Monster Cookie Cheesecake Bars

I still had Reese’s Pieces left after I made the cute bunny cookies. I wanted to try something different, and I came across these cheesecake bars. Monster Cookies and Monster Cookie Bars are not unusual, but I did a search and I haven’t made anything in this family of baking, which I thought was strange. I knew I could use the Reese’s Pieces in this recipe, as it was already peanut butter-forward.

Since I was making a peanut butter variation, I decided to use peanut butter chips in place of the traditional chocolate chips. I only had about half a cup (and not the 1 cup that the recipe requested) but that didn’t seem to make a difference. I also substituted Reese’s Pieces for the M&Ms. You can add additional Reese’s Pieces on top of the bars after they have baked, but I tried and all the extra Reese’s Pieces fell off when I cut them into bars.

There are a lot of ingredients in these bars, including 4 eggs! I planned to make these earlier in the week but I didn’t have eggs or aluminum foil. Then I was half-way through making the bars and I realized I had less-fat cream cheese and I don’t use that for baking. A quick trip to the store and I was sorted, and then the bars came together. They are very substantial, but even so they cut very easily. They have a perfect peanut butter flavor, and the cheesecake layer adds a lovely tang.

Monster Cookie Cheesecake Bars
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup peanut butter
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup oats
1/2 cup peanut butter chips
3/4 cup Reese’s Pieces

16 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9” x 13” baking pan with foil and spray the foil with nonstick spray.

In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter, sugar, and brown sugar on medium until light. On medium, mix in the peanut butter. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix to combine. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, and oats. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour/oat mixture and stir until a dough forms. Fold in the chips and Reese’s Pieces.   

Divide the dough into halves. Press half of the dough into the prepared pan. The remaining dough will become the topping.

Bake the bottom crust for 5 minutes. While the bottom crust is baking, prepared the cheesecake layer: in a mixer bowl, combine the cream cheese, sugar, and eggs. Mix until the batter is smooth and any lumps of cream cheese have been incorporated.

Once the cookie base comes out of the oven, pour the cream cheese mixture over the base and smooth the top. Crumble the remaining cookie dough over the cheesecake layer.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the cheesecake is set and the bars are browned along the edges. Chill for several hours before cutting into bars.

Recipe from The Girl Who Ate Everything