Ah, Butterscotch Cheesecake Bars. These bad boys have been one of my favorite desserts for years as they’re just so creamy, delicious, and easy to put together.
Combine the richness of the butterscotch with the wonderful cream cheese and you’ll be in pure dessert heaven!
I’m honestly not ashamed to admit that I’ve eaten an entire pan of this stuff without sharing.
Hey – don’t hate the player, hate the game folks!
I’ve always found that these bars satisfy my sweet tooth, but they’re smooth and crunchy enough that they taste balanced and not sickly. So, if you struggle with classic cheesecakes, then this butterscotch version is bound to please your palate!
Serve these superb bars with a cup of coffee or chow down on them as a post-dinner sweet treat.
No matter when you eat them, these beautiful bars aim to please!
Ingredients
- Butterscotch chips
- Salted butter
- Graham cracker crumbs
- Pecans
- Cream cheese
- Sweetened condensed milk
- Vanilla extract
- Egg
How to Make Butterscotch Cheesecake Bars
- Step One: Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9×13 baking pan.
- Step Two: Add butterscotch chips and butter to a medium saucepan over medium low heat. Melt. Stir in graham cracker crumbs and pecans. Press 1/2 of mixture into prepared baking pan.
- Step Three: Beat cream cheese until fluffy. Beat in sweetened condensed milk, vanilla and egg.
- Step Four: Pour over crumbs. Top with remaining crumbs.
- Step Five: Bake for 25 minutes. Cool to room temperature then chill in the refrigerator before serving.
Equipment Needed
You don’t need much equipment to bring these butterscotch cheesecake bars to life. For best results, I recommend picking up a few crucial things (if you don’t have them already!).
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What to Serve with Butterscotch Cheesecake Bars
Recipe Tips and Tricks
- It’s extremely important to measure the ingredients properly. You can technically use cups, but it’s a good idea to use a scale to get the exact measurements by weight.
- Don’t scrimp on the butterscotch chips. I always recommend using high-quality chips as they tend to have the richest and most buttery flavor! Trust me, it makes all the difference to the end result.
- Keep the egg out of the recipe until the last minute. You want to let the butterscotch mix cool slightly before you add the eggs. If you don’t, they might start cooking before your bars are ready to bake!
- To keep your bars smooth, use a smooth spatula to mix. This should give them a lightweight texture that doesn’t feel too dense in the mouth.
- Be careful not to scorch your chips. You can avoid this by keeping the heat at medium-low and going slowly.
- For the best results possible, soften your cream cheese at room temperature before using it. This will prevent any lumps from ruining your amazing butterscotch cheesecake bars!
- Remove the bars from the oven when the edges are set but the middle is still jiggling. It’ll finish setting as it cools which prevents you from overbaking your bars!
- If you’re cutting your bars, use a very sharp knife and make sure the bars are completely cool to prevent crumbling.
Variations and Substitutions
- If you want a bit of crunch to your cheesecake, sprinkle a few butterscotch chips or chocolate chips over your baked cheesecake.
- If you want a different variation on the classic base, replace the graham cracker crumbs with golden Oreos or something similar!
- You can easily replace the pecans with any crunchy nut of your choice (like macadamias or walnuts).
Storage Instructions
You can store these butterscotch cheesecake bars in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Can I Freeze?
Although you can technically freeze these bars in Ziploc bags, I wouldn’t recommend it.
The cream cheese will probably lose its texture when it’s frozen, which might give it a strange grainy texture when you come to defrost it.
Butterscotch Desserts
- Apple Cake with Butterscotch Sauce – This apple cake with butterscotch is the perfect fall dessert. It’s super rich and moist, and I love the bits of apple that are sprinkled throughout the dish.
- Butterscotch Blondies – If you want to take a break from brownies, these butterscotch blondies are delicious served warm and with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
- No-Bake Butterscotch Cookies – If you’re looking for something butterscotch-filled that you can take on the go, these cookies are ideal. Plus, they’re no-bake which makes them incredibly easy for beginners!
