Easy Pecan Pie Cheesecake Bars Recipe
Pecan Pie Cheesecake Bars are a creamy sweet dessert that you’re going to fall in love with.
The bars are the combination of pecan pie and a cheesecake bar all rolled into one scrumptious treat.
You get the best of both worlds with a graham cracker crust, a creamy cheesecake center, and a topping of candied pecans.
This has been a very popular recipe and it’s perfect for the holidays!
The Perfect Dessert
Disclaimer: This recipe and post were created for #SummerDessertWeek! Sponsor companies sent me samples, but as always opinions are 100% mine.
Pecan pie cheesecake bars are the perfect dessert.
You get a creamy cheesecake layer, gooey pecan pie layer, and a buttery graham cracker crust all rolled into one.
And, the finished product is beautiful.
I absolutely love pecan pie and I love cheesecake, so to be able to marry the two recipes together is a special treat.
The pecan pie bars are perfect for Thanksgiving or Christmas, or any holiday, or Tuesday (you get the drift).
I really didn’t start to like pecans until I was older and now I could snack on them all day long, and if you candy them, step aside, I am gonna get a handful (ok, quite a few if we’re being honest).
What Ingredients Do I Need For This Amazing Recipe?
Crust
- Graham crackers
- Butter, melted
- Sugar
Cheesecake Layer
- Cream cheese, softened
- Sugar
- Eggs
- Vanilla extract
Pecan Pie Layer
- Butter
- Heavy cream
- Light brown sugar
- Corn syrup
- Vanilla extract
- Chopped pecans
Full printable recipe with measurements and instructions listed at the bottom of the post in the recipe card.
How To Make Easy Pecan Pie Cheesecake Bars
- Crush the graham crackers in a food processor. Add the sugar and butter and mix well.
- Press the crunchy graham cracker crust into a 9-inch by 13-inch greased pan and set aside (or line with parchment paper).
- Next, add the softened cream cheese to a large mixing bowl and cream.
- Add the sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract, and mix with an electric hand mixer until the lumps are gone.
- Gently spread the cream cheese mixture over the graham cracker crust and place in the refrigerator for 30-45 minutes.
- Once the cream cheese has been in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, you can get started on the pecan pie topping.
- For the topping, add the butter to a saucepan and melt.
- Next, add the heavy cream, brown sugar, vanilla extract, and corn syrup. Mix and bring to a boil.
- Add the pecans and stir to coat. Pour over the cream cheese mixture and bake for 40 minutes.
- Allow the bars to cool for at least an hour to room temperature and then refrigerate for a couple of hours before cutting.
I have a fantastic recipe for pecan pie brownies, as well as the best pecan pie recipe, and easy stovetop candied pecans. If you search around, you’ll see quite a few recipes that feature pecans on the site here.
Step-By-Step Instructions
Graham Cracker Crust Layer
Get the recipe started by adding the graham crackers to a food processor and process until they are fine crumbs.
If you don’t have a food processor you can put the graham crackers into a large bag and crush them with a rolling pin.
I used two sleeves of graham crackers to get to two cups.
Next, add the sugar and the melted butter and process again until everything is mixed together.
Spray the bottom of a 13″ x 9″ baking dish with non-stick spray. Place some parchment paper over the spray.
I spray the dish in case any of the pecan pie ingredients seep down into the dish. It turns into candy and is hard to get out.
The parchment paper will make it easy to remove the pecan pie bars recipe in their entirety. That will also help make it easier to cut them.
Press the graham cracker crumbs down into the pan and set aside.
Cream Cheese Layer
In a large bowl, add the cream cheese.
Next, add the sugar to the bowl.
I used Dixie Crystals for this recipe. I use it for all of my favorite desserts and I love it.
Eggs are the next ingredient to go in the bowl.
Add the vanilla extract.
I used Adams Best Vanilla Extract for this recipe. It has a very good flavor and smells so delicious.
Mix the cheesecake ingredients with an electric mixer until most of the lumps are gone.
You’ll have a few lumps and that’s ok.
Spread the cream cheese mixture over the graham crackers.
Refrigerate the dessert for at least 30 minutes. The reason behind this is to keep the pecan topping from seeping down into the cream cheese.
It might still do that to some degree and will still taste great, but refrigerating the dessert for at least 30 minutes will help alleviate some of that.
Pecan Pie Topping
In a medium saucepan, on medium heat, add the butter and allow it to melt.
Once the butter melts, add the heavy cream to the saucepan.
Now, add the brown sugar and vanilla and mix together.
I usually use a whisk to mix everything together.
Pour the light corn syrup into the pan with the other ingredients and mix. Allow the ingredients to boil for about one minute.
The ingredients do not need to come to a full rolling boil, just allow it to boil a little bit.
Finally, add the pecans and mix until they are all covered.
Pour the pecan ingredients on top of the cheesecake and spread it out.
Bake for about 40 minutes or until the top is golden brown, as in the picture below.
Allow the pecan pie cheesecake bars to cool and then refrigerate for a few hours before cutting.
You will need a sharp knife to cut the bars.
It will be hard to not cut into the bars, before it cools, because they will smell amazing.
When they started to cook it was all I could do not to go in the kitchen, open the oven, and spoon some out.
Plus, the entire time the pecan pie bars recipe was cooling it smelled like Christmas. So. Good. This pecan pie cobbler is perfect for Christmas, as well.
Enjoy the pecan cheesecake bars!
The decadent cheesecake pecan dessert ends up with a creamy center and a candied top for one amazing dessert.
Get more pecan recipes for your recipe box.
More Dessert Recipes
- Caramel cheesecake bars with praline pecan topping
- Butter pecan fudge
- Eggnog pie recipe
- Cream cheese brownies
- Pecan cream pound cake from South Your Mouth
Sponsored Items Used In This Recipe:
- Dixie Crystals Pure Cane Sugar
- Adams Best Vanilla Extract
Pecan Pie Cheesecake Bars
Ingredients
Crust
- 2 cups graham cracker crumbs roughly 16 full graham crackers.
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup butter melted
Cheesecake
- 2 – 8 ounce packages of cream cheese softened
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pecan Pie Topping
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup light corn syrup
- 2 cups pecans chopped
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Grease a 13" x 9" dish and cover with parchment paper.
Crust
- Add the graham crackers to a food processor and process until they are crumbs.
- Add the sugar and butter and process again.
- Press into the baking dish and set aside.
Cheesecake Layer
- Add the cream cheese, sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract to a large bowl. Mix until most of the lumps are gone.
- Pour over the graham cracker crust and spread out. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Pecan Pie Topping
- Start after the cream cheese mixture has been refrigerated for at least 30 minutes.
- Add the butter to a saucepan, on medium heat, and melt.
- Next, add the heavy cream, vanilla extract, brown sugar, and light corn syrup. Mix together and allow it to come to a boil.
- Add the pecans and mix until they are all covered.
- Pour over the cheesecake mixture and spread out.
- Bake for about 40 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.
- Cool for about an hour.
- Refrigerate for several hours and cut into squares.
