I have a confession to make.
You know last year, when everyone was going really bonkers over Daredevil? Well, I just couldn’t get into it. Sure the fight scenes felt like The Matrix on acid and the writing was solid and I wouldn’t kick Charlie Cox (who plays Daredevil) out of bed for eating crackers, but the show gave me nightmares. Am I a wimp?
This season, I’m hooked. Maybe it’s because Fisk isn’t [spoiler alert] smashing anyone’s head with a car door or because I’m more familiar with the [spoiler alert again] the other characters they’re bringing in, or because Cox is flashing that winsome smile more often, but for the past few days, it’s been my dinner entertainment.
Which brings me to another indulgence…these Nutella Cheesecake bars. They’re both dark and light, perfect for munching on while watching Daredevil (or Game of Thrones! Seriously, is Jon Snow dead? Is he alive? What’s going on?! Thankfully we only have a few more days to go until we all find out).
They’re not too sweet so the hazelnutty chocolately goodness of the Nutella is very front and center. Nom nom. And the shortbread base is simple as all good shortbread recipes should be. Once you whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, and butter for the cookie base, these bars are practically done.
I love mixing. It’s one of my favorite things about baking. Like with making ganache, at first, it’s like oh my god, is anything ever going to happen?! And then it does. Patience is a virtue. Just not one I happen to have. Oopsy.
When you add the shortbread base it’s the same. Nothing seems to happen. At first, it’s like running your hands through snow. Snow with lumps of butter (which would seriously be the most delicious snow ever). You keep mixing and kneading, still nothing. More kneading. More mixing. Finally, something starts to happen! The texture begins to change and if you had given into temptation and just dumped the primordial crust into the pan and hoped for the best, it wouldn’t have magically formed into a cookie! Ok, well, it might have, but not a very tasty one. But then, voila! Shortbread!
(p.s. aren’t italicized exclamation points the cutest thing ever?)
Nutella Cheesecake Bars
Print RecipeIngredients
Shortbread Cookie Base
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ tsp. coarse kosher salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter (room temperature, cut into tablespoons)
Nutella Cheesecake Filling
- 8 oz. cream cheese (softened)
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 4 Tbsp. Nutella (divided)
Instructions
Shortbread Cookie Base
- Preheat the oven to 350. Line a 9x9-inch baking pan with parchment paper.
- Whisk sugar, flour, and salt in medium bowl.
- Add butter. Mix until mixture forms into dough.
- Press dough evenly into prepared baking pan. Bake for 15 minutes or until edges are just golden brown. Set on cooling rack.
Nutella Cheesecake Filling
- Blend cream cheese, vanilla extract, sugar, egg, and 1 Tbsp. Nutella at medium speed until the mixture is uniform. Set aside.
- Warm 3 Tbsp. Nutella in the microwave for one minute at 50% power. Stop to stir the mixture every 15 seconds. Set aside.
- Pour cream cheese filling on top of baked shortbread cookie base. Use spatula to create an even layer.
- Drizzle vertical lines of the warmed Nutella on top of the cream cheese layer with a spoon. To create swirls, dip a knife or chopstick half way into the filling and make small circles.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until filling is set. Place on cooling rack for 30 minutes, then transfer to refrigerator for another 30.
- Cut Nutella Cheesecake into 32 cheescake bars and store in the refrigerator.
My background is in publishing (I've worked at Parade, Men's Journal, Us Weekly, Stuff, Blender, Beachbody, and more), mostly with a focus in health, fitness, and entertainment. I've also run my own baking company and competed on Cupcake Wars, so hit me up with your baking questions!
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Just found your blog – is it new? And I’m glad to hear that Daredevil is good this season, my boyfriend has roped me into it and we will probably start season 2 soon 🙂 Glad to hear Fisk isn’t there. He annoyed me.
Hi! My blog is new 🙂 I think I can blame Fisk for most of those nightmares! That car door. Ick. Season 2 is so much fun! You learn a lot more about what makes Daredevil tick…but I won’t give away any more than that!
I just checked out your blog – lovely photos! And those coconut pancakes…were they as delicious as they look?
My lil one loves nutella. I just can’t wait to make this for him. This looks amazingly delicious and YUM!
Perfect for cheesecake and Nutella lovers. Your crust looks amazing!
My other half is obsessed with his Nutella, and cheesecake is his favourite dessert, so I’m looking forward to making this for him! They look super tasty!
Nutella recipes are always welcome in my house! These bars look simply amazing and I cannot wait to try them myself!
Me and my husband love watching Daredevil together! It’d be even BETTER paired with these gorgeously swirly, decadent bars! YUM!
Thanks! 🙂 Which season so far has been your fave?
You had me at Nutella!!! I absolutely love the stuff. Turning Nutella into cheesecake bars is genius! YUMMMMM!
If I were to dream up a dessert in my mind, this would be it! You can’t go wrong with Nutella and cheesecake!
Such a crowd pleaser! Everyone loves a little sweet treat and Nutella is the perfect answer. We love GoT too, we’re debating watching the reruns because it’s just too damn long before the next season. These are the perfect munchie!
Wow this looks soo yummy! I am obsessed with nutella and can’t wait to make these bars!
Oh man, you had me at nutella. And a shortbread crust? These sound absolutely amazing!
I bought a container of nutella and cookie butter last week and to my surprise, I ate all the cookie butter right out of the jar. Now, I need to use up the nutella before I eat it by the spoonfuls, too. This looks super simple to whip up, too!
Yes!!! Absolutely beautiful and what a perfect flavor combination. Love how easy these are to make and who doesn’t love Nutella??
This sounds like a fabulous recipe but I wonder if you have a recipe for a 13×9 version. I am leader of soup lunch for our church in Lewes, DE. We have about 25-40 guests each Thursday all who love desserts. I can multiply a 13×9 recipe for a extra large baking sheet we use to serve 40+.
Hi Shirley,
Thank you. I don’t have a recipe specifically for that, but the recipe *should* work if you increase all the ingredients by 1.4. (For instance, the recipe as is calls for 8oz of cream cheese. Multiplied by 1.4, it calls for 11.2 oz of cream cheese.)
It sounds like you’ve got your conversion from that to your large baking sheet covered, but for more handy conversions, we’ve got a baking pan size chart here: https://www.letseatcake.com/cake-pan-sizes/
Hope that helps.