- Apple Butterscotch Buns – These apple butterscotch buns are some of my favorite desserts. You can an amazing richness from the butterscotch sauce, and the tanginess from the apples is just unbeatable.
- Butterscotch Pecan Monkey Bread – This butterscotch pecan monkey bread is made with butterscotch chips, tender crescent rolls, brown sugar, and delicious pecans. It’s perfectly sweet and sticky and is bound to impress the entire family!
- Butterscotch Sauce – Make your own sundae topping or sweet dipping sauce! You’ll remember this rich and buttery flavor long after you’ve eaten it. This easy homemade sauce tastes amazing on ice cream, cheesecake or bread pudding.
You’ll also like this Butterscotch Steamer, Cappuccino Cheesecake, Blueberry and Lemon Cheesecake Bars and Strawberry No-Bake Cheesecake.
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Butterscotch Cheesecake Bars
This cheesecake has a rich butterscotch base, smooth, creamy cheesecake filling and topped with some butterscotch crunch.
Ingredients
- 1 (11oz/270g) package butterscotch chips
- ½ cup salted butter
- 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
- 1 cup pecans, chopped
- 1 (8oz/250g) package cream cheese, softened
- 1 ¾ cups sweetened condensed milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9×13 baking pan.
- Add butterscotch chips and butter to a medium saucepan over medium low heat. Melt. Stir in graham cracker crumbs and pecans. Press 1/2 of mixture into prepared baking pan.
- Beat cream cheese until fluffy. Beat in sweetened condensed milk, vanilla and egg. Pour over crumbs. Top with remaining crumbs.
- Bake for 25 minutes. Cool to room temperature then chill in the refrigerator before serving.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1 squareAmount Per Serving: Calories: 423Total Fat: 25gSaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 53mgSodium: 208mgCarbohydrates: 46gFiber: 1gSugar: 38gProtein: 6g
Kortney says
This is the second time I’ve made these, the first time I screwed up & put all of the butterscotch mix at the bottom, this time I used 1 3/4 cup of the evaporated milk, they seem so creamy rather than cheesecakey. Can you clarify if it’s ONE 3/4 cup of milk or 1 and 3/4 cups of milk?
Kortney says
Oops i meant condensed, not evaporated
Stacie says
Hi Kortney,
It’s 1 and 3/4 cups.
Aimee says
My butterscotch and butter did not melt smooth, is it supposed to ? Help 🙂
Stacie says
Oh no! You could try to add a little more butter to help it along. It’s a slow melt like chocolate so it takes a little bit. You could also try melting it in the microwave on low power at 30 second increments and stir in between each increment.
Joyce says
I have made several times if I want a thicker cheesecake layer how long would I cook if I use 8×8 pan
Stacie says
I think it would bake for 40 to 45 minutes, but keep an eye on it. Check it at the 30 minute mark and see how it’s doing.
Carolea says
Absolutely divine. I might try a chocolate version with walnuts.
Carolea in Nova Scotia says
Made a version using crushed candy cane creme oreo type cookies without the nuts. They were so good! Will continue to experiment with other flavours, nuts and perhaps add decadence by drizzling syrup when serving. My new go-to cheesecake recipe without the hassle of what it usually takes to make “real” cheesecake. I love that it makes a large batch. I will say that rather than halving thr crumbs, I used about 2/3 for the base and 1/3 for the topping. Thank you so much for this recipe!
Carolea in Nova Scotia says
Today I made a Maple Walnut Version. The crust was 1 cup of walnuts rather than pecans, 1 – 300g package of maple creme sandwich cookies rather than graham crumbs and 300g white chocolate chipits. I used 1 tsp maple extract in the filling rather than the vanilla. Very happy with the results. Thinking I will try a similar peanut butter version with peanut butter sandwich cookies, peanut butter chipits and crushed peanuts.
Kim Weatherly says
Please confirm that the sweetened condensed milk is 1 3/4 cups, not one can. There’s not that much in a single can.
Stacie Vaughan says
It’s 1.75 cups. Can sizes can vary depending on what country you are in so I put the measurments in cups.