This is a decadent cheesecake bar that uses Snickers candy bars, marrying the flavors of milk chocolate, caramel and roasted peanuts. It’s a fantastic way to use up leftover Halloween candy, and there is no reason that you can’t use ANY type of chocolate candy bar in this recipe.
Ingredients
- For the crust
20 Oreo cookies
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- For the filling
16 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 large egg
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
12 “Fun-size” Snickers candy bars, chopped (regular sized Snickers are OK…you want about 1-1/3 cup chopped Snickers or other candy bar)
- For the topping:
1/3 cup milk chocolate chips
1/3 cup dolce de leche or other caramel sauce
1/3 cup roasted salted peanuts, roughly chopped
Directions
- Make the crust
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 8×8 or 9×9-inch baking pan with aluminum foil with overhanging edges. In a food processor, pulse the whole Oreos into fine crumbs. Stir the cookie crumbs and melted butter together until well blended. Press mixture into the baking pan filling in all gaps. Bake for 9-10 minutes. Allow to cool while you prepare the filling.
- Make the filling
- Beat cream cheese, egg, sugar, and vanilla extract together with a hand or stand mixer until smooth and creamy, about 3 full minutes. Fold in the Snickers. Spread the mixture over your cooled crust. Bake for 35 minutes, or until the cheesecake has set and the edges are lightly browned. Allow to cool for a minimum of an hour before adding the topping.
- Make the topping
- Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave for 30 seconds, stirring, repeating until chips are smooth and melted. Allow to cool slightly. Pour caramel sauce into a plastic baggie (if it is too thick to pour or drizzle, you might have to microwave this SLIGHTLY also, but allow to cool a bit so that it doesn’t melt the baggie). With a scissors, snip a tiny piece off the corner of the baggie, then drizzle caramel all over cheesecake. Repeat this process with your melted chocolate. Sprinkle chopped peanuts over the melted chocolate and allow to cool thoroughly in the refrigerator for a minimum of 3 hours.
- Serving
- Before serving, lift the whole cheesecake out of the pan by lifting up on the overhanging edges of aluminum foil and place on a cutting board. Cut into bars.
Notes
- Adapted from a recipe by Domestic Superhero.