Cookies - No-Bake Cookie Dough Cheesecake Bars

By tinathorn

Ingredients

• Graham Cracker Crust:
• 1 row of Midel Sugar Free Graham Crackers (about 1 cup when in crumbs)
• 1/3 cup Oats
• 4 Tablespoons Earth Balance Butter, softened
• 3 Tablespoons Maple Syrup
• Cheesecake Filling:
• 8 oz Cream Cheese of choice, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup Xylitol
• 1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
• 1 Tablespoon White Spelt Flour
• Cookie Dough:
• 2 Tablespoons of Cream Cheese Filling, recipe above
• 4 Tablespoons Earth Balance Butter at room temperature
• 1/3 cup Coconut Sugar
• 1 Tablespoon Maple Syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon Pink Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
• 3/4 cup White Spelt Flour
• Heaping 1/3 cup Sugar Free Chocolate Chips or Chocolate Chunk*

Details

Adapted from naturalsweetrecipes.com

Preparation

Step 1

Line a 8 by 8 baking dish with parchment paper and set aside.

In a food processor or blender, combine the oats with graham crackers. Mix until crumbly. Pour into a small mixing bowl, and combine with the melted butter and maple syrup. Mix until moist and well combined. If it is still a little dry and is not holding together at all, add a bit more maple syrup. Wet your hands and gently press the mixture at the bottom of your 8 by 8 pan. Place in the freezer for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, begin on the cheesecake filling. Empty the crumbs of the crust out of the food processor and add the xylitol. Process the xylitol until powdery. Add the soft cream cheese, vanilla and flour. Mix until creamy and delicious.

Remove crust from freezer and spread the cream cheese filling over the crust, reserving 2 tablespoons for the cookie dough. Return to the freezer for another 10 minutes.

Add the 2 tablespoons cream cheese filling with butter and coconut sugar and mix well to combine. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Spread the cookie dough over the cream cheese filling and return the pan to the fridge to set for 30 minutes. The bars will firm up the longer they sit in the fridge so if you like softer cheesecake, you can remove from the fridge at 20 minutes or so. Cut into squares. Keep any leftovers in the fridge.

*The smaller the chocolates, the better. Large chilled pieces of chocolate can be hard to eat! Also, they can make the cutting process harder since the rest of the bars are pretty soft.