These Halloween Cheesecake Bars are the perfect Halloween sweets dessert to show off your spooky spirit. Creamy cheesecake with a cookie crust, these black and orange Halloween Cheesecake Bars are the perfect easy dessert to celebrate Halloween.

HALLOWEEN CHEESECAKE BARS

It’s the MOST wonderful time of the year!

Anyone who knows me or follows this blog knows that Halloween is my all-time favorite holiday and my favorite time to make super fun, super easy Halloween desserts.

So what better way to serve up your scary than with these easy orange and black Halloween Cheesecake Bars?

WHY THIS HALLOWEEN CHEESECAKE IS THE BEST

Cheesecake is not everyone’s favorite dessert for no reason.
This is a classic cheesecake recipe you can make at home, creamy and perfect!
Black and orange cheesecake squares? Um.. yes please!
Super easy cheesecake recipe so anyone can make this, regardless of their experience in the kitchen.
These cheesecake bars are super stack-able and super portable. No stress bringing these to Halloween parties, bake sales and potlucks.

To make these black and orange swirl cheesecake bars, you will need:

Oreo type sandwich cookies
Butter
Sugar
Cream cheese
Eggs
Sour cream
Vanilla extract
Salt
Orange and black food coloring

HOW DO I KNOW MY CHEESECAKE IS DONE?

When you make cheesecake at home, the hardest thing to know is when it is done.

To check if your cheesecake is fully cooked, gently shake the cheesecake and only a small circle in the center jiggles slightly, it is done.

The center will firm up as it cools and I find turning your oven off when the cooking time has completed, opening the door and letting the cheesecake sit in the open oven for about an hour creates a perfectly cooked cheesecake.

WHY DO CHEESECAKES NEED A WATER BATH?

Cheesecakes are often baked in water baths or with a pan of water placed in the oven while the cheesecake cooks.

This method is used because the hot water steam from the water will ensure even baking and lessen the likelihood of of the cheesecake cracking on top.

WHERE DO I FIND BLACK FOOD COLORING?

Black food coloring is not usually found everyday in your grocery store baking aisle (unfortunately!!).

To find your black food coloring, you can either order it online or stop in at your local craft store that has a cake decorating section.

I prefer using the gel food coloring tubes but you can just as easily pick up one of these little cake decorating color pots for one or two dollars and they work perfectly.

HOW DO I MAKE HALLOWEEN CHEESECAKE BARS?

Easy! To make Halloween Cheesecake Bars, start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees and adding a large pan of water to your bottom oven rack.

Begin your cheesecake bars by adding your chocolate sandwich cookies to a food processor and pulse until pulverized.

If you do not have a food processor, no worries, simply add them to a large zip top bag, push out the extra air and then seal up the bag.

Gently beat the cookies with something heavy like a pan or a rolling pin until they are reduced to crumbs.

Then combine the cookie crumbs, melted butter and sugar together in a mixing bowl and then pour the cookie mixture into a 9 x 13 baking pan lined with parchment paper.

Using your fingers or a spoon, firmly press the cookies evenly on the bottom and sides of the baking pan to make your crust.

Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat softened cream cheese until creamy and then add in sugar and salt and mix well.

One by one, add in eggs and beat until each is incorporated before adding in the next one. Add in sour cream and vanilla and continue mixing until you have a creamy filling.

Transfer 1 1/3 cup of cheesecake filling evenly into two separate bowls and add orange food coloring to one bowl and black to the other. Mix the food coloring in to combine.

Pour the white cheesecake filling on top of the cookie crust crust and smooth until even. Using a spoon, pour alternating lines of black cheesecake filling and orange cheesecake filling down the length of the cheesecake.

Swirl the colors into the cheesecake filing using the back of knife (or a chopstick!) to create a beautiful swirl pattern. The more swirls, the better..

Bake in oven for 50-55 minutes or until center is no longer wobbly.

When baking time is done, turn off oven, open oven door and let your Halloween Cheesecake Bars sit for one hour in the open oven.

Remove from oven and refrigerate overnight before pulling up on parchment paper and removing from baking pan. Cut into squares and serve!

PRO TIPS FOR MAKING HALLOWEEN CHEESECAKE BARS

Be sure to beat your cream cheese until they are creamy and fluffy. If you skip the creaming step, you will end up with large lumps of cream cheese in your cheesecake bars.
Use room temperature ingredients like cream cheese, eggs and sour cream. They mix and emulsify better at room temperature.
Don’t care for a chocolate sandwich cookie crust? The Oreo style cookies can easily be replaced with 1 1/2 cups of graham crackers crumbs. Then add the melted butter as called for and mix to combine. Follow the remaining instructions to make your Halloween Cheesecake Bars.
If your black and orange lines are uneven or messy, don’t sweat it .. it’s all getting swirled together anyways ????
Give clear vanilla extract a try in light colored batters. Your batter will not tint due to brown vanilla extract. You can find it in your spice/extract section of most grocery stores.

These Halloween Cheesecake Bars will be your new favorite way to celebrate Halloween on a plate!

Perfect for Halloween potlucks at work, play dates with your kids or just a fun way to show off your spooky side, this fun and easy cheesecake bar will be your favorite go-to easy Halloween dessert every time.

Every. Time.

Looking for more easy delicious Halloween ideas to share with your family and friends? Check a few of my favorite Halloween inspired recipes below.

MORE EASY HALLOWEEN TREATS

ENJOY!

DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?

I would love for you to leave a rating and a comment below! Let me know, how’d you do?! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