ¼ cup salted butter, melted *
- ¼ cup packed light brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom *
- 1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs
For the filling:
- 16 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- ½ cup brown sugar packed
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon rum extract
- ½ cup eggnog
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325℉. Line a 9-inch square pan with parchment paper, letting the foil hang over the sides of the pan.
- Mix together the melted butter, brown sugar, cardamom, and graham cracker crumbs. Pat the mixture down into the prepared pan to form a crust. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes.
- In a large bowl using an electric handheld mixer, beat together the cream cheese and brown sugar on high speed for 1 minute. Add the eggs, nutmeg, salt, vanilla, and rum extract and beat on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add the eggnog and beat for another 30 seconds.
- Pour the filling over top of the baked crust and then bake for another 35-40 minutes. The edges should be slightly golden brown and the center should be almost set. Place the pan on a wire rack to cool to room temperature for 1 hour before moving to the refrigerator to chill for at least another 3 hours or until fully chilled.
- When ready to serve, pull the bars out of the pan using the overhanging parchment paper as a handle and slice into 16 bars using a sharp knife. Rinse the knife with hot water and wipe dry between each cut for clean-edged bars. Serve with whipped cream. Enjoy!
Notes
- You could use unsalted butter with ⅛ teaspoon of salt instead
- If you don't like or have cardamom, you can replace it with cinnamon or omit it completely.
Sarah Dyck
This recipe looks delish! I’m thinking of making this for a Christmas baking exchange and wondering if these could be made as individual mini cheesecakes? If so, how many do you think one recipe would make? A 24-mini-muffin tray full?
Naomi
Hi Sarah!
Yes, I love that idea! I tested this recipe today in mini muffin tins and found it worked great. The full recipe will make about 4 1/2 dozen minis. I highly recommend using mini cupcake liners and you will need to reduce the baking time for the crusts to 5 minutes and then bake the assembled cheesecakes for only about 20 minutes. Other than those things, everything else will be the same as the original recipe! Hope this works great for you! Enjoy!!
Naomi
Sarah Dyck
Wow! You are a rock star! Thanks so much! Decision made - I’m sure these will be a hit! 🤗